Similarly to Yamada’s essay that challenged the tokenization that occurred in the feminist movement, Jo Carillo’s poem “And When You Leave Take Your Pictures With You” draws attention to the tokenization of women of color by white feminists who consider themselves radical. The speaker challenges “our white sisters radical friends” to think critically about the photos they own of women of color and how they convey false realities of minority communities. The speaker’s repetition of “you,” highlights that she is directing her criticism toward white women and challenging them to recognize the harm they are causing. The audience is meant to be uncomfortable by the speaker’s accusations and encouraged to confront how they participate in the silencing of women of color. By owning photos that contain seemingly positive content, white women are relieved of their guilt, and, consequently, they silence the realities of women of color. For instance, the speaker describes the following photo:
walking to the fields in hot sun
with straw hat on head if brown
bandana if black
in bright embroidered shirts
holding brown yellow black red children
reading books from literacy campaigns
smiling (lines 17-23).
The speaker calls attention to the racial stereotypes represented in the photographs: brown people wear straw hats and black people wear bandanas. This description portrays these racial groups as laborers, which invalidates women of color as activists who are capable of participating in movements. The people in this photo are also described to be “smiling,” which establishes an illusion that “our white sisters radical friends” want to have about their brown sisters. Additionally, this photo advertises literacy campaigns organized to teach less privileged groups how to read. Literacy campaigns, while valuable, are used here to call our attention to the charge that white women do this to feel good about themselves and these photos are the proof for their good deeds. This photo contains children of all racial backgrounds, and they are listed in a way that mimics a checklist. By having a child from each racial background, Carillo is recognizing the performance of an inclusive movement created by white women.
The speaker critiques displaying photos of smiling women of color on their way to work because according to her,
no one smiles
at the beginning of a day spent
digging for souvenir chunks of uranium
of cleaning up after
our white sisters
radical friends (lines 26-31).
In the second part of the poem, Carillo uses her own observations to combat the false representations of women of color in these photos. The stark reality is that “no one smiles” (line 26) because of the position they have been subjected to in society, even though the photos may display another story. Carillo acknowledges the hierarchy that exists within the feminist movement through her description that women of color spend their days “cleaning up after [their] white sisters radical friends” (lines 29-31). White women own photos containing women of color in an attempt to demonstrate solidarity; however, there are no photos that display these communities together. The fact that white women own these photos also draws attention to the power dynamics between white and minority communities. In an effort to include women of color in the movement through the use of these photos, white women are turning women of color back into servants. Women of color are returned to a position of servitude because they are forced to help relieve white women of their white guilt by being the participants of these good works. Carillo’s poem criticizes white feminists who claim solidarity with women of color, but, in reality, this solidarity does not translate into action. How can we build a successful movement, if women cannot even unite amongst themselves?
Sources:
Jo Carrillo. “And When You Leave, Take Your Pictures With You.” This Bridge Called My Back, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa, 4th ed., State U of New York P, 2015, pp. 60-61.