Toward a White Antiracist, Co-Conspirator Identity: Problematizing the "White Confessional"

• In Event: 51.081 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 51.081-7 - Critical Issues on Social Justice, Whiteness, Oppression, and Race

Abstract

This paper bridges critical race theory (CRT) and critical whiteness studies (CWS) with literary and cultural theories of the confessional to theorize what we are calling, the “White Confessional.” We argue that regardless of its mode (e.g., written, oral, multimedia, film, theatrical representation, etc.) and the narrator’s ’s intent, the White Confessional is a discursive act that has the potential to re-traumatize people of Color and reify the system of white supremacy. This analytical endeavor contributes to an emerging conceptualization of what it means to develop an authentic white co-conspirator identity--an ethical, moral, conscious-raising, and relational stance that is necessary for effective anti-racist work.

Authors

• Laura A. Roy, La Salle University

• Kristen P. Goessling, The Pennsylvania State University - Brandywine