2021 Equity Challenge

10-Week Equity Challenge (Spring 2021)

• Introduction: 10-Week Equity Challenge (Spring 2021)

  Temple Beth’s Or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce and the Social Action Committee will be offering a 10-week equity challenge.

  You will be provided with a selection of content material each Monday beginning March 29th. There will be articles to read, TED Talks to listen to, assessments to take, charts to review… You select which content you wish to interact with. The intent is to keep learning to 15-30 minutes per week. Of course, you are more than welcome to spend more time on the content.

  We want to encourage everyone participating in the Challenge to gather each Sunday at 4 PM for a one-hour conversation to talk about the challenge of the week. The first zoom meeting will be on April 4th. We know that by participating in these conversations you will have a richer experience. There will be small group and large group conversations. There will be different facilitators throughout the challenge.

  It is our goal to share with you resources that help you:

  • acquire a greater cultural literacy while increasing your compassion,
  • have a deeper understanding of the historical context of current events, and
  • be inspired to become engaged in the fight against cultural inequality.

  Our end goal is to educate the Temple Beth or Community so that we can understand our own biases and the ways we benefit from privilege.

  We will provide weekly prompts that will, hopefully, raise your awareness, change your understanding, and shift the way you think and behave. As individuals and as a group we will take a closer look at the inequities that are deeply rooted in our systems and institutions.

  There will also be suggestions for children’s books on many of the above topics.

  We would love for you to join us for the whole 10 weeks and understand if you need to float in and out of the challenge.

  The TBO 10-week challenge is based on the work of Eddie Moore, Jr., a diversity expert, who developed the 21-Day Challenge to advance deeper understandings of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy and oppression.

  If you have questions, contact Sonia Siegel Vexler.

• Pre-survey

  Pre-Survey (for your own self-reflection.  Save responses to review at the end of the challenge.)

  • How would you rate your knowledge of equity issues? Think about a scale from not at all knowledgeable to extremely knowledgeable.  Or think about a scale from 1-11.
  • What is your primary goal for taking this Challenge?
    • Personal growth and/or shift my way of thinking
    • Expand my knowledge on topics
    • Engage with people in my community
    • Learn how to advocate and/or take actions to address issues of equity
    • Other ____________
  • What is your TOP strategy to ensure that you stay committed for the full 10-weeks?
    • I will prioritize this work and make time for it each week
    • I am doing this challenge with a friend/family member who will support me in staying engaged.
    • Not sure
    • Other _____
  • What is your goal for the 10-Week Challenge? On the last day of the Challenge, how will you know that you were successful in achieving your goal?
• Week 1: Understanding Systemic Racism

  Please begin with the pre-survey, for your own reflection.

  INTRODUCTION:  This week we will define race as a concept. Please utilize the resources below to learn more about racial equity and the role that it can play in the lives of not only yourself, but your peers, family and neighbors as well.

  Remember, we have a surplus of content to provide multiple perspectives. Each week’s content is designed to take 15-30 minutes. Feel free to spend more or less time depending on your interest.

  Race: A socially constructed way of grouping people based on skin color and other apparent physical differences, which has no genetic or scientific basis. The ideology of race has become embedded in our identifies, institutions, and culture and is used as a basis for discrimination and domination.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • What does race mean to you?
  • Does race impact you on a day-to-day basis?  If so, how?
  • Are there any unique events that have occurred exclusively because of your race?
  • What are the root causes of racism?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  READ: The article Race and Racial Identity Are Social Constructs by Angela Onwuachi-Willig on how race is not a proven concept, but instead is a social construct. (1 page)

  WATCH: The TEDx Talk Unpacking My Baggage: Re-framing Racial Identity by Abbi Van Hook to see an alternative way of looking at racial identity based on varying cultures. (2:47 minutes)

  WATCH: Systemic Racism Explained, an animated short that illustrates how systemic racism affects every area of the U.S. from incarceration to predatory lending and how we can solve it. (4 minutes)

  WATCH: The American Lows, Excerpt, wherein Jacqueline Battalora talks about how white supremacy permeates all aspects of American society. (4 minutes)

  WATCH: the video Systemic Racism Explained by act.tv. Systemic racism is evident in every area of life in the U.S., with disparities in family wealth, incarceration rates, political representation, education, and other areas. Trying to solve these problems requires changes in major parts of our system. Here’s a closer look at what systemic racism is, and how we can solve it. (4:23 minutes)

  Journaling: Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s also a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Save your weekly journaling on the computer or in a notebook so you can reflect back and see your growth. You do not need to journal about all the below prompts. Pick whatever speaks to you.

  • What is your first memory of racism?
  • How does your race impact you on a day-to-day basis?
  • Are there any unique events that have occurred exclusively because of your race?
  • What were your successes in engaging in the week’s challenge?
  • Where did you encounter internal or external difficulties?
  • What’s one insight from your experience that you might use to inform/develop your ongoing anti-racist practice?
  • How do you hope to challenge yourself over the next 10 weeks?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory. Yes, this really is a kids’ book about racism. Inside, you’ll find a clear description of what racism is, how it makes people feel when they experience it, and how to spot it when it happens. Intended audience – Ages 5+

  Read aloud by the author: https://www.youtube.com/embed/LnaltG5N8nE

  A Kids Book About Systemic Racism by Jordan Thierry. Systemic racism is incredibly difficult to understand – even for grownups! This book was made to help kids understand what systemic racism is and how it’s built into laws, schools, stories, and other institutions in a way that collectively makes life much harder for people of color.  Intended audience – Ages 6+

  Tell Me Who You Are by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi.  The authors recount their experiences talking to people from all walks of life about race and identity on a cross-country tour of America. Spurred by the realization that they had nearly completed high school without hearing any substantive discussion about racism in school, the two young women deferred college admission for a year to collect first-person accounts of how racism plays out in this country every day–and often in unexpected ways.  Intended audience – Ages 12+  A 3-min interview with the authors – https://www.youtube.com/embed/69GVhNiCkWc

  Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi. This is a more approachable version of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning. It covers the history of racist ideas in America, with a good dose of humor, in such a way that’s much more accessible than Stamped from the Beginning and never feels dry or boring. Intended audience – Ages 12+

• Week 1: Book Recommendations
  • Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
  • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
  • So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
  • Our Time Is Now by Stacey Abrams
  • White Rage by Carol Anderson
  • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
  • Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Week 2: The Effects of Racism

  INTRODUCTION:  In order to address racism effectively, we need to understand that racism operates on multiple levels.  Often what people think of first and foremost is interpersonal racism.  Only seeing this level means that we fail to see the full picture that keeps the system of racism in place.  The graph below illustrates all the domains in which racism operates.

  

  SOURCE: Emmanuel Gospel Center – 5 Mind-blowing Realities about Race (That White People may not Know)

  Internalized Racism:  Race-based beliefs and feelings within individuals.  This is the learned form of prejudice we have towards people of different races or ethnicities. It is present in our thinking process and actions.  E.g., Consistently believing that your way of doing things is better than that of your colleagues of color.

  Interpersonal Racism:  Bigotry and biases shown between individuals through word and action.  Microaggressions are forms of Interpersonal Racism. These harmful acts are learned and inherited from the biases in our society and our upbringing.  E.g., There is visible evidence of this in the time of COVID-19, with the escalating attacks on Asian and Asian-American communities.  

  Institutional Racism:  Discriminatory policies and practices within organizations and institutions.  E.g., Resumes that have Black-sounding names are 50% less likely to get called for an interview compared to people with White-sounding names.

  Systemic Racism:  Ongoing racial inequalities maintained by society.  E.g., In 2016, the median net worth for White households in the United States was $171,000 according to a Pew Report.  This compared with black household wealth of $17,100 and $26,600 for Hispanic households.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • What is your earliest experience dealing with racism?
  • How has your life been impacted by race and systemic racism?
  • Why do you think it is so hard to talk about racism?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  LISTEN:  S2 E2: How Race Was Made – Scene on Radio. Radio host and producer John Biewen, along with an array of leading scholars, takes a deep dive into the questions: Where did the notion of “whiteness” come from? What does it mean? What is whiteness for? (29:21 minutes)

  READ:  After 50 years of progress and protest, America is still a land of unequal opportunity | Urban Institute (4 pages)

  READ:  Got Internalized White Superiority? The Danger of Denial and the Promise of Another Way Antiracism facilitator Jen Willsea defines internalized white superiority, how it shows up, and why and how to start unlearning beliefs and behaviors that have been internalized.  (4 pages) 

  READ:  Latinx College Students are Struggling with Self-Hate, but Counselors can Help, Scholar Finds  This article explores the ways in which Latinx college students internalize racism and how counselors are helping them heal and thrive. (4 pages)

  WATCH:  Internalized Racism Part 5, with Dee Watts-Jones  Dee Watts-Jones explains the concept of internalized racism as internalized racial inferiority and its negative consequences. (2:49 minutes)

  WATCH:  Racism is Real, a split-screen video depicting the differential in the white and black lived experience (3 minutes)

  WATCH:  Black Self / White World — Lessons on Internalized Racism  Community leader, activist and educator Jabari Lyles discusses his personal journey to understanding and loving himself as a Black man, despite growing up among a predominantly white community.  (9:12 minutes)

  Journaling:

  • Consider how you relate to these notions of internalized racial inferiority and superiority. Is either one familiar to you? If so, how do they show up in your life? How do they show up in your workplace, school, Temple Beth Or and/or community? How do they interact with feelings associated with other aspects of your identity (gender, age, ethnicity, class status, etc.)?
  • Why is it important to see color? Has your perspective changed on why taking a “colorblind approach” negatively impacts people of color?
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness? 
  • Explore your role and responsibility around addressing interpersonal racism. What actions can you take?
  • How are your decisions at work, in the community, and at home supporting racial equity?
  • In what ways can you use your own privilege to advance the eradication of systemic racism?
  • When choosing a healthcare provider or other provider of services that requires specific educational training (i.e., attorney, educator etc.) am I less likely to select a person of color versus a white person?
  • What did you read and/or listen to that was new?
  • What did you read and/or listen to that you agreed with?
  • What did you read and/or listen to that made you uncomfortable?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  Let’s Talk About Race.   Julius Lester.  Julius Lester shares his own story, explores race, and explores what makes each of us special. Intended audience – Ages 4+   

  Read Aloud   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoDUJY9u9Jw

  Across the Alley.  Richard Michelson. Abe and Willie live across the alley from each other.  Willie is Black and Abe is Jewish and during the day they don’t talk.  But at night they open their windows and are best friends.     Intended audience – Ages 5+

  Read aloud   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7eiKu-LCWU

  The Hate U Give.  Angie Thomas.  Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.  Intended audience – Ages 13+ 

  Book trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuCNYnt–sA

  The Black Friend.  Frederick Joseph.  The author offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs—creating an essential read for white people who are committed anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice.  Intended audience – Ages 12+ 

  Book Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdXBRZi_PDA

• Week 2: Definition of Racism

  Definition and Brief History of the Word Racism

  Merriam-Webster in the past defined racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”  This is what we might consider the 1.0 definition of racism.

  Racism has acquired a 2.0 definition.  Merriam-Webster captures this by noting that racism can mean “a political or social system founded on racism.” The second definition is with “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” 

  However, Kennedy Mitchum, 22 and just out of college, recently wrote to the editors at Merriam-Webster asking them to expand the definition to account for usage that has morphed even beyond the 2.0 definition to refer to “social and institutional power.”  Mitchum noted that racism “is a system of advantage based on skin color.”

  This 3.0 definition of the word is now quite influential, such that the best-selling author and Atlantic contributor Ibram X. Kendi calls all race-based societal disparities racism that ought to be battled.  For example, many people would say that the fact that, on average, black students do not perform as highly on standardized tests as white students means that the tests are racist, in that they disadvantage black students.

  Ibram X. Kendi made the case that much of the conventional thinking around racism misses the point.  First and foremost, he argued, it is power and policy, and not people, that keep racism firmly entrenched in society.  Kendi argues, the term “racist” should instead be understood as a descriptor.  “It literally describes what a person is being in any given moment, based on what they are saying or not saying, doing or not doing.”

• Agreements of Courageous Conversations and Facilitation Tips

  Agreements of Courageous Conversations

  1. Stay engaged – be an active listener (Staying engaged means “remaining morally, emotionally, intellectually, and socially involved in the dialogue”)
  2. Experience and embrace discomfort (This agreement acknowledges that discomfort is inevitable and that we all make a commitment to bring issues into the open. It is not talking about these issues that create divisiveness. The divisiveness already exists in the society. It is through dialogue, even when uncomfortable, change begin.)
  3. Speak from the “I” perspective (This is your story and your voice not anyone else’s.)
  4. Expect and accept non-closure (This agreement asks participants to “hang out in uncertainty” and not rush to quick solutions, especially in relation to racial understanding, which requires ongoing dialogue.)
  5. Respect confidentiality (What is said in a breakout room and/or the main room stays in these rooms unless you have permission to share.)
  6. None of us are experts – be open and avoid judgment (Be willing to meet people where they are; try to understand people who are in different stages of their own journey on these topics. But also, be thinking about how we can support each other to get beyond “where we already are” without judgement)

  Facilitation Tips:

  There are many important behaviors and skills that facilitators can employ to help guide a group towards a goal or learning point in a respectful and inclusive discussion. Some of these skills are outlined below, along with several examples. These phrases and techniques are not intended to be exact “scripts” and should be adapted to your own voice and situation.

  1. Addressing behavior – acknowledging behaviors in the room. Examples: “There’s a lot of emotion building right now that is interfering with productive discussion. Let’s take a few deep breaths and a moment to remember our 6 agreements.”
  2. Bridging – making connections, tying one learning point to another. Example: “We started to talk about ally-building earlier, and now we’re getting into some more concrete ideas of how to be an effective ally.”
  3. Checking for understanding – making sure directions and questions are clear. Examples: “Does everyone understand?” “Is that question clear?”
  4. Clarifying – interpreting, helping to clear misunderstandings, defining terms. Examples: “There seems to be some miscommunication happening here; maybe we should take a step back.” “Who needs more clarification before we move on?”
  5. Encouraging – prompting, nonjudgmental responses, open-ended questions, respectful probing. Examples: “We’re all learners in this process.” “This can be a hard topic to talk about.” “Thank you for sharing that story.”
  6. Evaluating – asking questions that encourage group members to examine an issue from a different perspective. Examples: “What’s another way to look at this issue?” “I appreciate Joseph sharing his perspective on the matter; do others have a similar or different perspective?”
  7. Gatekeeping – managing time and group participation. Examples: “Let’s hear from some of the people who we haven’t heard from.” “Let’s take two more responses, and then we’ll move on.”
  8. Giving – judiciously offering facts or personal experiences to clarify a point. Example: “Thank you for that observation. I had a similar experience at a meeting.”
  9. Naming feelings – interpreting and acknowledging feelings. Example: “It sounds like you might be frustrated with this conversation. Is that correct?”
  10. Re-framing – helping to find opportunities out of challenges. Examples: “That sounds challenging/difficult. What could it look like if it were different in the future, so that it would work better/help us meet the goals better?” “So, what needs to happen to turn that around?”
  11. Orienting – bringing the group back to task, reiterating the question or topic. Examples: “This is a really interesting conversation, hopefully that will continue off-line. The piece we need to focus our attention on now is…” “Let’s go back to the original question.”
  12. Paraphrasing – restating to promote group understanding. Example: “A number of different ideas are emerging; let me try to synthesize them into three major points.”
  13. Resolving – conciliating differences, cooperative problem solving. Examples: “Even though you feel that way, Donna, can you understand what Naomi is saying?” “This is a complex issue with a lot of different perspectives.”
  14. Remaining – honoring silence, allowing participants enough time to reflect and formulate thoughts. Example: “Let’s take a few more minutes before we begin so that everyone can gather their thoughts.” Allow the silence to exist. Count to 10 silently before asking another question.
  15. Returning – keeping all participants engaged in the dialogue, putting the conversation back to the whole group. Examples: “Does anyone have a different perspective?” “What feelings did this activity bring up for others?” “What do others think about this issue?”
  16. Seeking – asking for clarification, suggestions, more information. Examples: “What has your experience been?” “Can you say more about that?” “What does that term mean to you?”
• Week 3: Understanding Bias

  INTRODUCTION:  We all have bias. But often, we are not aware of the biases that we subconsciously hold. Research shows that years of structural and cultural constructs have deeply embedded stereotypes into our culture, and consequently into our own subconscious. For example, according to a recent study, companies are more than twice as likely to call minority applicants for interviews if they submit “whitened” resumes than candidates who reveal their race.

  But, research also shows that we can actively rewire these neural associations by being more intentional about acknowledging our biases. Today’s focus is on personal reflection – taking the time to uncover some of our own biases and reflecting on how we take control of these unconscious constructs.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • Reflect on your life experiences, your childhood and family upbringing; toys you played with; the neighborhoods in which you’ve lived; elements of your career path; media messages; your family and peer networks; etc. How might these experiences have shaped your biases, with or without your conscious awareness? 
  • What are some of your biases (positive or negative)?
  • When was the last time you recognized one of your biases? What happened?
  • What will you do going forward to be more aware of your biases?
  • How have your biases impacted your actions in the past?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  READ:  How the media portrays black males.  https://www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/media-representations-impact-black-men/media-portrayals (14 Pages)

  READ: Cognitive Biases: What They Are and How They Affect You. Cognitive biases affect every area of our life, from how we form our memories, to how we shape our beliefs, and to how we form relationships with other people. In this article, you will learn more about cognitive biases, understand why we experience them, see what types of them exist, and find out what you can do in order to mitigate them successfully. (22 pages)

  WATCH:  Peanut Butter, Jelly and Racism to identify to what identify what is an implicit bias.  (2:27 minutes)

  WATCH: the video Let’s Talk Bias from PBS Learning Media. Bias can take many forms and impacts various groups in different ways. In this Youth Collective video produced by Reel Works, five young people share stories of experiencing bias targeted at their unique identities. (4:41 minutes)

  WATCH: Racial Stereotyping: You see a black guy, white guy, pretty girl committing a crime. What do you What you do? – YouTube from ABC’s popular show What Would You Do, as it explores the impact of racial and gender bias and prejudice at a family friendly park. Before this video, would you have anticipated this differential treatment? (12:13 minutes)

  TEST:  Go deeper and take Project Implicit’s Implicit Association Tests, created by psychologists at top universities, to uncover some of your own unconscious biases. Remember, having biases doesn’t make you a bad person—it only makes you human. Proceed as a guest to access their library of tests and find out your implicit associations about race, gender, sexual orientation, skin tone, and other topics.

  Journaling: 

  • What are some of your biases (positive or negative)? 
  • When was the last time you recognized one of your biases? What happened? What will you do going forward to be more aware of your biases? 
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness? 
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)? 
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)? 
  • What will you do differently?
  • What’s an example of implicit bias that you have experienced, witnessed or heard about?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  Skin Again. bell hooks.  bell hooks is a well-known writer who focuses on the interconnectivity of race, gender, and class, and the system of oppression produced by them. This book has a powerful message: that skin is just a covering, and you have to come inside and open your heart to really know someone.  Intended audience – Ages  3+  Skin Again read aloud

  Something Happened in Our Town.  Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, Ann Hazzard.  The story aims to answer children’s questions about traumatic events (in this case, the shooting of a Black man in their community) , and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. Intended audience – Ages 5+         Something Happened In Our Town read along

  New Kid.  Jerry Craft.   This is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real.  Intended audience – Age 8+

• Week 4: Understanding Privilege

  INTRODUCTION: Privilege is the unearned social, political, economic, and psychological benefits of membership in a group that has institutional and structural power. There are many types of privilege that different groups have in the U.S. We commonly hear about privilege because of race or gender, but privilege also exists for different groups based on religion, sexuality, ability, class, and education level. Having privilege can give you advantages in life, but having privilege is not a guarantee of success.

  In America, whiteness is the standard and the criteria used to determine whether ideas, actions, or experiences have worth, merit or value. Too often, whiteness dismisses the experiences and worldviews of people who are not white, because the opinions, values, needs and beliefs of people who are not white don’t have merit. Whiteness is the control and the standard because whiteness is fundamentally about power.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • What types of privilege do you have?
  • How has privilege (or lack of) impacted your life?
  • How do you experience privilege and marginalization?
  • What did you notice about your personal reactions while reading and viewing the material? What do these reactions tell you about your experiences?
  • Looking at the community you grew up in or are currently in, what do you notice about how privilege and marginalization have shaped the community and your opportunities?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  ASSESSMENT: Take this eye-opening privilege self-assessment by Buzzfeed to discover where you are on the spectrum.

  READ: The article “Americans don’t see me, or Ahmaud Arbery, running down the road—they see their fear” by Ibram X Kendi, Director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, articulates the relationship between Black people and American perceptions of them. (5 pages)

  READ:  Read more about 5 Types Of Privilege You Probably Have No Idea You’re Benefiting From (elitedaily.com) (5 pages)

  READ: Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person: Gina Crosley-Corcoran, raised “the kind of poor that people don’t want to believe still exists in this country,” explores where race and class do and don’t intersect and how she’s come to understand her own white privilege. (6 pages)

  READ:  Peggy McIntosh’s, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege (This is an article, not the book.) (8 pages)

  WATCH: This short, powerful Buzzfeed video titled What Is Privilege featuring a privilege walk. See how privilege shows up differently for this group of co-workers. (3:59 minutes)

  WATCH: Last year, comedian Chelsea Handler made a documentary on Netflix called Hello Privilege. It’s Me, Chelsea, where she explored the idea of white privilege. Watch this 2-part interview with her on The View (Part 1, Part 2) to hear more about how and why she decided to produce this powerful documentary. (Part 1- 4:35, Part 2 – 4:38)

  Journaling:

  • If you identify as white, reflect on how white privilege operates in your personal life. What advantages do you experience because of your whiteness? How do those privileges contribute to your opinions and actions?
  • If you identify as Black or a person of color, reflect on how you’ve seen whiteness benefit white individuals. How has white privilege impacted your life? What types of privilege do you have?
  • How has privilege (or lack of) impacted your life?
  • What will you do to be more aware of your privilege in the future?
  • How will you use your privilege in the future to help others?
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness?
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)?
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)?
  • What will you do differently?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  A Kids Book About White Privilege. Ben Sand. This book directly addresses the myth that all children start from the same spot. White children growing up today need to see their privilege and learn how to use it for good. And maybe—just maybe— learn how to give it up.  Intended audience – Ages 6+

  Those Shoes.  Maribeth Boelts.  Everyone at school has “those” shoes, and Jeremy wants some, too. But his family can’t afford new shoes and new winter boots at the same time. Eventually, Jeremy comes to appreciate what he has, and that he was able to help someone else. Intended audience – Ages 5+ Read aloud – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75O_B6748aA

  White Socks Only.  Evelyn Coleman.  This book tells the story of a young black girl who is under the impression that she’s able to drink from a “Whites Only” water fountain because she is wearing white socks. A great story dedicated to explaining privilege and segregation, White Socks Only is a good place to start with your kids.  Intended audience – Ages 4+  Read Aloud video

  Not My Idea:  A Book about Whiteness.  Anastasia Higginbotham.  An honest explanation about how power and privilege factor into the lives of white children, at the expense of other groups, and how they can help seek justice.  Intended audience – Ages 8+

  Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man. Emmanuel Acho.  The author takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask—yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever.  Acho explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and “reverse racism.” He provides a space of compassion and understanding in a discussion that can lack both.  Along the way, he will galvanize all of us to join the antiracist fight.  Intended audience – Ages 12+ Book trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/embed/oseOoeqdgWY

• Week 5: Cultural Awareness

  INTRODUCTION: We are all born belonging to a culture, which is not only influenced by traditional practices, heritage, and ancestral knowledge, but also by the experiences, values, and beliefs of individual families and communities. Culture is the fundamental building block of identity, and the development of a strong cultural identity is essential to an individual’s healthy sense of who they are and where they belong. Respecting diversity of cultures means valuing and reflecting the practices, values, and beliefs of families and communities.

  Cultural awareness isn’t something we’re born with. It’s shaped by our life experiences. So, it’s only natural that we miss seeing some of the differences that are right in front of us. As we move through life and encounter more differences, our mindsets expand, and we develop the skills and knowledge to navigate more complex situations more easily.

  Cultural awareness is the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. Cultural awareness encompasses:

  • being aware of one’s own world view
  • developing positive attitudes towards cultural differences
  • gaining knowledge of different cultural practices and world views
  • developing skills for communication and interaction across cultures
  • fostering secure, respectful, and reciprocal relationships and partnerships

  Underlying cultural awareness are the principles of trust, respect for diversity, equity, fairness, and social justice. Cultural awareness requires more than becoming culturally aware or practicing tolerance. Rather, it is the ability to identify and challenge one’s own cultural assumptions, values, and beliefs, and to make a commitment to communicating with cultural understanding.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • Why do you think it is important to be culturally aware?
  • How would you describe your personal background and culture?
  • Based on an assessment of your cultural awareness, what are some opportunities for growth when interacting with someone from another background or culture?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  ASSESS:  Cultural Competence starts with self-awareness. Take this Cultural Competence Self-Assessment adapted from a checklist from the Greater Vancouver Island Multicultural Society. This tool is designed to help you consider your skills, knowledge, and awareness of yourself in your interactions with others and to assist you to recognize what you can do to become more effective in working and living in a diverse environment. You will need to print this tool to complete the assessment.  Replace the word “Canada” with the words “United States.” (4 pages plus introduction)

  WATCH:  Watch the short video Cultural Competence Continuum, from Bill Deans, adapted from a paper by Terry Cross. (3:02)

