“White Talk, Social Justice, and Ignorance,” a discussion of interracial dialogue and white evasiveness, is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday at Illinois Wesleyan University State Farm Hall 101.
Illinois State University’s Dr. Alison Bailey will address how she believes “white talk” – fear- or anxiety-based evasiveness regarding race -- insulates white individuals from having deep discussions about racism and social justice by expanding.
Bailey will explore Fairfield University education specialist Alice MacIntyre’s argument that such white talk persists because it has an “enduring moral payoff” for white people, and that the defensive and goodness-centering habits of white talk can be explained in terms of how vulnerable they feel in the face of our racialized fears. Bailey suggests white individuals learn to recognize white talk, and replacing it with “a discourse of vulnerability.”