White generosity: black freedom faced with good intentions
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
ISSN: 2040-7149
Article publication date: 22 September 2020
Issue publication date: 8 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The author advances a theory of white generosity, a product of whiteness and of hierarchised relationships between races characterised by the giving to the racialised person that which has not been asked for and which has no practical immediate purpose, which can be used by anti-racist scholars as a framework for analysing racial oppression.
Design/methodology/approach
Using postcolonial and cultural studies and deconstructionist techniques in tandem with autoethnography, the author uses textual readings to examine instances of “giving” shaped by white generosity, drawing on Jacques Derrida's work on the gift in order to deconstruct the structure and rhetorical moves of white generosity.
Findings
White generosity demands gratitude in excess of the value of the thing given. If for Derrida the gift is given unconditionally, becoming devalued as soon as it demands acknowledgement or draws attention to itself as gift, white generosity is the gift's inverse: a “giving” that manifests itself only as a demand for its supposed recipient's gratitude. Emancipation is no gift at all; simply a deferral of debt. The “gifts” of diversity, decolonisation, widening participation or access are all objects of brokerage in a system that is inherently unequal and violent for black folx.
Originality/value
White generosity is related to theoretical constructs, such as white fragility, that have commanded significant scholarly engagement. However, it has not previously been named or analysed in a systematic way. This article offers a theoretical framework for use by anti-racist activists and scholars to name, interrogate and deconstruct a powerful narrative used in the continued marginalisation of non-white folx.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Akile Ahmet for her support and feedback and making this one of the best writing experiences that I have ever had; it has been an absolute pleasure. I would like to thank Dr Richard Brock for his unflagging championing of this work and his many rounds of feedback. I would also like to thank Dr Sadhvi Dar who told me about the call for this special issue and encouraged my submission. Finally, I would like to thank Dr Aruna Srivastava who has spent years encouraging me to find my voice.
Citation
Wall, N. (2021), "White generosity: black freedom faced with good intentions", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 134-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-02-2020-0029
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited