Caste, Trauma, and Healing

"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land". Desmond Tutu

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Most of us watched in horror the 8 minute and 46 second video of the lynching of Mr. George Floyd at the hands of 4 police officers on May 25, 2020. The lynching happened in broad daylight while witnesses and Mr. Floyd himself begged for his life.

This was not the first or the last public lynching - but for some reason the racist execution of Mr. Floyd woke up the world - even the White Folks. 

This page is for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour looking for places to turn for support and solidarity. It is also for White Folks wanting to face Systemic Racism, White Personhood, White Fragility, and White Privilege. 

Question: Why does a clinical social worker have a page on her website specifically dedicated to anti-racism?

Answer: Because the personal is political. Many of us have experienced neglect, sexual, physical and emotional abuse, sexism, sizeism, ableism, ageism, classism, RACISM and so on. My social work practice has always focused on making links between difficult or oppressive personal experiences and ways society reinforces systems that advantage some of us while at the same tiem disadvantaging some of us.

Rape and Racism and all the other isms could not exist if we did not objectify others. For centuries White settlers successfully managed to make Whiteness the norm while othering Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.  In order to maintain supremacy settlers and colonialists ensured that every layer of day to day life (ie education, health care, policing, social work, psychology, psychiatry, social services, the military, governments, financial institutions...) were developed in a manner that advantaged White folks and disadvantaged Black, Indigenous, People of Colour. The settlers in charge were mostly able bodied White men and so the structures also served to advantage White men over White women, and poor, differently abled, LGBTQ+ White folks.

My social work practice has always involved actively learning through books and workshops how my  location and it has at times accorded me some unearned advantages (White, cis, straight, middle class, university educated) as well as some unearned disadvantages (woman, chronic health condition).


For Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC)
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For the White folks ready to unlearn and learn about racism

18 Steps to Becoming an Ally (From Becoming an Ally, Breaking the Cycle of Oppression in People by Anne Bishop)
  1. Learn, reflect on, and understand the patterns and effects of oppression, take action with others, take risks, walk towards your fear to find your power.
  2. Try to help members of your own group understand oppression and make the links among different forms of oppression in other words develop an intersectional analysis.
  3. Listen and reflect, resist the urge to be defensive, listen and reflect, resist the urge to be defensive, listen and reflect.
  4. Remember that everyone in the oppressor group is part of the oppression. It is ridiculous to claim you are not racist if you are white or not sexist if you are a man; or not sizeist if you are not fat. No matter how much work you have done on that area of yourself, there is more to be done. The ridiculous part is a direct quote from Anne Bishop. I tried to find a softer word - but left it as is.
  5. Having accepted that every member of an oppressor group is an oppressor, try not to feel that this makes you a "bad" person. This involves learning to separate guilt from responsibility.
  6. Remember that in the oppressor role you cannot see the oppression as clearly as the oppressed group can which is why it is important to talk less and listen more while also reading books authored by people in the oppressed group while also participating in anti-racism workshops.
  7. Count your privileges; keep a list. Help others see them. Break the invisibility of privilege. Here's an oldie but a goodie http://www.nymbp.org/uploads/2/6/6/0/26609299/whiteprivilege.pdf
  8. If you hear an oppressive comment or see an example of oppression at work, school, at dinner, try to speak up but from a place that is both direct and empathetic. Calling in versus calling out https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/guide-to-calling-in/ When I was in my 20s and 30s there were lots of anti-racism workshops where white people could really dissect why "I don't see colour" and why "can't we all just get along and be kind" are dismissive and counterproductive statements. 
  9. You must be patient and leave lots of room for the greater experience of members of the oppressed group, but there are also limits.
  10. Try to avoid the trap of "knowing what is good for them". Do not take leadership. It is not all right to take time to present your own agenda or to suggest in any way that the oppressed group does not understand or see the big picture.
  11. NEVER take public attention or credit for an oppressed group's process of liberation. Media often want to talk to the ally - defer to a spokesperson from the oppressed group. 
  12. Do not expect every member of the oppressed group to agree; does your group agree on everything?
  13. Learn everything you can about the oppression read books authored by people from the oppressed group; watch films and listen to podcasts from people from the oppressed group; attend workshops to unlearn racism, heterosexism, sexism, ableism, sizeism, ageism...DO NOT expect people from the oppressed group to do the emotional labour of educating you about their oppression https://medium.com/@realtalkwocandallies/white-people-stop-asking-us-to-educate-you-about-racism-69273d39d828
  14. Support the process of unlearning oppression with other members of your own group. Share with other members of the oppressor group the journey of becoming an ally. 
  15. Remember that you will probably have to go out of your way to maintain your friendships and connections with members of the oppressed group. Our society is set up to separate different groups. Without a little extra effort, you will live in different parts of town and never cross paths.
  16. Try not to look to the oppressed group for emotional support, they will need to conserve energy for their own struggle. Try not to expect the oppressed group to be grateful to you.
  17. Be yourself. Do not try to claim the roots and sense of connection that a history of oppression can give to a community if it is not your own, even if "23 and me" says you are 3% Mohawk. 
  18. Be yourself, be open, be honest. Express your feelings. Do not defend your internalized oppressor attitudes; say that it hurts to discover another piece of it. Be a listener, and observe. Assume you are a learner; good learners are open. 


Anti-Racism Workshops On-Line

Capitalism and George Floyd
For Social Workers and Social Service Workers:
Abolish Family Policing, Too: Abolish Family Policing, Too - Dissent Magazine
The Whitewashing of Social Work History: document.pdf
UpEnd: Home - upEND Movement
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More readings:  
Some Great Movies and Videos to Watch