Part 2 of Whiteness is Shape-Shifting, The Safehouse of Neutrality: How Institutions Protect White Supremacy

Mini-series Part 2: The Safehouse of Neutrality

In this episode, Maureen continues the deep dive into how whiteness shape-shifts...this time through the soft power of institutional neutrality.

From school boards banning books to nonprofits redirecting equity funds, neutrality is used as a strategy, not a stance. With help from Audre Lorde and Ta-Nehisi Coates, Maureen explores how whiteness hides inside “objectivity,” “professionalism,” and “donor comfort” shielding itself from critique while punishing disruption.

We also return to the film Sinners, where vampires can’t feed unless invited in...a sharp metaphor for how institutions drain labor and integrity under the guise of collaboration and care.

This episode is an invitation to notice how neutrality shows up in your body, your choices, and your leadership and to replace silence with principled transparency.

In this episode we explore:

• The DEI pullback across schools, nonprofits, and philanthropy
• How neutrality protects whiteness by disguising harm as harmony
• Audre Lorde’s warning about the master’s tools and institutional complicity
• Ta-Nehisi Coates on policy, legality, and the false myth of apolitical violence
• Why discernment and transparency are tools of liberatory practice

This week’s reflection:

• Where do I use the language of “neutrality,” “professionalism,” or “objectivity” to avoid discomfort?
• What’s the cost of that avoidance—and who pays it?
• Where have I been complicit in protecting the institution rather than disrupting the harm?
• When have I confused conflict avoidance with actual care?