I came across this post in instagram about the 7 circles of whiteness and found it helpful. Itโs a tool created by a mental health therapist, Alishia McCullough and I think itโs supposed to be American focused but applies everywhere
Circle 1 (white terrorist): brutal violence against Black bodies; racist and derogatory slurs; white nationalism; white separatism; actively targeting Black bodies;police brutality; lynchings; hate crimes; alt-right; most likely to be seen with a gun in a public location I.e a restaurant if their kids birthday party; maga; intimidation tactics; confederate flags; rigid patriotism; anti-take a knife; blue lives matter; kkk; founders and supporters of the prison industrial complex; uses white evangelical rhetoric to justify racism
Circle 2 (the post racial believer): talks about racial tolerance; โI have Black neighborsโ; polices those Black neighbors; using language such as โcoloredโ to describe Black people in the U.S; bootstrap theory folks; uses terms like โboyโ to describe grown Black men; expects Black women to be the mammy; never feel โsafeโ around Black people; โI donโt see colorโ; โObama fixed itโ; believers of the โAmerican dreamโ; constantly downplays Black excellence and uses the affirmative action card; white Eurocentric Christianity values, โwe are all the same in the eyes of godโ; white women clutching their purse or locking their cars when a Black person walks by; victim blaming; superior pity complex; may have a multiracial person in the family, that is they have white washed; expects Black people to jump and do things like carry their groceries to the car; uncomfortable around topics if race and thinks that talking about race issues creates division
Circle 3 (the oblivious instigator): cultural appropriation; loved white washed Black people; fetishizes and sexualizes Black men; white tears/fragility; micro aggressions; all lives matter; โreverse racismโ; white saviorism; plays โdevilโs advocateโ and invalidates experiences of racism; social justice issues related to things that centre what they are going through; have no loyalty to Black people and will often sell you out if presented with the opportunity; โif you say it nicer, I might listenโฆyou are pushing me awayโ; tone policing; โall white people are not badโ; elitish; entitlement; calling the police because they donโt feel โcomfortableโ; thinks that biracial children excuse them from racism; โI am a good white personโ; big on authoritarianism/rule following; often uses the โnโ word as a โjokeโ and calls you dramatic for getting upset about it; feels entitled to Black bodies, โI donโt know why youโre offended that I touched your hair without consent, itโs just hairโ
Circle 4 (the needy ally): focused on โgetting anti-racism rightโ (perfectionism); read โwhite fragilityโ, has not addressed their own; โI am above other white peopleโ; white distancing to be an exception; arrival at anti-racism mindset; bragging on the few times they fought back against racism in order to gain approval; needing to center themselves in topics about race; need constant validation and emotional investment from Black people; often has white terrorist family members that they are struggling to change or convince; co-opting the work of poc and trying to make it their own I.e. white women and yoga; can admit to holding privilege, but refuses to be held accountable; race splaining; considers the trump election to be the epitome of when things โgot badโ; needs to collect Black friends/tokenization; good โwhiteโ ally mentality; impulsive around racial justice often causes more harm; will often vent to Black people about their frustrations with politics, usually takes up a lot of space and leaves Black people emotionally exhausted and depleted
Circle 5 (the passive aggressive oppressor): white feminist; values white research and experience over the lives experiences of Black people; divisive and often tries to turn Black people and poc against each other; manipulative; intent versus impact; not paying for Black labor; abuses power to silence and control Black women; victimizes self when challenged around topics of race; degrades Black people who donโt agree with them; tokenizes poc and Black people; white narcissism; no accountability and very skilled at deflecting and gaslighting; loves whitewashed poc and Black people; comes across like they โget itโ; expert versus listener/learner mentality; implements respectability politics; does not value building trust and rapport, but expects it from Black people; gatekeeper mentality; typically the face for anti-racism in their social circles; often loses the trust of Black people in their lives
Circle 6 (the do โgooderโ): can be invalidating and engage in silver lining talk, โwell at leastโฆletโs look at the positivesโ; still supports harmful white people in their lives to maintain their social status/comfort; listens to certain Black people, but still do not center trans and cis Black women; overcompensating in allyship; speaking on behalf of communities; thinking they know whatโs best for a Black person of community; views Blackness as a monolith; may be complacent in issues that cause discomfort; does not challenge institutions/problematic white people; โomg you are my Oprah or Michelle Obamaโ; uses political correctness/academia terminology; intellectualizes our lived experiences so that it has more โcredibilityโ; plays up their marginalized identities to excuse their racism; seeks approval and self advancement; โyou can always come to meโ but does not have the tools to effectively support Black people
Circle 7 (the lifelong student): pays for all forms of labor performed by Black people; centres the most marginalized; actively engages in introspection and simantling racism in themselves; address racism at every institutional and systemic level; centres learning and research of Black people especially those with the most marginalization; knows that they never arrive; honors Black liberation and healing; not imposing on Black time (Black people need to be in spaces without white people as often as possible); strong understanding of racial trauma and their ancestral, historical and current impact; deals with white fragility with fellow white people; listens and challenges white saviorism; accountability/changed behavior; understands that reconciliation does not mean you are allowed back in that perosnโs life; uses privilege to be key makers versus gate keepers; constantly unpacking white supremacy and challenging white culture without approval; not expecting Black people to show up a certain way; knowing their mere presence is harmful; understanding that they will never fully be trusted by Black people, making peace with that
I do wonder why this is something you were worried about sending anonymously ๐
