ABC: “White guilt” won’t save us

If you’ve been in any way invested in the current conversations around racism, you will no doubt have come across an array of posts, memes, and op-eds about “white guilt,” loosely defined as the “shame and remorse some white people experience when they recognize the legacy of racism and racial injustice.” The idea, in a nutshell, is that white innocence — the idea we construct of ourselves as being good people, devoid of racism — is a central pillar in the persistence of white supremacy, and hence that shattering this myth is a critical step in recognising the harm caused by the system of advantages that accrue to white people.

Photo Credit : Neither guilt, nor anger — however righteous — provide a framework for moral or political transformation, though both may fuel transformation if properly channelled. (Lightspruch / iStock / Getty Images)