Note from the publisher .

There are many ideas about how to strip race of its power. In these pages, we're reminded of three conservative and capitalist efforts to do so: by outlawing affirmative action, putting an end to collecting racial data, and screening Che Guevara's photo onto a $20 t-shirt. These efforts have one thing in common. They're designed to silence racial justice language and do away with the few policies that help, all while appealing to the well-intentioned person's desire to support equal opportunity and independence. But deflating the power of race and deflating the power of racism are two different things. There's no way to deflate the power of racism without shining a light on it. The rest of this issue is devoted to people who have to be increasingly creative to name racism and solve the problems it creates. Prisoners are told they can study what they want, as long as it's nor about race; the peace movement continues to struggle with how "raced" it can and should be in trying to stop a war against people of co lor. As the other side continues to carry out a racist agenda while never saying the word "race," we continue to reveal and resist. It's far from easy, but it has to be done.