  WATCH:  It’s relatively easy for us to experience another culture today through film, television, and social media. All this connection can inspire genuine cultural appreciation. But cultural appreciation can easily turn into cultural appropriation. Instead of honoring another culture, appropriation demeans and dishonors. See the reactions and hear the messages of young women as they come face-to-face with culturally appropriative costumes. (4:47)

  READ: Even the idea of cultural competence is complex and debated.  Read Beyond the Breakthrough: Why Cultural Humility Matters in Anti-Violence Work by Fiona Oliphant and reflect on the meaning of cultural competence versus cultural humility.  The article is written for professionals working with sexual assault survivors but it offers important insight for any conversation on cultural awareness. (1 page)

  Journaling:

  • Why do you think it is important to be culturally aware?
  • How would you describe your personal background and culture? 
  • Based on an assessment of your cultural awareness, what are some opportunities for growth when interacting with someone from another background or culture? 
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new cultural awareness? 
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)?
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)? 
  • What will you do differently?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  The Skin You Live In. Michael Tyler.  With the ease and simplicity of a nursery rhyme, this lively story delivers an important message of social acceptance to young readers.  Intended audience – Ages 4+         Read aloud online by the author – https://www.youtube.com/embed/iEvwTx-96AI

  The Colors of Us.  Karen Katz.  A positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artist’s perspective. Seven-year-old Lena is going to paint a picture of herself. She wants to use brown paint for her skin. But when she and her mother take a walk through the neighborhood, Lena learns that brown comes in many different shades.  Intended audience – Ages 2+ Read aloud –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O58brpCvmRs

  Are Your Stars Like My Stars?  Leslie Helakoski. In beautiful, evocative rhyme, this lovely picture book helps children consider the colors of their everyday lives . . . and imagine how others around the world experience the very same things.  Intended audience – Ages 4+ Read aloud – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTuvMhULr_c

  The Sandwich Swap.  Rania Al-Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio (written by the Queen of Jordan).  The smallest things can pull us apart-until we learn that friendship is far more powerful than difference. Intended audience – Ages 4+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpGhq4hkYHc

  I Looked Into Your Eyes. Aviva L. Brown and Rivka Badik-Schultz.  A celebration of modern familial diversity strongly rooted in Jewish tradition.  Intended audience – Ages 2+.   This author is an advocate for diversity in Jewish children’s books.  More info at www.avivabrown.com.

  Pie in the Sky.  Remi Lai A moving and humorous middle grade novel about an eleven-year-old boy’s immigration experience and family relationships.  Intended audience – Ages 9+ 

  Ancestor Approved. – Intertribal Stories for Kids.  Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith.  Hope, strength of community and Native pride are at the heart of this collection of stories by new and veteran Native writers.   Intended audience – Ages 9+

• Week 6: Wealth and Income

  INTRODUCTION:  Wealth is more than just jobs. It includes annual median income, home ownership, access to a college education, access to workplace or self-employment retirement plans, and more. On nearly every measure, local racial wealth disparities are evident. This is true for traditional economic measures like banking, housing, and employment, as well as other measures that have a direct impact on the ability of individuals and families to earn good income and build wealth.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • Consider your job or career, and that of your parents or family. Are they in historically segregated industries?
  • How does segregation in employment affect your or your family’s earning power?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  EXPLORE: the ALICE Project ‒ Washington (unitedforalice.org) This website provides a framework, language, statistics, and tools that community stakeholders can use to inform policy and drive innovation.

  EXPLORE: Find out how segregated Everett Community College is https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/everett-community-college 

  READ:  Opinion: Here’s why black families have struggled for decades to gain wealth – MarketWatch by Darrick Hamilton and Trevon Logan explores the long history of government policies that facilitated wealth for white Americans but not for blacks (4 pages)

  READ: https://www.heraldnet.com/business/debunking-4-myths-about-black-wealth/ (4 pages)

  READ:  This 2018 article by Scott Winship, Richard Reeves and Katherine Guyot looks at the factors that don’t allow blacks to move up the income ladder.   https://sdvoice.info/the-inheritance-of-black-poverty-its-all-about-the-men/ (8 pages)

  READ:  Gain a better understanding of systematic inequity and economic opportunity at Center for American Progress. (11 pages)

  REVIEW: Snohomish County, WA | Data USA 

  REVIEW:  http://www.city-data.com/income/income-Snohomish-Washington.html shows income map, earnings map, and wages data for Snohomish County.

  WATCH: Watch How America Created its Shameful Wealth Gap. Co-Founder of Liberation in a Generation Solana Rice explains how a combination of institutional racism and white supremacy created America’s racial wealth gap. (6:39 minutes)

  WATCH:  Racial Wealth Gap series episode digging into why measuring racial progress must include understanding the roots and dynamics of the Black/white racial wealth gap (16 minutes)

  Journaling:  

  • Consider your job or career, and that of your parents or family. Are they in historically segregated industries? 
  • How does segregation in employment affect your or your family’s earning power? 
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness? 
  • What comes up for you as you take in this information about the racial wealth gap? 
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)? 
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)? 
  • What will you do differently?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  Maddi’s Fridge.  Lois Brandt.  With humor and warmth, this children’s picture book raises awareness about poverty and hunger.  Intended audience – Ages 4+  Read aloud- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuVijWAa0A

  Last Stop on Market Street.  Matt de la Pena.  An inclusive ode to kindness, empathy, gratitude, and finding joy in unexpected places, and celebrates the special bond between a curious young boy and his loving grandmother.  Intended audience – Ages 4+  Read aloud by Illustrator Christian Robinson  https://www.youtube.com/embed/QoPS0Ok5YiI

  The Magic Beads.  Susin Nielsen-Fernlund.  Lillian, 7, is starting at a new school, and needs to bring in something for show-and-tell. But Lillian and her mother had to escape an abusive father and now live at a family shelter, and she doesn’t have anything to bring.  This is the story of a girl who realizes that despite her lack of possessions, she has the power of imagination to help her.   Intended audience – Ages 7+

  Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen.  DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan.  A gentle introduction to two key issues of our time—hunger and homelessness—from a kid’s point of view.  Intended audience – Ages 6+  Read aloud – https://youtu.be/ITk55VqWGuY

• Week 7: Housing and Redlining

  INTRODUCTION:  Housing is foundational to everything we value in our community. Providing access to safe, stable, and affordable housing is instrumental in building an equitable region for all.

Unfortunately, access to housing opportunities has never been equal in this country. The policy that we now know of as redlining has led to lasting disinvestment in minority neighborhoods. These practices were prevalent in Snohomish County, and their effects can still be seen today.

