Breaking Free From Whiteness: Baldwin, Freire, and Emancipatory Education

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Histories and Futurities of Language and Literacies

Abstract

Following the tradition of Paulo Freire, I argue that the purpose of education is humanization, which refers to the ability to reach one’s full human potential. However, a primary impediment to humanization for students in the United States is the racial history that rests upon the myth of white innocence. This myth assures white people that they hold no responsibility for the oppression of black people, and it obscures white people’s perception of their own identity. The writings of James Baldwin combined with Freire’s concepts of dialogue and humanization provide an important framework for exploring and interrogating the phenomenon of white innocence—an issue that is as relevant today as it was during Baldwin’s time.

Author

• Karlee Johnson, DePaul University