In solidarity, learning, growth, and resistance.

“ The journey towards understanding structural racism still requires people of colour to prioritise white feelings. ” Reni Eddo-Lodge , Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race In the wake of UK edutwitter's # ListGate , a well-known edutweeter, Greg, published another blog piece about racism . As a fellow racialised-as-white educator, I feel obliged to take the time to address it. So I will ( again ). One of Greg's main arguments (see image) is his contention that the concept of white supremacy is flawed because its circular reasoning results in those accused of holding white advantages as guilty because of their very denial of them. In the time-honoured language of male righteousness , Greg uses the analogy of witches to demonstrate his point.  But of course, anyone who is reasonably well-read in this area knows that the in-admission of one's complicity in racism ( i.e. the inequitable distribution of power, choice, social mobility, and proximity to j

Joining the dots In order to better understand how society works, and how we are agents within it, I believe it may be helpful to conceptualize society through a critical lens as an animated 'dot-to-dot' drawing - a moving 3D picture that, in addition to form and content, has a time-constrained dimension of 'dynamism'. We can consider the 'dynamism' ( direction, speed, velocity, momentum, effects of drag, friction, and gravity)  along vectors pertaining to established notions of values or paradigms, for example, conservatism and liberalism, or capitalism and socialism. Do you remember the dot-to-dot illustration activities you did as a child? The ones where you had hold of the pencil, and were guided by two sets of forces: 1) external forces: the instructions printed to one side;  the location of the dots; the ascending numbers or alphabetical sequences; the previously learned rules for drawing activities; and the quality and type of the pencil; and

Have you heard the story about " the white cishet male " being an oppressed group?  Have you seen the  straight pride march ? Have you heard that " a Christian curriculum " is needed for proper cultural literacy? Or that the " moral question " [of sexuality is] far more complex than the liberal-dominated edu-community seems to understand "? Note that the first statement was made by a well-known misogynist and proponent of eugenics , who believes in a meritocracy but got his  university place and at least one  role through nepotism. Despite how very  tedious it is, note that it's one amongst many platformed cries from advantaged groups, disguised as victimisation and dressed in faux appeals to reason. There is one goal in mind: to keep the power with those who have always had it. Note that the 'straight pride' march was organised by a member of the far-right, a group typified by their racism, ethnofascism, and misogyny.

As a racialised-as-white man (whether I'm aware of this is or not, whether I like it or not, and whether I resist it or not - because I'm always a recipient of its societal advantages , and a beneficiary of its oppressive cultural heritage - and despite 'white' being biological bullsh*t and pseudoscientific sh*te )...wait, where was I..? ...dammit, where was I ? Let me see...Errr..." As a racialised blah blah, something something, yaada yaada "...Oh yes: as a person with socially-constructed advantages who is trying to do anti-racist work in a system that's predicated on my complicity, there are a few things I've learned (and am still learning) both from the work of others and from personal experience about how I can grow, and reduce the risk that I'll inadvertently make things worse. So here's my quick rundown for 'white' people who already 'get it' enough to be actively involved in anti-racist movements, or ar

"To accept one's past - one's history - is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it."  (James Baldwin) In parts 1 and 2 , I explored how the specific privileges of white racism can operate in education. I did this by analysing a  reckless blog post from a prominent teacher in the social media edu-sphere. Here, in the third and final part, I pose some questions to consider. 1) Will we be more open?  We could renew our efforts to process any h ostile reactions  so that we can be more open to discussing, reading, and  listening  about whiteness. For example, consider why the mere mention of ' decolonisation ' or 'whiteness'  provoke  anger, incredulity, or mirth in some?  Or why li terally everything done in education is inherently political yet only acts of resistance to white supremacy are seen as such? Or why the effects of 'whiteness' are something you may never have been aware of before? It's remarkab

Uncovering Whiteness. (Part 2) A blog post entitled ‘ Should we teach school students about white privilege ?’ recently hit social media. Please take a peek before you read on. This is Part 2 of a 3-part blog post related to it. In Part 1 , I said that rather than less (or zero) teaching about the specific white privileges of racism, we should strive for better teaching of it, and to argue otherwise is dangerous. But to be open to learning more, students and educators need to be in a place where they can reflect on their own whiteness.   They need skilled guidance to do this, especially since it may be so normal to them as to be invisible. I will use the blog post to help us see its whiteness and help to confront " our rigid refusal to look at ourselves " (Baldwin). In the forthcoming Part 3 I apply practical advice and a constructive, loving way forwards for educators. Any subject can be taught poorly (or well) and cause a "reaction". This is no reas