 The practice of redlining began in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression. The National Housing Act was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in an attempt to revive the mortgage lending system. To assess the risk of borrowers, entire neighborhoods were graded on property condition and ethnic composition. The neighborhoods that were deemed to be lowest risk were outlined in green and the highest risk were outlined in red or redlined. These areas were excluded from receiving federally-backed home loans. 

  Redlining maps were created for 239 cities across the United States, including Everett. In the Color of Law, Richard Rothstein notes that “a neighborhood earned a red color if African Americans lived in it, even if it was a solid middle-class neighborhood of single-family homes.” The redlining map of Everett allowed local lenders and banks to ensure certain neighborhoods stayed white and increased in value, while other areas retained and suppressed minority residents and their deteriorating homes.

  The system of redlining embodied a process that turned explicit racism into structural racism. The geography and wealth gap that these maps created largely still exists today. Black homeowners are nearly five times more likely to own a home in a formerly redlined area, which results in diminished home equity and overall economic inequality for Black families. Financial instability and housing inequities can unfortunately lead to homelessness.  To address racial inequities in our community, we must begin by learning about the systemic way in which people of color have been excluded from building wealth through homeownership.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • How does this history of land ownership affect your economic situation?
  • How have property values and demographics in your community changed over time?  
  • In what ways does segregation continue to play a role in your community?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  LISTEN: to episode 36 of the Adam Ruins Everything podcast, with Waterloo, IA native Nikole Hannah-Jones on the Rippling Effects of Redlining and Segregation. (62:00 minutes)

  READ:  Does Your Home’s CCR’s Include Bizarre Restrictions? (activerain.com)  A  home in Mukilteo with racial restrictions. (1 Page)

  READ:  Interactive Redlining Map Zooms In On America’s History Of Discrimination: The Two-Way: NPR (5 pages)

  READ:  Learn about Seattle being a segregated city.  Seattle Segregation Maps: 1920-2010 – Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project (washington.edu) (31 pages with lots of maps)

  READ and/or WATCH: Karma Allen, More than 50% of homeless families are black, government report finds, ABC News (6:27 minutes)

  WATCH: The Disturbing History of the Suburbs, An Adam Ruins Everything episode that quickly and humorously educates how redlining came to be (6 minutes)

  WATCH: Why are cities still so segregated? Watch this quick video where NPR’s Code Switch looks at the factors contributing to modern day segregation. Housing Segregation and Redlining in America: A Short History | Code Switch | NPR – YouTube  Explicit language (6:36 minutes) 

  WATCH:  Trevor Noah breaks down how the housing system is rigged against Black America.  Black Home Ownership – If You Don’t Know, Now You Know | The Daily Social Distancing Show – YouTube (11:07 minutes)

  WATCH:  Segregated by Design examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy. Prejudice can be birthed from a lack of understanding the historically accurate details of the past.   Based on the book Color of Law by Richard Rothstein.  (17:34 minutes)

  Journaling:

  • Journal on your own experiences of home. How does this history of land ownership affect your economic situation? 
  • How have property values and demographics in your community changed over time? 
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness? 

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  A Shelter in Our Car.   Monica Gunning.  This moving and authentic story about homelessness in an American city was developed with the help of the Homeless Children’s Network in San Francisco.  Intended audience – Ages 6+  https://www.youtube.com/embed/jJMjeCA8woY

  Fair Housing Five & the Haunted House.   Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center  Samaria and her friends like everything about their clubhouse except the haunted house across the street. But when Samaria and her mother need to find a place to live, they realize they are dealing with a much bigger problem than ghosts or monsters. Join the Fair Housing Five as they work together to take creative action against housing discrimination in their community.  Intended audience – Ages 8+

• Week 8: Segregation

  INTRODUCTION:  Solid Ground defines Institutional Racism as “the systematic distribution of resources, power and opportunity in our society to the benefit of people who are white and the exclusion of people of color.” It has led to such issues as discrimination and segregation.

  When you hear the word segregation, what comes to mind? Many of us think back to the Civil Rights Movement and stop there.

  Present-day racism was built on a long history of racially distributed resources and ideas that shape our view of ourselves and others. It is a hierarchical system that comes with a broad range of policies and institutions that keep it in place. Policies shaped by institutional racism that enforce segregation include redlining, predatory lending, the exclusion of Black veterans from the G.I. bill, and the forced segregation of neighborhoods by the Federal Housing Authority. As a result of institutional racism, racial stratification and inequities persist in employment, housing, education, healthcare, government, and other sectors.

  Perhaps the best way to understand the enduring effects of segregation today is through COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on minorities. Nationwide, 41% of Black-owned businesses closed during the first three months of the pandemic, compared to 17% of white-owned businesses, a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the University of California at Santa Cruz estimated.  Minority-owned businesses, and Black-owned businesses in particular, have received less federal coronavirus assistance than their white-owned counterparts. (From Seattle Times article September 25, 2020)

  Why have minority-owned businesses been hit the hardest during the pandemic? Why do minorities face disproportionate COVID-19 infection and death rates?  

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • Consider your job or career, and that of your parents or family. Are they in historically segregated industries?
  • How does segregation in employment affect your or your family’s earning power?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  READ: When they are asked how present segregation is in their lives, as Darden Professor Greg Fairchild does in many of his talks, most answers reflect a belief that the world is more integrated than is actually the case. Learn more at Segregation in 2020: Why Aren’t We Moving Forward? (virginia.edu) (5 pages)

  READ:  Understand the inequalities minority owned businesses face that makes them more vulnerable  McKinsey’s report (9 pages)

  READ: Learn how minorities face different COVID-19 health risks in NPR’s coronavirus by numbers report. (11 pages)

  READ:  Gain a better understanding of systematic inequity and economic opportunity at Center for American Progress. (22 pages)

  WATCH:  Short Film based on the book, The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. The forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy.  www.segregatedbydesign.com (7:42 minutes)

  WATCH:  More than half a century after Brown v. Board of Education, the fight for integrated schools has yet to be won. Across the United States, school systems remain racially segregated.  Hear why at The Enduring Problem of School Segregation – YouTube Produced by the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law. (10:06 minutes)

  Journaling:

  • What were your thoughts in regard to segregation before today’s challenge?  What are your thoughts now? 
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness? 
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)? 
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)? 

