With Halloween just around the corner, we’re sharing three scary myths that keep people from impactful activism. Colorlines, published by Race Forward, partners with movement organizers, scholars, storytellers, cultural producers, and community members to offer insightful commentary that debunks these myths and other harmful narratives. 

Myth #1: Collective power can never work. 

What is collective power and how do we build it? An explainer with Maurice Mitchell

“If we are able to look to one another, especially across difference—across race, across ethnicity, across gender, across neighborhoods in your city—the potential for collective power is almost endless because there’s millions, there’s billions of us.” — Maurice Mitchell

Myth #2: Racial justice movements should give up on the government.

Should racial justice movements give up on government? An explainer with Eric K Ward

“It’s our turn to show that a multiracial, inclusive democracy can work, but to show that, it means we have to be in governance.” — Eric K. Ward

Myth #3: Schools have historically been apolitical and impartial, and talking about race is a new thing.

Education: Democracy’s Battleground?

“The Daughters of the Confederacy… targeted the education system. They literally went from local school district to local school district, finding any texts, any books that they found objectionable, and seeking to replace them with this lie [that the Civil War was not about slavery]. Because they knew that what people learned ultimately set them up for this frame for understanding both history and the nation.” — James E. Ford, PhD

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In Solidarity,

Glenn Harris

President, Race Forward