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I’m on the board of a non-profit, and we hired anti-racism consultants to do an assessment of our culture and practices. One thing that came up is this notion of how whiteness, as an identity, is constructed. You can’t “fix” racist structures without doing the “heart work” too.
Meaning, if you pit structural solutions (eg, “hire more Black people”), against a racist culture, the culture will always win out, and you will likely fail in your goals. The heart work — unlearning the deep programming of white supremacy—is not optional.
The kicker is, part of white identity construction involves emphasizing technical (acute) over adaptive (systemic) change. Meaning, how we are trained to approach problems in white culture? Often just exacerbates those problems. And that’s a problem if you actually want change.
I’m a student, not an expert here, but I’m sharing this because, as I engage in this work in several spaces, I’m noticing our failure to do the heart work. And I’m noticing, too, how white identity construction is reinforced by (or hard to disentangle from) white patriarchy.
White women aren’t exempt here! In fact, our behavior can be more insidious, as we embrace niceness or reject our power. Or we just adopt white patriarchal culture to get ahead in leadership positions, creating a culture that’s just as toxic or worse.
So, here’s where I’m going with this: last night, I learned about unlearning toxic white culture. Then, I read a profile of a prominent white male climate activist that upset me so much, I kept waking up all night, angry. This morning, I realized these things are connected.
Lone hero narratives are white culture. Rugged individualism is white culture. Over-intellectualizing is white culture. Selfishness is white culture. Inflexibility is white culture. And these things? They’re barriers to real, systemic change.
There are other stories here, other approaches, whether to climate change or something else. Ways of processing your pain that don't lash out and hurt others. Ways of holding love and grief, fear and purpose, in solidarity with others. Ways of listening, and not just yelling.
If we genuinely care about climate change, we have to unlearn these toxic elements of white culture (and that includes self-care -- burnout, too, is toxic white culture). This isn't optional, or a distraction.
This project won't work unless and until we do the heart work.
This project won't work unless and until we do the heart work.
