ANTONIO MORALES, LCSW | FOUNDER

After almost 20 years of being in and out of social services, providing services in various capacities, I started realizing that some of the organizations I passed through were low key exploitative towards Black and Brown communities; all while pretending they were committed to empowering us, as we were simultaneously being commodified.

 

That seemed especially true for organizations that were led by White folk, who do not come from Black and Brown communities nor have any real connection to Black and Brown folk. I’m always weary of those types of organizations because I know white savior vibes are foundational to those spaces — which really aims to center “whiteness” — and is often driven by an investment in themselves and not a commitment to Black and Brown folk.

 

Additionally, I’ve witnessed a lot of problematic practices, rooted in white supremacy, that were oppressive, particularly towards Black and Brown folk — and that would make me feel uneasy, in ways I could not always articulate. And because I was associated with these organizations, I felt complicit with those practices, which caused me to question my own intentions; and this ultimately stirred up an ethical dilemma in myself I wasn’t fully aware of.  

 

As a result of that (and so much more), I felt compelled to start up The Liberated Self Therapeutic Services, LLC because I wanted to give myself a real opportunity to become part of the solution, without having to feel stuck in organizations that were not fully in alignment with my commitment to serving the unique mental health needs of Black and Brown folk.

 

Interestingly enough, I named my private practice, after a three-day intensive seminar I designed, called The Liberated Self Seminar™, which is specifically intended for Black and Brown folk to be able to distinguish, in real time, “the double consciousness” that W. E. B. Du Bois coined.

 

Because “the double consciousness” forces us into a street fight between two versions of ourselves — which I’ve dubbed The Oppressed Self versus The Liberated Self.  And The Oppressed Self is a direct manifestation of internalized oppression, which is always prompted by existing in a white supremacist context. Hence, we end up developing this doppelganger version of ourselves that reflect the most dehumanized parts of who we are.

 

This is very specific to how Black and Brown folk are socially conditioned, throughout the Western Hemisphere, as the main intention of white supremacy is to destroy us at our core — leaving us to look into thwarted mirrors, unable to recognize ourselves — which disempowers us on levels most of us cannot understand.

 

This type of psychological warfare then becomes the chaos and confusion of white supremacy, which becomes hardwired into the most subconscious parts of our minds, causing us ongoing emotional pain and suffering and ultimately prevents us from become self-actualized human beings.