Know History, Know Self: Art Therapists' Responsibility to Dismantle White Supremacy

In this article, we call on white art therapists to assume responsibility for dismantling white supremacy in the field of art therapy, in personal as well as political-structural arenas. We respond to calls from scholars and writers of color for white people to assume increased responsibility for dismantling white supremacy in white communities and serve as mentors for one another in overcoming toxic whiteness and white fragility. The article defines white supremacy, describes ways in which it manifests in the contemporary field of art therapy, and offers firsthand insight into ways that white art therapists can work to dismantle toxic whiteness in themselves and in art therapy's organizational and political structures.