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  Black Is A Rainbow Color.  Angela Joy.  A child reflects on the meaning of being Black in this moving and powerful anthem about a people, a culture, a history, and a legacy that lives on.  Intended audience – Ages 4+    Read aloud – https://www.youtube.com/embed/GskokB6fIRM

  Ruth and the Green Book.  Calvin Alexander Ramsey with Gwen Strauss.   Discrimination against blacks in the 1950s affected every aspect of life including travel. This book is a good discussion starter about Jim Crow laws and segregation.  Intended audience – Ages 7+ Read aloud – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COlPOzCe710

  Separate is Never Equal – Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation.  Duncan Tonatiuh. Discover the incredible story of the Mendez family who, seven years before Brown v. Board of Education, fought to end segregation in California schools.  Intended audience – Ages 6+ Read aloud- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cBhe26Eo8g

  Grandaddy’s Turn: A journey to the Ballot Box.  Michael S. Brady. Based on the true story of one family’s struggle for voting rights in the civil rights–era South, this moving tale shines an emotional spotlight on a dark facet of U.S. history.   Intended audience – Ages 6+  Read aloud – .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x128B15FYAw

• Week 9: Immigrants and Refugees

  INTRODUCTION:  Imagine: What would it take for you to grab your family and run from your home? Imagine leaving behind everything for which you have worked so hard, fleeing to a place you have never been, where you don’t know a soul. Can you imagine having one hour to pack, choosing items from your home to embark on what may become a long, arduous journey? What would you leave behind? Envision how terrible a situation would be for you to leave everything behind, putting yourself and your family at the mercy of strangers.

  Facts at a glance:

  • There are currently 79.5 million forcibly displaced persons worldwide.
  • Of those 79.5 million, less than 1% will have the chance to start a new life through refugee resettlement.
  • The average stay in a refugee camp is currently 17 years.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • Imagine leaving behind everything for which you have worked so hard, embarking on a long, arduous journey, and fleeing to a place you have never been. What would you leave behind? What would you bring?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  READ: Ten challenges that face refugee youth.  Very brief answers.  10 challenges of refugee youth – World | ReliefWeb (3 pages)

  READ:  Fact sheet for immigrants in Washington State.  Immigrants in Washington | American Immigration Council (5 pages) Go to American Immigration Council |if interested in seeing data in other states.

  READ:  Questions and answers on immigration at Tackling the Toughest Questions on Immigration Reform | American Immigration Council (8 pages)

  WATCH: the videos on Oxfam to learn more about the experiences of refugees. Each video is 5 minutes or less.

  WATCH: Learn the powerful stories of 4 refugee youth adapting to life in Washington. With funding from the Refugee School Impact Grant (RSIG), School’s Out Washington partnered with documentary filmmaker Jill Freidberg of Corrugated Films to produce a film chronicling the lives of refugee youth in Washington State. (24:01 minutes)

  WATCH: Learn the powerful story of one of our own neighbors, Sandrah Nasimiyu, who reflects on her Kenyan family heritage and how she is “the bridge between two lands,” in a video from CultureALL, also with Deidre DeJear. (25:10 minutes)

  QUIZ:  Test your immigration knowledge.  There are 9 questions.  Immigration Quiz | The State of Arizona | Independent Lens | PBS

  Journaling:

  • Imagine leaving behind everything for which you have worked so hard, embarking on a long, arduous journey, and fleeing to a place you have never been.  What would you leave behind? What would you bring?
  • What is one small thing you can do to apply or practice your new racial awareness? 
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)? 
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)? 

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  Migrant.  Maxine Trottier.  Anna’s family are Low German-speaking Mennonites who come to Canada from Mexico each spring to work as farm labourers, since they are unable to make a living at home. This award-winning book with lovely illustrations introduces kids to the effects of migrant work on children and families.  Intended audience – Ages 4+

  A Day’s Work.    Eve Bunting.   This story perfectly captures the intergenerational love and respect shared by these two characters and the man’s strong sense of honesty and integrity.  Intended audience – ages 5+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pTfptCgQec

  My Name is Bilal.  Asma Mobin-Uddin.  A young boy wrestles with his Muslim identity until a compassionate teacher helps him to understand more about his heritage.  Intended audience- ages 8+ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAg34W4bfxQ  (not a great version – the reader is featured more than the book – but it’s the only version read online)

  Four Feet, Two Sandals.  Karen Lynn Williams.  This story is inspired by a refugee girl who asked the authors why there were no books about children like her. With warm colors and sensitive brush strokes, this book portrays the strength, courage, and hope of refugees around the world, whose daily existence is marked by uncertainty and fear.  Intended audience – ages 8+ Read aloud – https://www.youtube.com/embed/4eaENPTeqFM  (good introduction about refugees)

  When Stars are Scattered.  Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed.  A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.   Intended audience – 9+ This is a link to a video with author and illustrator – some pages from the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH__-9WGcRA

• Week 10: Ableism

  Definitions

  Ableism: is the process of favoring nondisabled bodies while discriminating those that move, see, hear, process, or look differently. The application of this idea can morph into ten thousand shifting shapes, and for the world we live in today, it’s usually more subtle than overt cruelty. Some examples to get us started: the assumption that all those who are deaf would prefer to be hearing – the belief that walking down the aisle at your wedding is obviously preferable to moving down that aisle in a wheelchair – parents physically holding their children back as a person with a disability passes by – the assumption that a nondisabled person who chooses a partner with a disability is necessarily brave, strong, and especially good. All of these are different flashes of the same, oppressive structure. Ableism separates, isolates, assumes. It’s starved for imagination, creativity, curiosity.

  Disability: Often disability is only conceptualized as a “loss-of-function,” a “lack,” or as abnormal and unnatural. This is functioning from a deficit perspective and from the medical model of disability. A disability is permanent. There is not a definitive definition or group, but it can include physical, sensory, mental, cognitive, intellectual, developmental, and psychiatric disabilities and chronic illnesses/chronic diagnoses. Individuals can be born with their disability/disabilities or they can be acquired later in life.

  Disablism: is the discrimination, oppression, and violence that comes from the belief that disabled people are inferior to able-bodied people. Disablism can emerge through interpersonal prejudice and microaggressions as well as institutional discrimination against disabled people.

  Where disablism focuses on discrimination against disabled people, ableism can be understood as the system of power that privileges certain bodies over others based on the abilities one exhibits or values.

  The use of “ableism” vs “disability/disabled person” is like the difference between “racism” and “person of color” or “sexism” and “woman.”

  INTRODUCTION:

  Ableism is a pervasive belief in our society that insists disabled people are broken and deficient and must either be cured or excluded from society and public life.  Like other interlocking forms of systemic oppression such as sexism and racism, an effect of ableism is that it can be accepted and internalized by disabled people.

  All of us, regardless of what our body can and cannot do, can begin to recognize the ways the ableist ideology has organized human value around arbitrary notions of ability. Ableism doesn’t stand alone, but intersects with and reinforces sexism, homophobia, transphobia, racism, colonialism, and capitalism.

