Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Reflections on Encounters with Whiteness in an Academic Institution

Authors

  • Victor Chikadzi University of Namibia

Keywords:

race, racism, South Africa, academia, university

Abstract

Using selected personal experiences, this article reflects on my lived experiences of being a young black academic at an institution that is considered “white” in character and composition. From selected encounters with colleagues and students, I reflect on how blackness tacitly exposes black people to presumed incompetence and criminal culpability within the zone of whiteness and white privilege. Through these selected incidences, I also show how being white insulates white people from systemic and systematic injustices.

Author Biography

Victor Chikadzi, University of Namibia

Victor Chikadzi, PhD is Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Khomas, Namibia (victorchic@gmail.com).

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Published

2024-02-28

How to Cite

Chikadzi, V. (2024). Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Reflections on Encounters with Whiteness in an Academic Institution. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 30(1), 49–58. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1903