Discusión de los resultados

In the Kmart-worker struggle, advocates also connected issues of racial unfairness to broader structural problems. Kmart paid its Greensboro employees (who were primarily African-American) $5.00 per hour less than those at 12 other facilities where the majority of employees were not black. An investigation of racial patterns revealed the financial dis- crepancy. However, white Greensboro workers also suffered from the low pay scale and came to understand that racial unfairness affects the entire community.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY CAPACITY TO RESIST RACISM

Strong, inclusive and accountable local institutions can help communities resist racial exclu- sion and build positive alternatives. These institutions can play critical roles because they function as the repositories of culture and resilience in marginalized communities. A better understanding of how local institutions enable communities to function can help racial-justice advocates identify residents’ best chances for building healthy communities.

In Greensboro, rather than endure their employers’ exploitative behavior, African-American Kmart workers approached church leaders, who rallied their congregations in support. The workers did not rely solely on government enforcement agencies, judicial intervention or other external forces to address their claims. During the Kmart fight, they congregated at the churches to reinforce their commitment, clarify their purpose, strengthen their spirits and build a sense of connectedness with other workers. Similarly, white Kmart workers relied on their trade union. They gathered at the union hall before rallies and other public actions, built their sense of community with other workers, and collectively grasped develop- ments in the case.

Understanding the role of culture in bolstering the resilience of marginalized communities provides insight into why cultural sensitivity matters. It suggests that some problem-solving approaches are productive and successful because they draw upon cultural traditions and local social capital of racially and ethnically marginalized people and can leverage the inher- ent strengths of their communities. Because some dismiss minority cultures as “underclass,” they neglect important ways in which the distinct values and practices that are rooted in minority cultures can enhance the struggle for justice.

In many cases, innovations based on distinct cultural strengths improve practices in an entire field. Examples of such innovations are being documented by groups such as the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development.3 _{But the research has not sys-} tematically been brought to bear on the issues highlighted in this report. It is an area that deserves further exploration.

EXPANDING PARTICIPATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES

An affirmative vision of justice involves both the aspiration for greater participation by mar- ginalized people and a significantly expanded concept of what participation is. At its core, expansive participation requires engagement in all aspects of political, economic, social and

3 _{See, Stephen Cornell and Joseph P.} Kalt, “Culture as Explanation in Racial and Ethnic Inequality: American Indians, Reservation Poverty and Collective Action,” Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development Project Report Series (April 1993), Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Stephen Cornell, and Joseph Kalt, “Sovereignty and Nation Building: The Development Challenge in Indian Country Today,” American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3, (1998), University of California, Los Angeles, American Indian Studies Center. Louder Than Words

cultural systems that better life and livelihood. This idea of participation recognizes that communities and their members must decide for themselves what betterment means. Thus it demands revitalization of democratic institutions to make them more inclusive, responsive and accountable. It also requires building of community capacity to access and use informa- tion, and participate effectively in deliberation. As adviser Ceasar McDowell notes, such par- ticipation enables people in the context of communities their own voice and a hold on their own lives.

A focus on expanded participation may broaden the goals of traditional racial equity approaches under the law. Structural changes are sought to encourage community engage- ment. For example, in the Los Angeles case, an equity framework might require parity in funding between suburban and urban transit systems. Using a participation framework, the remedy might include reconfiguring the transportation policymaking processes to require broad public participation and a meaningful minority voice in transportation decision mak- ing—all to ensure equitable outcomes. In the schools context of Texas, an equity approach might require consistent standards for enforcing disciplinary measures or admitting students to preferred programs. A participation focus would maintain this demand for consistency, but also would urge school policies that provide opportunities for broad parent involvement in setting educational priorities and programs to develop citizenship skills among all stu- dents. In the context of voting in Mississippi, an equity framework might require sufficient

Chapter 8

An example effectively drawing on local cultural strengths can be found at the Navajo Nation, which has had tremendous success in developing a “mixed” judicial system that utilizes both Navajo and Western legal models. With its roots in Dine’ Bibee Haz’ annii, the traditional common law of the Navajo people, the Navajo Judicial Branch employs over 250

Peacemakers—respected community and spiritual leaders—to resolve many types of disputes, thereby enabling it to be more responsive to people, issues and traditional institutions. At the same time, the Western-looking, but self-designed, Navajo Supreme Court has both achieved a record of effective jurisprudence and established the independence it needs to fulfill a traditional function of holding the roles of political leaders to the service of the Navajo people.

In another example, the Nez Perce Tribe’s Gray Wolf Recovery program has not only enabled the Tribe to take a lead role in managing the statewide recovery of an endangered species, but it is restoring the people’s connection to wolves—a cultural factor that initiated the Tribe’s involvement. Wolf legends that previously had been sequestered have come to light and are now shared widely in the Tribe; baby-naming ceremonies now include wolf names, and dancers with wolf pelts are reappearing for the first time in memory. Indeed, the program has refreshed a portion of Nez Perce cul- ture, and is held up as a model for how other tribes can exercise their political sovereignty while strengthening their unique cultures.