FCS 255 Brave and Bold

Microaggressions

•"the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults - whether intentional or unintentional- that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership." (Dr. Derald Wing Sue) •Unchecked, unconscious biases can lead to what are known as microaggressions. •It's easy to disassociate from polarizing incidents. While you may not participate in overt behavior, you may engage in harmful behavior without even realizing it.

Privilege

•"unearned advantages that those receive by identifying or being born into a specific group" (National Association of School Psychologists)

Summary of Step 1

•Be aware of how people may identify based on their personal and social identities. •Be open to understanding that you do not always know what others are experiencing. •Be aware of your own unconscious biases. •Recognize institutionalized oppression and its residual effects on today's society. •Cultural competency is a journey, not a destination.

Step 2: Be Considerate

•Consider all perspectives. View the situation from a different perspective. •Practice the art of viewing the situation from someone else's perspective •Seek out opportunities to learn and understand various identities and expressions so you can better connect with those around you.

2 strategies to increase cultural competence (Linda Tropp & Rachel Godsil):

•Contrast - think of instances to dismantle stereotypes Think of friends, fellow students, or someone famous counter to the stereotype •Trade places - imagine yourself in that person's place How would you feel if someone made assumptions about you based on ethnicity?

What could prevent or limit our ability to express understanding, concern, and empathy?

•Fear of being ridiculed •Fear of unintentionally offending others •Confusion between jokes and empathy •Shame and blame that may surface •Jumping to conclusions •Unconscious assumptions and judgments

Step 4: Talk about It

•Go beyond just appreciating diversity (the what) to being inclusive (the how). •All people need to feel valued, empowered, and they should feel they have the opportunity to express and share with others what makes them diverse.

Knowledge Check - stereotype vs prejudice

•Looking at apps for leadership roles - "this person shouldn't be in a leadership role because they are a member of the Jewish organization and our or is founded on Christian ideals." (prejudice) •"All blondes are not smart." (stereotype)

Summary of step 2

•Seek out opportunities to learn about others. •Understand, respect, and appreciate differences. •Recognize privilege and discrimination in its many forms.

Summary of step 4

*Continuously utilizing diversity, equity, and inclusion together will empower you to become more culturally competent *Exposure, interactions, contrasts, and trading places are all actions that you can take to fully embrace diversity and help you to personally move towards inclusion

T. Huson Jordan, Moving from Diversity to Inclusion

"Inclusion puts the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement, respect, and connection."

Practice being inclusive

*Make a daily commitment. *Examine what you think and why. *Pay attention to how you treat yourself and others. *Recognize what you do well. *Take notes on where you can improve. *Serve as an agent of change. *Consistent courage is necessary.

Steps to being inclusive:

1 - Invite someone to talk 2- Wait for acceptance 3- Create supportive space 4 - Talk openly 5 - Cultural growth and social healing

To move forward with Brave and Bold Dialogues

Important to: •set parameters, •manage expectations ahead of time, •examine your own behavior, •challenge yourself

Ally

One who acknowledges that LGBTQ+ people face discrimination, and uses their position as a heterosexual/cisgender person to counter discrimination against them.

Prejudice

an opinion, pre- judgment, or attitude about a group or its individual members; unchecked prejudice can lead to discrimination; complex psychological processes that begins with attachment to a close circle of acquaintances or an in-group like family; often aimed at out-groups

Stereotype

exaggerated belief, image, or distorted truth about individual or group; generalization that allows for little or no individual differences or social variation; can be positive or negative

Unconscious Bias

learned stereotypes that are automatic and unintentional, based on our experiences, often cannot control them Our perceptions of other groups is rooted in the rules and regulations of our society. Restrictions have historically marginalized certain groups, preventing them from participating equally in society.

