So how do we fight racism, given the complex histories we all bring to the table? The debate ofen focuses on the choice between a single-issue approach and a multisytems approach. Two general types of single-issue approach have been prevalent in anti-racist organizing. One that reduces race to class, and another, called nationalism that proritizes race over all other issues.

A nationalist response to racism invoves builing a sense of unity among member of an oppressed group or nation, and trying to build an alternative worldview and set of values based on this group identity. One example of a nationalist movement in the United States was Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association founded in 1914. Garvy argued that the best hope for American Blacks was to return to Africa and to develop pride in their African heritage.

More recent examples of nationalism include the Nation of Islam which foucuses on independence and Black self-help, often promoting black capatalist enterprise. And there were power nationalist tendencies in Chicano movement of the 1970's

What all these movements have in common is an ideology that foucuses on group unity. Thus, nationalist leaders will develop a story of the group that focuses on heroism and historical achievements. There is usually a strong element of pride-building in nationalist movements. And they attempt to foster group solidarity by emphasizing inherent hostility of oppressive forces.

Nationalism can play a crucial role in helping member of oppressed groups develop and alternative worldview to the dominate hegemonic one, overcoming internalized oppression. Because the dominant worldview positions them in subordinate ways, this is important for membes of oppressed groups to form their own cultural systems. These alternative cultural systems value their members and refeclt back to them a sense of pride int their accomplishments while rejecting dominant sterotypes and ngative images. They also build political and financial resources and train people to work together for common goals of social transformation.

While much of this has been very positive, nationlism has a less positive side, for instance, when differences with the group are suppressed in the attempt to build unity and insight from other communities are not taken into consideration. Nationalism often leads to an inattention to class differences, such that wealthy nationqlists can use the notion of group unity as the basis for economic exploitation of other members of the group. And can lead to an explicit suppression of feminist and gay issues, which get painted as divisive. Women of color who advocate for fimenism and gay people of color who attempt to fight homophobia whithin their won communities, or who simply try to exist within their communities, are often criticized as bringing foreign elements from the dominate white society in the community.

Saring in the 1970's feminists of color resisted this charge by calming that they were not causing rifts in the community, they were merely pointing out divisions that already existed. By advocation for the needs of women within their community. Is sexism no longer hobbled women's ability to contribute, the community would be much stronger.

Multisytem thoery grw in part as a reponse to the weakneees of many of the movement of the 1960's and 1970's. Its first mafor impules cam from women of color who were tying to find a way to be both feminst and committed to the survival of ther racial and ethnic communities. Many wer lesbian. People lke Audre Loude and Gloria Aanzaldua argued that feminism must be transformed to take race, class and sexuality into account, and that ant-racism must consige gender, secuality, and class. The 70's taught bothe the power of overcoming internilized oppression the importance of leaning about the vaiety of oppressive social struturres. Coalition-builing became the watchworld for amny formly single-isssue activists.

The righ's aggregation of power under Regan and Bush, and the terrible devastation of AIDS and the drug war, encouraged people of good will systems to go into the trenches together. This work of understanding systems of oppression are interelated and turning that understanding in coerent political projects is an unfinshed task. But what we are finding in the present period is a real step forward in poeple's ability to balance the competing demands of mulitiple systems of oppression