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Putting Racism Aside
Presenters: Macheo Payne & Shawn Ginwright
Lincoln Child Center
2010
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Being color blind means not seeing one’s own race-based privilege.
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Pulling the ‘Color Blind’ CardUsing ‘reverse racism’ or the ‘race card’ as a power move to keep race off the table.
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Perception Gap
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Fundamental Attribution Error and why Nobody is ever RacistGeneralizing to explain the behavior of others, not taking into account situational factors.
The term ‘Racist’ is categorical. People are not labeled a little bit racist, they are completely racist from breakfast until dinner or not racist at all, ever.
This is problematic because it doesn’t allow for nuanced reflections on our biases; where they come from and what the implications are.
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Mircoagressions
‘Racism papercuts’
Microinsults- - Assumption of ignorance. Condescension.
Assumptions that go wrong. You’re so articulate. You are not like other other Black people.
Microinvalidation- - Dismissal of information, story, or report. Class
division. That’s not what they meant.
Criminality/assumption of criminal status-
- Are you staying out of trouble? Where are you supposed to be? Mayor Brown: If you get stopped, here’s my card.
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Whiteness as PropertyHow the currency and orientation of whiteness positions racism as Black peoples’ problem.
Legitimacy of whiteness The mainstream perspective. The opinion of someone white carries more weight and is generally seen as nonbiased or the most objective perspective.
Rights of whiteness Protecting the rights and safety of white middle class are primary priority and the rights and safety of poor people and people of color are always secondary.
The centrality of whiteness and all other matters as peripheral. The perspectives of the white middle class are of central importance and primary influence, dominating public discourse and opinion.
What kind of Non-Racist Are You?Perpetrators- Offended by most discussions of inequity, especially race.
Denier- Uncomfortable seeing racism as an issue.
Collaborator- Passive observers of racism. Know it exists and know it’s wrong but won’t do much.
Resistor- Critically challenges most forms of oppression.
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What Kind of Non-Racist Are You?
Perpetrators-
They believe that white supremacy ended with slavery and that racism ended with the civil rights movement. They blame the poor for being poor, the failing student for failing, and believe that equal opportunity is available for all. They want people to ‘get over it’. Make claims of reverse racism. They resent institutional efforts to balance the inequity (affirmative action, AAMAO, etc.). They may say ‘I don’t have a problem with minorities but…’
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What Kind of Non-Racist Are You?
Denier-
They use ‘qualifiers’ touting individual achievement of ppl of color as proof there is not a systemic problem. They also find individuals of color denying there is a systemic problem and blaming ppl of color for trying to address the problem. They don’t want to recognize that institutional racism exists even in the face of abundant evidence. Feel compelled to say ‘I am not a racist’ or ‘my _______ is black’, or ‘I like black people’.
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What Kind of Non-Racist Are You? Collaborator-
They know there is a systemic problem related to race and privilege but are unwilling to see or give up their own privilege. They take a passive role and are afraid to call it out or do something. They are waiting for the right time. They accept alternative excuses for the impact of racism.
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What kind of Non-Racist Are You? Resistor- You put race and bias on the table consistently and towards the goal of dismantling it not just to name it. You take personal responsibility for your role in it. You act out of responsibility not guilt or entitlement. You consider the impact of race on a regular basis.
As a critical resistor, you put all forms of oppression on the table. You also seek to be aware of your privilege and not wait for the marginalized population to educate and inform you of the problem.
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Becoming a Resistor1. Examine the evidence (data +
experience)
2. Take responsibility and be committed
3. Connect the dots (all issues related)
4. Focus on institution first, adults second, student last (oxygen mask)
5. Influence ‘collaborators’ to become ‘resistors’
6. Suspend judgement and hold the space for the ‘perpetrators’ and ‘deniers’
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The Last Thing to Go…1. Tim Wise talks about his mother who fought racism her
entire life and would “slap the white off of (Tim)” if he ever said the “N” word.
2. After suffering from Alzheimer’s, she lost her mind, health, family, and memories but her whiteness remained, and so that word was one of the last words she uttered toward her Black women nurses...
3. When you can’t remember how to feed yourself, drink water or wipe yourself but you remember what to call a Black person…
4. It says nothing about her but more about her culture, the place she was raised, this world and this society.
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UJlNRODZHA
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“Dar He”
-Mose Wright 1955 Sumner, Mississippi
Emmitt Till Trial
Resources: Anti RacistsTim Wise, Reading List
http://www.timwise.org/reading-list/
Youtube: The Pathology of White Privilege
Peggy McIntosh, Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack
http://www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf
Youtube: Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible
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Resources: Race & Education
Gloria Ladson-Billings, Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Racism Without Racists
Lisa Delpit, Other Peoples’ Children
Sekani Moyenda & Ann Berlak, Taking It Personally
Scholars: Ginwright, Noguera, Akom, Duncan-Andrade
http://gse.berkeley.edu/faculty/ZLeonardo/ColorofSupremacy.pdf
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FramingThe African American Male Achievement Office should not be seen as a response to Black boys continuing to fail academically and go to juvenile hall as an alarming rate.
