Last week, I was watching one of my favorite Youtube travel channels. They mentioned they were about to participate in something called the Putfoot Rally (here) and showed a couple of clips from past years.
I instantly froze, because what I saw was white people putting shoes on the feet of Black children in Africa.
Like this:
This is white saviorism.
How do I know? Once upon a time, many years ago, I helped transform a charity that had relied on marketing images that looked just like this one. The only difference was that our work took place in the U.S.
When we took over management of the organization, the very first thing we did was stop the use of images like this one. And we made it very clear that under no circumstances would we permit the work to be done this way any more (yes, we actually had to say, “We will not allow white people to fit charity shoes onto the feet of Black children.”)
Our work to bring some dignity back to that organization - and to the people we served - didn’t end there. But ensuring that no Black children would be exploited again for photo ops stands out to me as one of the most obvious ways we made that organization a little less harmful.
Over the years, I’ve received numerous invitations to travel to under-resourced regions of the world to do missionary work and eco-tourism. I’ve never gone on one of these trips. It’s pretty clear that it’s big business to exploit Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor people for the benefit of wealthy white people who have the resources to travel.
This is white saviorism. And when it’s done in the name of charity, it is a special kind of violence against people who aren’t white or aren’t wealthy.
This is counterfeit help. Because how can help given without dignity or consent be real, lasting help?
As for that Youtube channel I was watching, it’s not my one of my favorites any more. I don’t think I’ll want to watch it ever again.
Want to make a real difference in confronting white supremacy in the U.S. right now - and help end the tragedy of gun violence while you’re at it? Learn more about and support the work of Here 4 The Kids:
If you really cared about black people you would vote for trump. They never had it so good under that great man
Pot meet kettle. It’s almost like you’re jealous that you’re not the only white person wanting to help black people