Imperialism through Virtuous Helping: Baldwin’s Innocence and Implications for Clinical Social Work Practice

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ABSTRACT Following a scholarly thread in political theory that looks to American literature to deepen understanding of social problems and potential solutions, this paper explores James Baldwin’s conceptualization of racial innocence and the manifestation of the “culture of Whiteness” in social work practice. The paper begins by introducing the complicated history of the social work profession and its, perhaps inadvertent, collusion with structural racism via the promotion of imperialism. Next, is a discussion of contemporary social workers’ potential socialization into the culture of Whiteness, an expression of White supremacy. Third, Baldwin’s conceptualization of innocence is introduced, followed by deliberation of how this conceptualization bolsters an understanding of harmful helping. With this deepened understanding, the paper ends by considering steps towards disruption and interruption of damaging clinical patterns. Implications for social work practice, clinical supervision, and future research are introduced.