Diversity

• revolves around understanding, respecting, and appreciating differences and identities and expressions. Deeper than acknowledging and tolerating. Understanding and appreciating differences is key to fostering a mutual respect for others and utilizing that respect to work together

Examples of microaggressions from Dr. Wing Sue's research:

•Woman clutches purse when black man passes implying that all black men are criminals. •Woman in hospital with a stethoscope must be a nurse implying women are less capable than men. •Using the word 'gay' to describe a movie that you don't like implyint that being gay is bad. •Microaggressions "have a powerful impact upon the psychological well-being of marginalized groups and affect their standard of living by creating inequities." (Dr. Derald Wing Sue)

Conflict avoidance

•most people don't like conflict; natural in our society to be polite and politically correct because of a fear of offending those different from us

Strategies for becoming culturally competent (Tropp & Godsil)

1 - Exposure •Find counter-stereotypical examples: attend an event sponsored by cultural group, read a book, watch a movie/documentary •Research shows "measurably less implicit bias" with this type of exposure 2 - Interactions •Seek positive interactions through classes, clubs, organizations; engage for common goal; interactions may become friendships; growth requires discomfort and sometimes awkwardness

Place the steps in order for opening a Brave & Bold Dialogue:

1- Invite someone to talk 2- Wait for acceptance 3- Create supportive space 4 - Talk openly 5 - Cultural growth and social healing

Step 1: Be Aware

Be aware of who you are, how others might identify, and the situation. 2 ways to think of identity: Personal Identity - sense of self •What words describe me •Unique characteristics •Beliefs •How do others describe me and do you agree with it Social identity - set of characteristics by which the society that we live in recognizes us

Step 3: Express Understanding

Express understanding, concern, and empathy while being open, honest, and aware. When you don't quite understand another's perspective, begin a dialogue. Let them know that: •you may never fully understand but you want to learn •you're genuinely interested in what it's like for them •you have empathy if they struggle Create a supportive space by being honest, open, aware, and willing to learn.

Review Steps

•Step 1 - Be Aware Be aware of who you are, how others might identify, and the situation. •Step 2 - Be Considerate Consider all perspectives. View the situation from a different perspective. •Step 3 - Express understanding Express understanding, concern, and empathy while being open, honest, and aware. •Step 4 - Talk about it Ask for permission to talk. Create a supportive space to talk openly to continue cultural growth and social healing.

Modern Diversity

•Thinking about diversity as a melting pot where we are all one is outdated. It is better to think of it as a salad where everyone contributes different components that add their own flavor.

a culturally competent person for step 2 knows that:

•Understanding other people is a skill. •People have different identities. •What a person can or cannot control (can control political affiliation, but not age, race, where you are born).

A culturally-competent individual for step 3:

•Understands how others identify •Has a sense of good and bad associations of that identity •Governs their actions responsibly

feelings toward sexual orientation

•When you disagree with someone's sexual orientation, you imply that they are making an incorrect choice to be who they are. •Even if you're uncomfortable with someone's sexual orientation, your personal and private feelings should not impact how you conduct business.

Think about microaggressions in context of your school:

•Who influences rules & regulations? •How might they be different if impacts on all groups were considered? •Serve as an agent of change! •Advocate for rules and regulations that are equitable! •Own your behavior and assess how you interact with others! •Think before you speak! Unconscious bias is scientifically proven to exist in everyone.

Equity

•fair, not equal; acknowledgement that marginalized people have not always been given the same resources and treatment; recognizing that some of us have been given a head start and providing resources so that others may catch up. •Part of being culturally competent is acknowledging that equitable, not equal, treatment helps ensure that all students have access to the same opportunities.

Color Blindness

•person is supposed to see you for who you are and not be influenced by the color of your skin. Concept is problematic because it denies some of the core identifying expressions discussed earlier. •Racial categorization and processing are among the quickest and most automatic cognitive processing responses made by individuals (as concluded by psychologists). •People who claim they are color blind is making a choice to Ignore reality and negate someone's cultural identity.

Discrimination

•prejudicial behavior toward a person or group of people that is codified into laws, codes, policy, or procedures that restrict, limit or prevent that group from having equal access

Examples of moving forwards with Brave and Bold Dialogues

•turn the unexpected into the expected •* Fight, Flight, or Freeze when confronted with conflict or hostility - condition yourself to turn this around by expecting the unexpected •Visualize situations before they happen - change the stories you may tell yourself about who people are or how they act, consciously open yourself to different possibilities •Have the courage to examine your own behavior. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. •**It matters how you consistently act towards and think about others.