No White Saviors Explained

No White Saviors is an anti-white saviorism social media campaign, predominately present on Instagram. It was launched by two social workers in 2018.

History

The No White Saviors social media campaign was launched in 2018 by social workers, Olivia Alaso and Kelsey Nielsen.[1] [2] Alaso is a Black Ugandan and Nielsen is a white American.[3]

The campaign advocated against the use of images of Black children on social media, with notable critiques of the online activities of British television presenter Stacey Dooley (in 2019),[4] American missionary Renée Bach, and German Bernhard ‘Bery’ Glaser.[5] The organisation held its first conference in 2019, in Kampala.[6]

By 2021, No White Saviors Instagram accounts had attracted 930,000 followers and the team had launched a podcast.[7]

In 2022, Nielsen faced accusations of white saviorism and abuse of power, leading to her resigning from the organisation. In August 2022, the organisation was restructuring with an all-Black leadership team.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 16 March 2019 . Meet the women behind #nowhitesaviors . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-01-30.
  2. [Ariel Levy (writer)|Ariel Levy]
  3. Web site: 2022-08-01 . No White Saviors: how a campaign against stereotype of helpless Africa rose – and fell . 2023-01-30 . the Guardian . en.
  4. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/05/22/725782062/red-nose-day-2019-how-does-it-work-why-is-it-being-criticized Red Nose Day 2019: How Does It Work, And Why Is It Being Criticized?
  5. Levy . Ariel . 2020-04-03 . A Missionary on Trial . 2023-01-30 . The New Yorker . en-US.
  6. News: Hayden . Sally . 22 Aug 2019 . Bono gets a nod as 'white saviours' called out in Uganda . 2023-01-30 . The Irish Times . en.
  7. Web site: Neela-Stock . Siobhan . 2021-12-17 . How to avoid becoming a white savior . 2023-01-30 . Mashable SEA . en-sg.