Pedagogy of the Oppressed — Reflection and Response

Reading Chapter 1 of Pedagogy of the Oppressed was simultaneously eye opening and reassuring. It was able to put into words concepts I had been trying to explain to family members, peers, and friends for months very clearly and concisely. The concept of true generosity versus false charity was one I had been trying to show to my family and friends for a long time, especially with every company releasing diversity, equity, and inclusion statements this previous summer. Yes, this is an appropriate gesture and necessary for our society, but to what extent was it performative by these multimillion dollar companies who proceeded to not change any policies or rules in the workplace? Hearing this explained succinctly in an educated manner was satisfying, and justified everything I had been arguing for in past months.

But at the same time, Pedagogy of the Oppressed introduced me to new ways of thinking and ideologies. One that particularly stuck out to me was the notion that it is the job of the oppressed to not only free themselves, but free their oppressors. I had known before that freedom is not just handed to the oppressed and that it must be fought for, but I had never thought about oppressors being freed. While reflecting on this idea and reading further, it began to make sense when the concept of dehumanization was brought up. Oppressors tend to only see themselves as human beings, in order to make it easier to dehumanize the people below them. This mindset is dangerous and toxic, especially if you are unaware of it. Even though the oppressors are not struggling as much as the oppressed, they still are trapped in their hierarchical mindset, from which they must be freed.

Following this logic, it makes sense then that the oppressed must free themselves and their oppressors from this mindset in order to actually obtain liberation. Freire says on page 44, “Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both.” The juxtaposition in this quote interested me and made me think about the power the oppressed has. Was it the power of numbers and unity? Was it the power of emotions like rage towards the oppressors? Was it the intense passion for freedom?

I think all of these factors come together to generate a force strong enough to overpower oppressors. Only the oppressed are strong enough to complete this because only they know what is needed to not be oppressed. If the oppressors were to free the oppressed, it would not completely fulfill the needs of the formerly-oppressed to be considered free. In May and June of 2020, we saw that in America the responsibility to be freed was taken by BIPOC to free themselves against the systems of oppression and people who actively oppressed them. It shows that Freire’s claim that the oppressed must take charge of their own freedom because only they are strong enough to do so rings very true. It also shows that they must free the oppressor, because throughout this movement everyone who was not being actively oppressed became aware of their actions and toxic mindsets. The oppressors were forced to reflect on their actions, and were actively pushed to change and grow due to the uprisings of the oppressed. This movement made waves all throughout the country, which can be seen today even at USC with more policies and programs than ever to address racism, inclusion, privilege, and personal biases. Although these ideas might seem confusing to read and understand, it is so important to do so because the effects of Freire’s statements and their validity are vital to our understanding of society.