Rather it is a response to the continuing effects of institutional racism and bias against Black boys.
This frames what the response looks like and what you address.
Address the institution first. District/County/Agency Priorities, which dictate Policy, then becomes operationalized through a Plan.
Successful efforts do not start with the child or their family as the source of the problem.
We start with the institution that has the most power and leverage and make the change there first. Then work your way down to the ground.
NASW, Institutional Racism and the Social Work Profession p.10 http://www.naswdc.org/diversity/InstitutionalRacism.pdf
Two other issues must be confronted as a precondition to releasing the energy required to successfully challenge institutional racism. One is white privilege and the second is internalized racism. White privilege is the collection of benefits based on belonging to a group perceived to be white, when the same or similar benefits are denied to members of other groups. It is the benefit of access to resources and social rewards and the power to shape the norms and values of society that white people receive, unconsciously or consciously, by virtue of their skin color (Kivel, 2002; McIntosh,1988; Potapchuk et al.,2005;) In contrast, internalized racism is the development of ideas, beliefs, actions, and behaviors that support or collude with racism against oneself. It is the support of the supremacy and dominance of the dominant group through participation in the set of
attitudes, behaviors, social structures, and ideologies that undergirds the dominating group’s power and privilege and limits the oppressed group’s own advantages (Potapchuk et al, 2005; Tatum, 1997).The challenge for white social workers and social
workers of color is to confront these inhibiting forces to the work required to successfully confront institutional racism. Individuals are called upon to acknowledge that by the accident of history, they are in positions that give them advantages over others. And then, they are being asked to advocate for changes that may disadvantage themselves or their family members. Others are called upon to dare to recognize their own potential power, mourn the loss of what might have been, and marshal their energies to seek correction in society’s processes. Even those within the social work profession can be paralyzed against change because of benefits of white privilege or the blindness of internalized racism.
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The White Supremacy
Family Tree
Colorblindism, multiculturalism,
Liberalism- The smokescreen & cover for White Supremacy simply because Liberalism seeks to support, sustain and maintain the current system of oppression with minor adjustments and token change.
Like a virus, Racism became immune to overt legal and social challenges and actually became stronger
Civil Rights (white supremacy went underground)
Economic, political, social disenfranchizement
Racism & Racial Prejudice
White Supremacy (Whites superior, Blacks & other inferior & subhuman by legal, and moral standards)
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White Privilege and the Organization of StructuresWithout critical examination, the system can appear to be just and fair, perhaps even neutral towards race.
Often unbeknownst to them, whites inherit and possess many benefits that are often unacknowledged and/or taken for granted.
Interestingly, the norm of whiteness is strong enough that the privilege of whiteness may not even be perceived by people of color.
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Recognizing White Privilege
“In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual
acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group
from birth.”
~Peggy McIntosh – “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
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Defining White Privilege
White privilege refers to special advantages, rights, or unearned benefits that whites enjoy simply due to the color of their skin that other groups do not receive
A white person does not need to be a racist to benefit from white privilege
The recipient of white privilege may not even be aware that s/he received it
These privileges are passively acquired
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A Few Manifestations of White Privilege
Spatial and residential segregation
The appearance, demeanor, and choices of a non-white being considered “representative of his/her race”
Minority students are less likely to be placed in advanced or accelerated classes
“Flesh color” Band-Aids are typically light beige in color, thus reflecting a norm of white skin tones
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
"The reality is [in] every aspect of life -- economic, social, political -- white people
benefit from the way the system is organized and black people experience deficiency.”
~ Paula Rothenberg, author of White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism
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Structural RacializationInstitutional racism shifts our focus from the motives of individual people to practices and procedures within an institution.
Structural racialization shifts attention from the single, intra-institutional setting to inter-institutional arrangements and interactions.
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The Importance of Institutional Arrangements
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Attribution of DisparitiesDominant public paradigms explaining disparities: “bad apples”
Defective cultureIndividual faultsPersonal racism
Overlooks policies and arrangements:“diseased tree”
Structures InstitutionsCumulative causation
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Structural RacializationIt is often the interaction of institutions that generates racialized outcomes
Racialized structures are likely to disserve all in a democracy
Structural racialization analysis allows for a view of the cumulative effects of institutional arrangements
A systems approach
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Cycle of Segregation
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Lower Educational Outcomes for Urban
School Districts
Increased Flight of Affluent
Families from Urban Areas
Neighborhood (Housing)
Segregation
SchoolSegregation
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Challenges for Public Education• Economic segregation
• Achievement gap
• Discipline rates
• Funding disparities
• Graduation rates
• Racial segregation
White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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White Privilege and the Organization of Structures
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