Witchvox Article

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Posted: June 9th. 2001
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The lack of diversity and lack of positive acknowledgement of Neo-Pagan people of color are very important issues in the Neo-Pagan community—or, at least, they should be.

The acceptance of non-European pantheons is on the rise. As for the community's acceptance of Neo-Pagan people of color, many of us are either ignored or viewed as "exotic"—in the condescending use of the word. Also, I feel our specific issues in regards to our relationship with the Neo-Pagan community are not taken seriously.

For example: I presented a discussion circle entitled "People of Color in Wicca, Witchcraft, Goddess Spirituality & Paganism" at PantheaCon in February 2001. When several white attendees asked me about my presentation and learned of it, I received "Oh, that one, " along with the roll of the glazed-over eyes. Several of my white friends stated, "There won't be much of a turnout, you know." I did prove those friends wrong: The discussion circle was a success, and another circle will be held next year—hopefully in a larger room! In addition, among the feedback that PantheaCon organizers received was the concern that folks wanted more racial/cultural diversity in the presentations roster. I will say that the number of people of color attending PantheaCon is slowly increasing. I remember when attending this event the year before, I met a vendor's assistant who pulled me aside and said, "You are the only black person I've seen so far at this convention!" We laughed, chatted and agreed to keep score during the weekend. So whenever we caught each other during the convention, we would hold up the number of fingers of how many people of color we've seen. I found three; she found one repeatedly—me.

Another example is my attendance at several rituals and participation in several groups/circles. Most of the time, I'm the only person of color participating in these events. Some of the time, I'm one of two. And some of these rituals I have participated in were with groups well-known as ones that tout themselves as racially and culturally diverse. When I do participate in these events hosted by these particular groups, I do my best to socialize with other participants. Yet at the back of my head, I feel as if I've been duped. And in the end, I feel as if I was the "token" person of color.

Sometimes, the issue of racial diversity can break a group. One of the attendees of the discussion circle talked about a group s/he was in: The group split because some—including the attendee—wanted people of color in its membership.

From these examples, you may understand why there are some of us that won't join the greater Neo-Pagan population in its circles/groups.

In an e-mail conversation I had with an Asian hearth/kitchen witch regarding my experiences networking with the Neo-Pagan community, s/he shared, "I applaud you for going out there and forming those bonds. It's sad to hear that nasty things happen even within the 'enlightened' magickal community. It's part of the reason why I've always held back on trying to get involved with any group or circle. Perhaps group situations tend to work best when the members share similarities that inadvertently affect it's overall effectiveness—in this case, similarities in ancestry (i.e. those of us that are non-white) and similarities in insight (such as having a completely different point of view because of our non European ancestry). Does that make any sense at all?"

Of course, there are those people who ask, "Why do they (people of color) even want to join the Neo-Pagan community and participate in its rituals?"

People of color in the Neo-Pagan community do know that Neo-Paganism is European-based. So why do we practice Neo-Pagan paths?

For some people of color, such as myself, Neo-Paganism serves as a non-intentional gateway to other paths that are not Neo-Pagan, such as Yoruba, American Indian, Asian and Polynesian spiritualities. Some of us find that we see some similarities between these and Neo-Pagan paths. For others, especially people of color who are biracial or multiracial, Neo-Paganism introduces them to cultures that gives view to who and what they are. For better or worse, Neo-Paganism helped me to discover these other paths; the learning came directly from people of these other paths—an issue that Neo-Pagan community leaders and elders need to point out to their folks.

So what can the mainly-white, Neo-Pagan community do to help make people of color feel more comfortable in the community? First of all, acknowledge us as part of the community. The population of Neo-Pagan folks of color is growing: If you haven't seen any of us at your own circle's/group's events, you'll either see us in the near future or won't—probably because your circle/group made a (un-)conscious effort to keep us out. Second, don't try so hard to make us feel comfortable in the community! Tokenism can be so thick that anyone can cut it with a knife/athame/etc. Treat us as individual human beings and we'll treat you likewise. Third, just like you would with everyone else in the community, listen to what we have to say. If we have anything to express, don't assume that we're just in the circle to make trouble. I've encountered this a few times in some rituals and with other attendees at PantheaCon. These solutions are curiously similar to those suggested in the mundane world. We are, after all, a subset of the mundane community, whether you like it or not.

Before the Neo-Pagan community can tout to the public about its tolerance of all people, its intolerance of discrimination and its "diversity, " it needs to work on its relationship with people of color in its own community.

Owen Watermoon

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