My name is Ciara Caldwell, and this is my SAW project
my expression of White Saviorism and White Saviorism defined
White Saviorism is defined as "white, Western people going in to fix the problems of struggling nations or people of color
Without understanding their history their needs or the region's current state of affairs"(Urban dictionary, 2012).
Writer Cynthia Okorafor states the detriment of White Saviorism as this:
"It revolves around two notions
which make it difficult for Africa and Africans to break out of a stereotype that hinders development and advancement;
that Africa is always their's to fix (their's meaning white people) and
That the poor
Socio-economic state of the continent means that any white individual can do the job regardless of their own
socio-economic background
that Africa's socio-economic problems can only be solved by white interference...
Unqualified white individuals set sail for Africa
Believing that through volunteer work they can solve the problems of the continent with their one time visit...
they go on to further exacerbate these problems by choosing to interfere on the continent without adequate permission or
Consultation from the people whose lives they intend to affect" (2016).
a writer named Yusuf discussed White Saviorism and white privilege:
he says, "For some, this impression of privilege although
justifiable, has gradually paved the way for a sense of Western superiority
Some Westerners seek to liberate less privileged people and societies in other parts of the world by acting on their behalf
There is no denying these endeavors may actually stem from magnanimous intentions and that they can in some cases actually provide help
However there one has to note
the undertakings of these supposed to saviors are often presumptuous in nature and detrimental and outcome as a
result of anti hijab campaigns" (2016).
TMS Rouge, a man born and raised in Uganda and receiver from the white house of the Champion of Change award
discusses questions white saviors should ask themselves.
He says "you need to ask yourself some hard questions:
What is your primary objective here?
Are you doing this because you want to feel like you've done some good in the world and the sexiest easiest most fundable way
To do that is to bring change over there?
If the problem you're trying to fix over there isn't fixed right where you are,
what gives you the qualifying authority to go over there? and
By leapfrogging the issues in your back yard, are you really solving the problem or just moving sand grains around on a beachfront?
Why are problems over there yours to fix?" (2016).
My reactions: discovery deflection and denial
As much as I hate to admit it and I feel an inner tug within myself still every time I say it out loud I
Expressed White Saviorism before starting this project, and I am now currently
Taking steps to leave the mindset and behaviors behind
Upon learning briefly about white savior complex or
White Saviorism, I
instantly refused to ever acknowledge it again as soon as I learned about it. I immediately
Was like I'm not going to go there. I
Created cognitive dissonance I
talked myself out of doing this project
numerous times
more than three times, I
fabricated new and meaningless topics to do my project on that I could sell as equally uncomfortable
that allowed me to pretend to feel vulnerable when I knew I was just staying within my comfort zone all while deep down I
Needed to do some really deep
introspection about this issue
So I was discussing these artificially flavored saw projects one day with my professor Kirsten and
through the conversation I ended up saying "you know, ever since I was 12 I've wanted to adopt a kid from Africa" and
Kirsten was kind enough to put me on the spot and
ask me
"Why Africa?" and I was like...........
And she's just holding eye contact with me
And I cannot conjure up a half-baked answer to defend my blatantly white savioristic comment
To where eventually I just blurted out "well,
It's not a white savior thing. It's not... it's not" and then she was like -_-
And I
Was trying everything I could to fly out of the room... I could not
My white fragility was starting to boil up and get mad
and I finally said, "but maybe it is?" and I
Feel incredibly thankful that that had happened because if it didn't my white fragility would have won
And I would have ended up telling you right now about some
Completely
pointless
Fake, comfort zoney project that I could have sold probably pretty well, but knowing inside I was
Selling something counterfeit, and I'm not doing that
Which is really uncomfortable
So I
entered a phase of deflection and denial
from that moment on
For a very short, but strong point of time I was in a lot of deflection. I was like I'm not covering this
I'm not going to talk about this. It doesn't mean anything to me. I'm not a white Savior!
When I adopt a kid from Africa what what's white savioristic about that? that's good! That's- that's anti-racist actually
Which I'll talk about in a second
um
So I didn't want to admit any of that because what
the problem was is I'm still currently learning how you can be a good person and
Be racist. you can be passively racist actively racist or you can be an active
Anti-racist. I didn't know and I'm coming to terms with the fact that you can be a good person and be passively racist
You don't just have to be a bad person to racist
To overcome this denial the step
I took was to accept that my comfort zone, and my white fragility was challenged and
That led to denial... that was the symptom of my pushback
Eventually, that thankfully turned into some deep introspection with the encouragement of Kirsten
Unearthing hidden bias within myself was the first step to leaving White Saviorism behind.
so my expression of White Saviorism, where it came from, and
What it was.
I
was raised in a family where
colorblindness was not
implemented because I have a lot of relatives from Mexico on both sides of my family and
I was aware early on of my Cherokee roots on my dad's side
however
We all absolutely have white privilege and I was blind towards that privilege
Which is one of the biggest discoveries I have made and one of the hardest things to admit, on
top of a few others
Going through this workshop. which I'm very thankful for.
