Let’s talk about racism and development.
Dr Robtel Neajai Pailey is a Liberian academic, activist and author.In this conversation, Maria and Robtel talk about development as a racist construct. They discuss the 'decolonial turn', systems of power and decision-making that uphold racism, and Robtel asks us: how complicit are we all in upholding the notion that whiteness (often geographically equalled to 'northerness') is our only reference of progress?
Recorded last year at the Development Studies Association Conference, where Robtel gave her keynote Speech on Decentering the 'White Gaze' of Development. This discussion is as relevant as ever in the current climate of Black Lives Matter and the anti-racism protests seen all over the world. However, racism in development is not a new issue, so why has it been overlooked?
In this blog you can read some key take-aways from the episode: Does development have a problem with racism?
Other links:
Robtel's website
Robtel's article: Decentering the 'White Gaze' of Development
Keynote speech from the Development Studies Association Annual Conference 2019