Being white, being good: white complicity, white moral responsibility and social justice pedagogy

Abstract

Reviews the book, Being White, Being Good: White Complicity, White Moral Responsibility and Social Justice Pedagogy by Barbara Applebaum (2010). Here the author has found that her own 'well-intentioned' white students had a difficult time understanding their personal investment in complicity as it related to undoing racism. This disconnect led her to the idea that a pedagogy which addresses this dilemma needs to be explicit and from this she birthed 'white complicity pedagogy'. Applebaum makes the case that complicity may in fact be unavoidable due to unearned privilege, but that does not denote the necessity of responsibility. There are several strengths of this book and its contribution to the broader conversation about social justice pedagogies. Applebaum's work furthers the conversation from intentionality to deep vigilant introspection, encouraging teachers and students to move beyond simplistic blame/guilt scenarios, in order to evolve into rational and thoughtful participants in societies systematically damaged by racist beliefs, policies and practices. Being good is not enough; sustainable, informed action is necessary to move beyond white complicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)