In a case of practising what you preach, a popular social justice organisation aiming to expose 'white saviours' is under fire over accusations of racism and 'fishy' finances.
The organisation No White Saviors (NWS) which started as a social media campaign on Instagram, was set up by Black Ugandan co-founder Olivia Alaso and white co-founder Kelsey Nielsen. It had an audience of over 900,000 people and profile pieces on media outlets such as the BBC.
The organisation uncovered high-profile stories about missionaries and aid workers' alleged misdeeds, exposing them as ‘white saviours’ - a term used to describe white people who consider themselves to be helping non-white people but often engage in problematic behaviour in doing so.
But the group has publicly imploded following accusations that Nielsen was abusing her privilege and Black staff.
Nielsen's role was to support the organisation by infiltrating white spaces and gaining better reception from white audiences for their work.
The group started at humble beginnings, posting memes, infographics and guest posts from activists about cultural appropriation and white saviourism, but it wasn't until 2019 when the group blew up.
The NWS launched a campaign against US missionary Renée Bach, alleging she was responsible for the death of over 100 children while running an unlicensed not-for-profit medical facility in Uganda.
The case eventually reached the press and saw the team's post heavily quoted in the media's reportage of the case. It was later reported by the New Yorker that it may have been fabricated or misrepresented by NWS.
The case started a string of public cancellations of mainly female 'white saviours', some of which deny the claims.
"In some way, the NWS approach was to separate the good whites from the bad whites, so it still centred on whiteness," Ugandan activist and African studies researcher at Cornell University Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire told The Guardian.
Under the posts, NWS would link their PayPal, GoFundMe, Patreon and Venmo accounts and encourage followers to donate to thank them for the education they provide.
However, an investigation by Input Magazine uncovered "fishy" dealings in its money trail.
The magazine found Nielsen had facilitated its registration as a non-profit in the US to make it eligible for tax exemptions.
In April, Alaso released a statement on Instagram claiming that Nielsen had been sending money into an unknown account in the US without approval from her team.
She also claims that when she confronted Nielsen she started harassing her, screaming at her and threatening to remove her from her position in the organisation.
Nielsen has denied the claims.
As the financial scandal surfaced, other allegations against Nielsen were uncovered.
The Guardian reported that some employees have claimed Nielsen subjected them to verbal abuse and threatened to fire them.
They also claim she was violent towards an employee at a Kampala bar.
In a statement to The Guardian, Nielsen said she was regretful over the bar assault and that she acted out of white privilege during her time at the organisation.
"It's easy to talk about the harm whiteness causes when it's naming it in others," she told the outlet. "We become a lot more resistant and unwilling when it is recognising it in ourselves."
"I have been resistant to see this and that’s extremely hypocritical of me, especially considering the work I committed myself to."
Nielsen resigned in April, however, Alaso said on Instagram that Neilsen was refusing to hand over the NWS bank accounts.
The NWS organisation is now restructuring into a fully Black African-led NGO to continue to serve its purpose of calling out white saviourism.
Despite the changes, Ugandan activist Mwesigire is still sceptical of its work.
"On a day-to-day basis, ordinary [Ugandans] are saving themselves. The reason they are not supported is because they are not seen as stakeholders," Mwesigire told The Guardian.
"The only way to end white saviourism is to stop centring whiteness."
