Richard Wright’s provocative novel, Native Son (1940), centers around Bigger Thomas, a black man living in Chicago during the 1930s. During the course of this novel, Bigger gets a job, commits rape and murder, is tried for his crimes, and is executed. Every step of the way, Bigger is surrounded by white people. White people who are abusive and racist towards him, but also white people who believe they are making things better for Bigger. White people seeing themselves as doing good and helping the black community. In other words, white saviors.
The white savior complex is defined as “the phenomenon in which a white person ‘guides people of colour from the margins to the mainstream with his or her own initiative and benevolence’ which tends to render the people of colour “incapable of helping themselves” and disposes them of historical agency.” (Cammarota, 2011: 243-244) In short, these people are self-serving. They are harmful in a number of ways, as they reinforce the thought that POC cannot help themselves. They are treated as incapable beings, who need the help of a white person. White saviors shift the focus from the problems that POC experience to their inadequate efforts to “help” them, perpetuating racist beliefs about white superiority.
Mr. and Mrs. Dalton are prime examples of white saviors- donating ping-pong tables to the black community and telling everyone about it (performative), whilst collecting overpriced rent from many black families (including Bigger’s). This is ultimately driving them deeper into poverty and helping to ruin lives, and making a much larger impact than their sporadic donations. Although Native Son is set in the past, many aspects of the novel are still very present. White saviors are still everywhere around us, in novels such as The Help, and even public figures such as Ed Sheeran with his “Comic Relief.”
Work Cited: Cammarota, Julio. “Blindsided by the Avatar: White Saviors and Allies Out of Hollywood and in Education”, Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 33, no. 3: 242-259, 2011. Further reading:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42268637
Good point! I think your connection to the white savior complex in the modern world is very accurate. Oftentimes, just like the Daltons, people think that they don't have to change much about their ideological perceptions of POC because they've donated some monetary value. In reality, the entire concept that one can be done doing their part to 'end racism' through something so simple is a harmful pretense. People should realize that there is always more you can do from the way you act to what businesses you support, etc.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of outlining the frustration with the Daltons, and how their actions were not only selfish and performative but did far more harm than good on a systematic level. It is truly infuriating to see them bring up their donations every chance they got as if it absolved them of racism, while they were behind so much of the rent and living insecurity in the black neighborhoods in Chicago.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used evidence from other sources outside of 'Native Son'. I agree with you that the white savior complex is a very real thing and that it can be seen in the Daltons. I think that the white savior complex can also be seen in Jan. When Jan and Bigger interact with one another, Jan would talk about how he's helping black people and then order Bigger around. A lot of people think that they're helping black people when in reality they're just trying to make themselves feel better.
ReplyDeleteI love the connections between the Daltons and modern day white savior complex. It's clear the Daltons want to feel like they are helping African Americans in some way, even if they are really part of the problem. Mr. Dalton even justifies him overcharging black tenants by saying "thats how its done everywhere", and is blind to the real problems black people have to deal with.
ReplyDeleteHey Florence, I really like you take on the Dalton family as claiming the role of "white saviors" in Native Son. Upon initially reading the novel, I simply viewed them as kind individuals lending a helping hand towards Bigger. However, after discussing their role in Bigger's life during class, I realized that they had never tried to help out Bigger to truly ease his situation, only to assuage their own guilt, and paint themselves as heroes. I also agree with you when you say that in particular, this aspect of a "white savior" remains largely present even in today's day and age. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeletei like discussions about complicated issues like the "white savior complex" because they form part of a grey area between, say, actively opposing advancement of POC rights and equality and actively supporting it. Like, we'd rather have the Daltons than KKK leaders running the Chicago real estate scene. But that's also how some might legitimize the bad things the Daltons are doing in the novel. Ultimately the white savior complex is clearly harmful, as you articulated.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job highlighting the idea that many racist people have that donations or saying you support the black community automatically negates their racism. The Daltons are the perfect example of white saviors, because they had such a harmful effect on the black community yet still thought that they were combatting racism with their ping pong table donations. I also really liked how you brought up examples of white saviors in today's society, because it showed that it still is a significant issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and it definitely seems like the Daltons were made to be seen as white saviors. I also think that a reason mentalities and personas like this are harmful are because they draw away attention from real issues to some extent, just like how the Daltons used their donations to make themselves seem like the good guys despite their blatantly unfair business practices. I also like how you connected the Daltons and this idea to the modern day, which highlights how this mentality is still an issue.
ReplyDelete