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Is there a ‘right way’ to approach whiteness? In this conversation with Garrett Bucks, author of The Right Kind of White and Founder of Barnraisers, we dissect the impact of attitudes of white saviorism on authentic relationships.
Join us as we unpack what drives progressive white people to seek approval from people of color. Drawing on true stories, Garrett shares what has shaped his understanding of his inherent privilege and the responsibilities that flow from it.
Garrett describes a new feeling of tenderness towards white people and explains how a belief in the essential goodness of all people is necessary to sustain hope for a better world. Tune in for a hopeful conversation offering a meaningful way forward for white people committed to the work of antiracism.
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Key Points From This Episode:
• How author and activist Garrett Bucks perceives patterns of activism and transformation, and how he defines The Right Kind Of White as discussed in his book. [0:00:30]
• Where the impetus originates from to be liked or approved of by people of color as progressive white people and anti-racists. [0:04:32]
• The story of a Happy Hour in Milwaukee that illustrates the fallibility of the egoic story of being ‘the right kind of white person’. [0:09:20]
• Experiences of self-realization after Michael Brown’s murder and before Donald Trump’s election that caused Garrett to reassess his position and approach to whiteness. [0:16:33]
• His early pivot to feeling tenderness towards white people. [0:20:28]
• How the experience of a chronic illness awakened Garrett to admitting his universal basic desires connecting him to all others. [0:24:35]
• Relying on a belief in the essential goodness of all people to motivate hope. [0:29:50]
• Garrett’s hope for the book and how listeners can support him. [0:35:43]
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Quotes:
“Like all human beings, there is, deeply embedded in who we are, an ability and a desire to love and be loving, to care, and give care.” — @garrettbucks [0:31:16]
“I bet that deep down inside we want something better for the world and we want something better for our role in the world than the one we have fallen into.” — @garrettbucks [0:31:51]
“There is so much less risk than I thought in having a life more focused on questions and curiosity about other people rather than focused on myself.” — @garrettbucks [0:34:41]
“I think there’s something really beautiful about [no longer keeping] the messiest parts of our lives both individually and socioculturally [to ourselves].” — @garrettbucks [0:36:49]
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Garrett Bucks: https://www.garrettbucks.com/
Garrett Bucks on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrett-bucks-9283832/
Garrett Bucks on X: https://twitter.com/garrettbucks/
The Barnraisers Project: https://www.barnraisersproject.org/
The Right Kind of White: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Right-Kind-of-White/Garrett-Bucks/9781982197209
The White Pages: https://thewhitepages.substack.com/
Teach for America Milwaukee: https://www.teachforamerica.org/milwaukee/
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