Delving Into the Damning Effects of Domination

 

“To build community requires vigilant awareness of the work we must continually do to undermine all the socialization that leads us to behave in ways that perpetuate domination.” ― bell hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

When it comes to learning about a pedagogy of hope, I'm a late bloomer. It wasn't until 2014 that I first heard about writers like bell hooks, Paulo Freire, and Parker Palmer. Sitting in Grace Dodge Hall at Teachers College, Columbia University, Cornelius Minor mesmerized a room full of teachers from across the country with his passion for "radical openness"—a term he quickly attributed to one of his mentors, bell hooks. As a white woman growing up in rural Texas, her name and her writings were unknown to me, but something about the way Cornelius spoke about her influence, I knew she was something special. 

Several weeks ago in late December of 2021, as the world grieved her passing, I downloaded the book, Teaching In Community and began to read. In chapter four she writes, "It is amazing how many college graduates never read a book again once they graduate. And if they read, they no longer study. To bring a spirit of study to learning that takes place both in and beyond classroom settings, learning must be understood as an experience that enriches life in its entirety."  Her thoughts on learning challenged me to the core, and I found myself thinking deeply about the difference between reading and studying a text. 

 

Not long after I began reading her book, I connected with a group of women I deeply respect and admire in Decatur, Texas. When I began discussing bell hooks's book with them, Diana quickly pointed out that the cover had the Lotería symbol on it, something I'd overlooked. Well over a year ago, my bilingual colleagues introduced me to the cultural tradition of Lotería, a Mexican bingo game cherished by their families. In this brief exchange, I realized how white supremacy limits my ability to recognize anything that lives outside the dominant culture. 

  

The critical consciousness needed to remain aware of how white dominance shows up in our lives on a daily basis remains the challenge of my existence. The socialization that leads me to behave in ways that perpetuates domination often feels obscured and undetectable—when in truth, it's actually willful ignorance. Only recently, have I become aware of how often I center whiteness, the English language, and middle class values at every turn. Anything outside of the dominate culture is an afterthought, continually causing pain and further oppression to my colleagues of color. 

I'm currently reading chapter five, which is titled, "What Happens When White People Change". On page 56 she writes, "White people who choose to be actively anti-racist are heroic", and on page 57 she writes, "Anyone who denies that this change can happen, that one can move from being racist to being actively anti-racist is acting in collusion with the existing forces of racial domination." Both of these ideas feel revolutionary, and I'm deeply grateful for her steadfast belief that humans can change. I am only in the beginning stages of waking up to my whiteness, and as I delve into the damning effects of domination, I continue to be bothered by how whiteness and white power give me access to privilege, furthering the role of dominator. 

During this holiday weekend, thanks to the nudging of colleagues on Twitter, I plan to study Dr. King's, Letter from Birmingham Jail. When we become more devoted to order than to justice, and when we prefer the absence of tension over the presence of justice, domination continues to reign supreme. 

I'm on a journey to becoming anti-racist. May I stay aware of the ways in which I might be a stumbling block in the stride towards freedom for all.