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In reply to the discussion: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' will be removed from ninth-grade required reading list in Mukilteo [View all]intheflow
(28,516 posts)Last edited Thu Jan 27, 2022, 03:27 PM - Edit history (4)
Dr. Abdullah's definition is the leading opinion among Black scholars. When Black people say white people don't listen to them and/or discount their experiences and perceptions of society, this kind of whitewash is exactly what they're talking about. As a white person, I understand loving TKAM, I loved it, too, when I read it in junior high in 1978. But it remains true that the main action in the story - a Black man on trial for allegedly raping a white woman - turns the narrative focus from the main action the plot revolves around to a white savior who swoops in to save a Black man from injustice.
More on the subject of white saviorism, by both Black and white people:
Now We Can Finally Say Goodbye to the White Savior Myth of Atticus - New York Times (no paywall)
6 HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES OF THE WHITE SAVIOR COMPLEX - Sojourners
The White-Savior Industrial Complex - The Atlantic
Oscar loves a white savior - Salon
What a White Savior is and Why it's a Problem - EverydayFeminism (short video)