I always believed there was race- there is racism in the world
I was never raised nor did I ever think that racism was part of the past or that it's not a thing anymore.
However, I also believed that if you're a good person
You're unable to be racist like you're physically unable to be racist if you're a good person, and if you're a bad person
You're the racist
racism can only come from a bad person
Wrong. I
also thought that in order to be a super good person like a hero or an angel I
need to be-
I need to do something extra non racist
So what better way to be non racist and a hero than by adopting a black child from Africa?
That's honorable (not)
Or even better
what if I went on a missions trip with my old church to Africa, help save the people there (as
If I could save every single person in the continent of Africa)
That was a real thought that I had many times
And what if I saved everybody there and then adopted a child from one of the villages that I helped save
I do want to say, that although adoption
Including International Adoption is an admirable choice for a lot of people. I had feelings
subconsciously, I did not express these- I did not think that I thought these until I went deeper but subconsciously I had feelings of
Being superior to the "inferior, the in need, and incapable"
Without realizing it so and that- that made my well-intentions of international adoption dishonorable.
In order to be a competent trustworthy
responsible and dependable
occupational therapist I must view every client and every client's family as
Equal and not inferior to me
this requires daily practice of the detect reflect and reject
thought process introduced to us from Juli McGruder and
I
Further need to continue to uncover the camouflaged bias within myself, and I need to stop thinking
Which I feel like I have done, but I need to stop thinking anyone other than a white person is in need of my help
And certainly not my rescue
Further examination of this destructive thought process
Led me to realize where these ideas came from and how I was exposed to them so early in my childhood
Where to find White Saviorism in the media: spoiler alert it's everywhere
It's almost a challenge
to find a movie or television
Series that does not have white saviorism in it, that doesn't have a white savioristic character
Or isn't completely run on a White Saviorism narrative
Other media outlets like Twitter and Instagram are used by many people to express their "good works" to
Get that extra like by posting a photo of themselves helping poor people of color
Movies that I have watched with the white Savior narrative include "The Help" (2011),
"The Blindside" (2009), "the Last Samurai" (2003) and "the Great Wall" (2016).
These films perpetuate the false and destructive belief within white society
that there are bad people and good people in the world: bad people of the racists, and if I'm a good person
I'm unable to be racist like physically unable to be racist. if I somehow save
Disadvantaged people of color, I'm super non racist and I may be even an ally
Actress Constance
Wu puts it beautifully, she says "we have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world.
It's not based on actual fact. our heroes Do not look like Matt Damon
It's about pointing out the repeatedly implied racist notion that white people are superior to people of color and that people of color need
salvation from our own color via white strength
when you consistently make movies like this, you are saying that whether you intend to or not" (McMillan, 2016).
I
was an enormous fan of The Help and
although I still enjoy the acting skills of Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain I
will watch this film in the future with a
more competent and clearer lens
I
Loved this movie so much because I now realize that I saw myself in Chastain's character
the bubbly friendly
Non racist white woman who goes against the grain to
Save Octavia Spencer and give her a safe work environment and comfort her on hard times
I felt happy and
uplifted when this movie fed my incorrect beliefs and
ideas of good people not being able to be racist and bad people being the only ones who are racist and
I thought
Through watching this movie and having those beliefs fed that if you're good you can't take part in racism
directly or indirectly at all
How can this discovery make me a better occupational therapist? I say it takes three steps:
Reflection which leads to growth which leads to competency
I've now learned that by having white privilege
I am part of the
Institutionalized racism in American society and although I may not be a bad person I can still participate
In racism- I can be passively racist
It takes daily reflection and active participation in being
anti-racist to not be passively racist
I have also learned and accepted although it feels very uncomfortable, but I have been passively racist until now I
Used to deny even having white privilege while simultaneously
Enjoying the benefits of white privilege and my awareness of this will lead a stronger self-reflection in the future
Through meaningful reflection I can learn how to grow in the future without inner bias
Still working on that
To learn when to recognize when I'm feeling denial and to grow in my process towards greater
socio-cultural awareness
This will lead to a deeper understanding on how to be a culturally competent
occupational therapist. if I'm afraid to ask myself some hard questions like
whether or not I have preconceived notions of a client or their family due to my unchecked bias I
Won't be able to provide the absolute best possible care for them
The detriment of having a white Savior complex as an occupational therapist would cause the OT to not only choose self fulfilling
Treatment plans for their client instead of what is best for their client,
But the OT will use therapy to "do good for others" instead of equipping the client with the skills they need to help themselves
My goal for the future is to have daily reflection about my interactions with others
to recognize whether or not my past white savioristic beliefs have snuck back in and
re-entered my mind
to remove those beliefs if found immediately and
To remind myself to not fall back into being passively racist through my subconscious expressions of white Saviorism.
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