Race Traitor (journal)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Race Traitor'' was a quarterly magazine founded in 1992 by John Garvey and
Noel Ignatiev Noel Ignatiev (; born Noel Saul Ignatin; December 27, 1940 – November 9, 2019) was an American author and historian, as well as a communist activist. He was best known for his controversial theories on race and for his call to abolish " whit ...
.Genzlinger, Neil (November 4, 2019
"Noel Ignatiev, 78, Persistent Voice Against White Privilege, Dies"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
Its stated mission was "to serve as an intellectual center" for those seeking to abolish
white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...
. As Ignatiev expressed it, its purpose was "to explore how people who had been brought up as white might become unwhite". The magazine's premise was that racial categories were constructed to create a social hierarchy that benefits whites at the expense of people of color. The "white" race is explained as an exclusive club which the magazine seeks to dissolve and break apart. Thus, the task of individual
race traitor Race traitor is a phrase that describes someone who is perceived to have betrayed their own Race (human categorization), race, primarily by other members of their race or ethnic group. People can be accused of betraying their race for many socio ...
s is to abolish the white race through treasonous acts. According to Ignatiev: "We at ''Race Traitor'' . . . have asked some of those who think whiteness contains any positive elements to indicate what they are. We are still waiting for an answer. Until we get one, we will take our stand with
David Roediger David R. Roediger (born July 13, 1952) is the Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Kansas, where he has been since the fall of 2014. Previously, he was an American Kendrick C. Babcock Professor o ...
, who has insisted that whiteness is not merely oppressive and false, it is nothing but oppressive and false." The magazine and its community of activists acted in close, if sometimes contentious, relation with the field of
whiteness studies Whiteness studies is the study of the structures that produce white privilege, the examination of what whiteness is when analyzed as a race, a culture, and a source of systemic racism, and the exploration of other social phenomena generated by ...
. The last issue was number 16, the "Special Palestine Issue" dated Winter 2005. The publication's motto was "Treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity." The magazine's audience included academics, grassroots activists, prisoners, and students of many racial and sexual identities. As of 2002 it had been cited over 110 times.


References


External links

* Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1992 Magazines disestablished in 2005 English-language magazines Political magazines published in the United States {{US-poli-mag-stub