Soon after this year's London Anarchist Bookfair, 'exhausted anarchist' and former Class War editor, Paul Stott, wrote his review on his blog. As well as rightly praising the organisation of the event, Stott had some criticisms, largely aimed at the inclusion of a workshop on 'White Privilege and Racism'

"It is depressing to see American leftist ideas on race enter the UK Anarchist movement, as evidenced by the meeting on "white privilige and racism" or the rise of related literature over the past couple of years. Such guilt tripping is common to approaches to race in what were 'settler' societies - the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They don't and won't work here - and are probably very far from applicable now in the likes of the US either."

It is a shame that Stott did not attend the workshop he so roundly criticised, as it may have helped him to see that neither 'American leftism' nor 'guilt tripping' were dominant themes. Instead, it provided a space where the issue of race could be discussed rather than dismissed, where anarchist people of colour could raise awareness of some of the issues they face and the ways in which race affects anarchist organising could be discussed.

The fact that the concept of white privilege should be immediately consigned by Stott to the dustbin of 'guilt tripping' suggests to me that he feels threatened by this theory. This is not uncommon amongst white class struggle anarchists, whose identity is often based on membership of an oppressed class who are subsequently justified in taking back what should belong to them. To be informed that actually they are in a privileged position and that they need to make space for people of colour threatens this identity and behaviour, and can result in defensiveness, dismissal and denial. Rather than accept that this is the case and start to change the way they view themselves, these white anarchists act as though this was a further oppression of them, a position that negates the need for change.

But Stott's explicit objection here is that the white privilege theory only applies (if at all) in "settler societies". How he has arrived at this conclusion is not immediately obvious. Does Stott think that people of colour do not face oppression in the UK? Surely not, in a society in which racism still frequently erupts into the discourse, where the August riots were widely blamed on a 'criminal' Black pathology, where there is widespread tacit support for the anti-Asian rhetoric and practice of the EDL and where opportunities for and the visibility of non-white people are still marginal. Does Stott simply blame all of this on the minority of people who are explicitly racist? If not, how does he think that this widespread exclusion and marginalisation operates?

Actually Stott's dismissal of the workshop is a perfect example of white privilege in action within the anarchist movement. Stott has the privilege of being able to dismiss the issue off-hand because it is not something that effects him personally. Rather than make any attempt to offer an alternative view of how to tackle the problems that are being raised (usually by people of colour who have had enough), he simply ignores the issue and moves on. We do not see Stott rushing to run his own workshop on race or indeed make any attempt at serious dialogue with those who say that racism is a problem. Indeed, he actually suggests that the rise in "related literature", by which I assume he means publications like 'Race Revolt' that give a voice to people of colour within the movement, is "depressing". This looks a lot like silencing to me. How are any of us going to learn about and understand the issues surrounding race in anarchism unless we educate ourselves through reading, debate and listening to our friends and loved ones who don't share our ethnic and cultural background.

I'd argue that race is a problem for anarchists. One thing that Stott didn't mention in his appraisal of the bookfair was that, dispite it taking place in the centre of one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse places in Europe, it was still overwhelmingly white. Why does Stott think this is? Does he think that only white people have the right ideas? Or does he accept that there are barriers to people of colour getting involved? And while he obviously has no time for 'white privilege' and 'American leftist ideas about race' it would be nice to know what he is doing to dismantle those barriers and encourage the voices of people of colour to be heard within the movement. Maybe he's happy with the current situation. After all, there's hardly any one around to 'guilt trip' him about his white privilege at the moment.

But enough of the critics. What about the workshop itself? While I would say it was far from perfect (the patronising tone of the white facilitator was unfortunate), I found it a useful opportunity to collectively examine where our notions about race come from and how they differ between members of the dominant race and minorities. It was a great opportunity to compare the experiences of white anarchists and anarchists of colour and to deepen my understanding of the race and culture-based alienation that many experience. Last but by no means least it was a good opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with people of colour struggling against the racist structures that persist within anarchism. Unfortunately, for many anarchists fighting racism means bashing bad racists on the streets but never confronting their own prejudiced views. I firmly believe that both are necessary and workshops like this one gave an opportunity for the latter.