Reinforcing White Supremacy Critical Thinking Examples

The Disney movie, Pocahontas might be a fiction version of the real Princess Matoika, but it is still a distortion of history. Moreover, displaying an erroneous relic of history in a prestigious dome of the country is a disgrace for the brave Native Americans, who courageously defended their territories against the English colonizers. Pewewardy in his article, “The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators” stressed that the character of Pocahontas in the movie was a sellout among the Native Americans. She was unjustly represented as a supporter of the race who was invading their tribal territory. The movie erased the issue of historical injustice committed by the Whites against the Native Americans. It served as a tool to reinforce the supremacy of the white people.
Sellout is an act to compromise the integrity, a cause or principle in exchange of personal gain. It is also an act of betrayal to an organization or to a legitimate fight.
Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela became very famous worldwide for his anti Apartheid crusade. He was not only considered a hero among the Black South Africans, but also among the white people. He was dubbed as the ‘liberator of the 20th century’. He was the first Black president who envisioned of creating a rainbow nation with spaces for all colors. However, he is considered a sellout among many South African activists. They argue that it seemed that Mandela forgot about the plunder of South African resources during the Apartheid regimes. The blacks in South Africa they said were denied of their basic rights and suffered a history of racial discrimination. They were forced to leave their lands and live in the shanties in the slum areas. Some writers even said that it could have been better if Mandela continued his fight for justice for the Black South Africans instead of reconciliation. The reconciliation did not serve for the interest of the poor South Africans. It just reinforced the White supremacy in the said nation. His sellout image among the Blacks in South Africa was reinforced when he started to reconcile and strengthen ties with the Western countries that listed him among the terrorist personalities.