White Supremacy is Hiding in Every Meeting
Towards the end of last year I had the privilege of taking part in a course on anti-racism in the development sector, run by Mary Ann Clements and Jennifer Lentfer. Although I don’t work in the development sector myself anymore, at tbd* we still work with a lot of people who do and, in a way, the entire social justice sector is built upon its foundations. The visions, the values, the power dynamics, and the people are all very similar. And we have one goal in common: to use our lofty talents and even loftier ideals to fix what is broken. On behalf of those who can’t. Or won’t.
Nevertheless, I will admit to approaching the course with some cynicism. How do you “do” anti-racism in the development sector? Surely the only way to do away with racism here would be to do away with the entire industry? Is white supremacy not inherent in the idea that the Global North can “save” the rest of the world? It is true that many organisations are starting to put a focus on implementing leadership from the global south, as well as working with local partner organizations rather than sending ex-pats to “sort things out”. But even if what remains is merely a funding relationship, the issue of power dynamics shines through like one of those solar lamps NGOs in Africa love so much. You can’t switch it off.
I didn’t end the course feeling any differently on that matter. But I did develop an entirely new understanding of the ways in which white supremacy leaks into my everyday work, into every meeting, into every interaction. This aha-moment was prompted by two articles which the facilitators shared. Reading them was like removing blindfolds. It tapped into that deep sense of knowing that you recognize when the words seem to flow out of your brain, down your throat and into your stomach. These articles effectively identify most things that Westerners take for granted as being “normal” in the workplace – such as working with a sense of urgency, edifying the written word and favouring solutions over process, and make you realise that these are not universal values. And whilst that doesn’t make them inherently wrong, they do at least require critical reflection, especially if you are working exclusively in the Global South, and particularly if these are the only values you are allowing into your organisation. If you are not making space for other ways of being, thinking and acting, then you are not making space for belonging and you are missing out on the opportunity for radical, innovative and systems-based approaches to solving problems.
Read the rest here.