  With this knowledge, we may follow the lead of disabled thinkers, educators, and activists and support their struggles toward remaking a more hospitable world for everybody.

  Some believe that ableism is one of the most invisible forms of domination and oppression.

  Did you know?

  • At least two thirds of New York subways are not accessible to people in wheelchairs.
  • An additional 14% of youth identify as having a physical, mental, or emotional disability, or impairment that limits their daily activities.
  • There are 50 million Americans with disabilities making people with disabilities the largest minority group in the United States.
  • Though the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 and progress has been made only 32% of working-age people with disabilities are employed.
  • Individuals with disabilities are still more than twice as likely to live in poverty as those without disabilities.
  • Over 250,000 people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are paid below minimum wage through 14(c) waivers that allow businesses to legally pay people with some disabilities an average of $2 per hour.
  • People with disabilities still experience many barriers that limit full integration into the community, which create health inequities. They are two times more likely to smoke and are more likely to have had heart disease, stroke, cancer, or diabetes than those without disabilities. Women with disabilities are less likely to have received a mammogram in the past two years. Some of the contributing factors include inaccessible medical equipment, lack of knowledge among health and wellness practitioners about disability and accommodations, and barriers to communication with people with disabilities.
  • Persons with disabilities include every race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion, and more.
  • Many people are born with disabilities, and they can be acquired through accident, illness, or the aging process.

  Questions to Ponder Before You Begin Your Challenge:

  • What have you been taught about disability (by school, parents, family, media, religious institutions, medical providers etc.)? What have they taught you about the need to be productive and self-sufficient? What values/morals are placed on being abled and productive?
  • Have you heard the word “ableism” before?  Where have you heard it? Have you seen examples of ableism?
  • When you think of disability, what image or person comes to mind?  How is disability portrayed in the media?
  • Are you comfortable talking about disability?  Are you comfortable talking to people with disabilities?
  • How have you been taught to treat people with disabilities (by school, parents, family, media, religious institutions, medical providers etc.)?

  This Week’s Challenge: Do one or more of the following…

  LISTEN:  Listen to the recent NPR report Workers With Disabilities Can Earn Just $3.34 An Hour. Agency Says Law Needs Change, reported by Alina Selyukh. (4:00 minutes)

  READ:  Learn about the Say the Word campaign to understand the importance of using the word “disability” and the unintentional harm of words like “differently abled.”  Public Health Post: Say the Word  (1 page)

  READ:  Click on the following link to read about the intersection of racism and ableism At the Intersection of Racism and Ableism | The Network (crcna.org) (2 pages)

  READ:  about being black and disabled.  Black and Disabled: How Racial Discrimination Is Amplified by Ableism – Re:Set (resetyoureveryday.com) (4 pages)

  READ:  It is 30 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act became law.  Those on the frontlines say the next wave in the movement demands disability justice. To Be BIPOC, Disabled and Fighting for Justice | Colorlines (7 pages)

  READ: The downside of getting married when you have a disability.  Disability And Marriage Rules | Thriving While Disabled (8 Pages)

  READ: A Conversation about Ableism by Rebekah Taussig and learn how ableism operates in our society. (9 pages)

  READ: Learn how people with disabilities still do not have the same legal protections as other minority groups. People with Disabilities: the Orphan Minority (11 pages)

  READ: This article also contains very good video clips.  6 Signs of Internalized Ableism: Find Healing, Remake the World — Disorient (13 pages)

  WATCH: Watch the trailer for Rooted in Rights’ Bottom Dollars, and learn about this award-winning documentary that exposes the exploitation of people with disabilities through personal stories and expert interviews. The film presents clear employment alternatives with competitive wages and community inclusion. (3:45 minutes)

  WATCH: how to treat people with disabilities from real people with disabilities in Vice’s short documentary (3:45 minutes)

  WATCH: I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much, a TED Talk by comedian and journalist Stella Young who happens to go about her day in a wheelchair — a fact that doesn’t, she’d like to make clear, automatically turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity. In this very funny talk, Young breaks down society’s habit of turning disabled people into “inspiration porn” (9 minutes)

  WATCH: the Ted Talk with Judith Heumann as she speaks to “our fight for disability rights and why we’re not done yet.” For more than 30 years, Judith Heumann has been involved on the international front working with disabled people’s organizations and governments around the world to advance the human rights of people with disabilities. (21:15 minutes)

  Journaling:

  • What are some ideas of how you can support leaders with disabilities in your community?
  • What was your ‘a-ha’ moment (moment of surprise or new information)?
  • What was your ‘hurt’ moment (feeling of discomfort)?
  • What will you do differently?
  • How comfortable do you feel talking to disabled people? How comfortable do you feel talking about disability?
  • What are some ideas of how you could advocate for equity and inclusion for persons with disabilities? What does it look like to be an able bodied advocate for disability justice?

  Youth Book Suggestions:

  Different Abilities. Rebecca Pettiford. Beginning readers will learn to celebrate diversity by appreciating the variety of abilities people have. Vibrant, full-color photos and carefully leveled text engage young readers as they draw inferences about how diversity makes our society stronger and more interesting.  Intended audience – Ages 4+

  A Kid’s Book About Disabilities. Kristine Napper.  This book, written by a lifelong wheelchair user, helps kids and adults approach disability as a normal part of the human experience. Intended audience – Ages 5+ Read aloud – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpD5Pb0Q5y0

  The Girl Who Thought in Pictures: The Story of Temple Grandin.  Julia Finley Mosca. “If you’ve ever felt different, if you’ve ever been low, if you don’t quite fit in, there’s a name you should know …Meet Dr. Temple Grandin – one of the world’s quirkiest science heroes.”  Intended audience – Ages 5+ Read aloud  https://www.youtube.com/embed/6wgBarZ5ytE

  Rescue and Jessica: A Life Changing Friendship. Jessica Kensky, Patrick Downes.  Based on a real-life partnership, the heartening story of the love and teamwork between a girl and her service dog will illuminate and inspire.  Intended audience – Age 5+  Read aloud   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwi3O2St6W0

  Why Johnny doesn’t Flap.  Clay Morton and Gail Morton.  The autistic narrator’s bafflement at his neurotypical friend’s quirks shows that ‘normal’ is simply a matter of perspective.  Intended audience – Ages 4+ (but to really understand the perspective flip it may be more appropriate for ages 9+) Read aloud   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8bPNoi7dKg

  Wonder.   RJ Palacio.   August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face.  Intended audience – age 9+ (320 pages) (There is also a movie version of Wonder)