What it meant to be a white person in the liberation struggle

What did it mean to be a white person in a struggle that was widely perceived to be for the liberation of black people and almost entirely involving black people as cadres and combatants? 

The involvement of white people entailed something more than joining and being “welcomed” in the organisation(s), if that were possible when operating underground.

It necessitated self-awareness on the part of white people as members or leaders in their relationships with black people. Sensitivity was necessary in interactions to recognise — especially in situations of open legal struggles — that most white people entered with advantages in terms of their opportunities to acquire formal education and skills. 

These were needed in the struggle but they also opened possibilities for stress, where those with the skills consciously or unconsciously made many of their black comrades feel inadequate through the wielding of this knowledge.

Knowledge is power and one had to be conscious of the need to use that knowledge to empower rather than subdue others without that level of formal training. 

It was also necessary to recognise that the liberation struggle was itself a place for all to learn.