Using Cultural Humility To Embrace Reality · and cultural humility and understand how cultural humility may improve social work delivery. Identify reasons why many people report

I Don’t See Color: Using Cultural Humility To Embrace Reality

Welcome and Background

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Workshop Objectives

➢ Examine the differences between cultural competency

and cultural humility and understand how cultural

humility may improve social work delivery.

➢ Identify reasons why many people report feeling some

anxiety and may resist openly talking about issues of

race and race equity.

➢ Understand the importance of developing a personal

and systemic race equity lens to foster more equitable

social work practice.3

Talking openly & transparently

about race, ethnicity & culture can

be challenging…and liberating.

Navigating the Road Safely• Extend respect & grace.

• Embrace the difference between comfort & safety.

• Remain open & engaged.

• Find your growing edge.

• Respect other’s confidences.

• Refrain from the use of racial slurs.

• Take care of yourself.

• Manage technology.

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Let’s Talk Inclusiveness

Open to everyone…

Not limited to certain people…

How do you define being inclusive?

What does it look like?

How can systems and organizations

effectively serve the needs of

diverse groups of people?

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A challenge in practice...

Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural Competence

Cultural Diversity

Multi-Cultural Competence

Cultural Safety

Cultural Humility8

Evolutions Since 1980’s

One traditional way…

Assisting staff to become

“culturally competent”.

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A Solution

“The ability of systems to provide care and

services to people with diverse values, beliefs,

behaviors, including tailoring delivery to meet

people’s social, cultural and linguistic needs.”

Betencourt et. al., 2003

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Definition of Cultural

Competency

Trainings have frequently been built on assumptions

that members of groups share specific

Cultural traits

Values

Beliefs

Attitudes

that strongly influence or determine complex

behavior. 11

The Problem Has Been…

Trainings and textbooks have had a

laundry list of the characteristics of the

different ethnicities and races of people,

which in essence, may serve to promote

stereotypes rather than diminish them.

There has been no room for the

uniqueness of individual people. 12

And the Result…

A More Helpful Approach…

Cultural Humility

Means we are open and willing to listen

and learn from one another and the

people we serve.

Means we are willing to put aside the

information we thought we knew about

about a person based on generalizations

about their culture.

A Change in Perspective –

Embracing Cultural Humility

Cultural humility is a practice requiring

genuine self-reflection and accountability.

Focuses attention on our own internal

beliefs and thought process rather than on

characteristics of others.

Genuine accountability for self and systems.14

Our Challenge to Embrace Cultural Humility:

Examine the ways we use appearance to shape the identity of others.

Our Goal in Adopting Cultural Humility :

Effectively address the needs of diverse groups of people.

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Cultural Humility…

One Builds Upon the Other....ACTIVITY: As a group, develop a definition of the word assigned to your group. Write your definition on the chart paper provided. Choose a spokesperson to share your definition with the larger group.

Stereotype

Prejudice

Discrimination

Racism

Power

Some Major Roadblocks

to Cultural Humility

Colorblindness

Colorism

How does

each

statement

apply to you?

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Invisible Knapsack Activity

“The useful part of white identity’s vagueness is that

whites don’t have to shoulder the burden of race in

America, which, at the least, is utterly exhausting.”

Nell Irvin Painter

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The 3 “A’s”

*Acknowledgement

*Awareness

*Action

David Gaider

So why is it so hard to

talk about race?

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Perspective…

Implicit vs. Explicit

Overt vs. Covert

ImplicitCovert

Covert

Implicit

Covert Implicit

Internalized Racial Oppression

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A multi-generational process which manifests as

empowerment of people who are white and

disempowerment of people of color through

messages we• Receive

• Believe

• Accept

• Internalize

about ourselves and where we fit in American

racial structure.

Internalized Racial Inferiority

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ManifestationsDistancing Protectionism Colorism

Defensiveness Assimilation Fear

Blame Hostility Shame

Disempowerment Exaggerated

visibility

Anger

Self-destruction Hypervigilance Denial

Ethnocentrism Self-doubt Hopelessness

Low Self-esteem Trapped Sense of nothing

left to lose

Internalized Racial Superiority

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ManifestationsSilence Entitlement/privilege Expectation of

comfort

Arrogance Perfectionism Competitiveness

Escapism Missionary mentality Cultural

appropriation

Fear Anger Guilt

Avoidance Intellectualism Individualism

Fear that the

community will be

lost

White as the standard Blame

Dichotomous thinking: right/wrong, either/or, good/bad

Practical tools for more

equitable practice…

Apply a Race Equity Lens

Focus on Systemic Outcomes27

Something to Think About...

This work is primarily personal

before it can ever become

professional...

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Embrace Reality…

Race and Ethnicity are important

▶ We are 99% alike one another as human beings

▶ Race is important for its social and political significance – racism

▶ Race is linked to higher disease risks.

▶ Social context (racism, poverty) and not biology is most likely the basis.

Example: prematurity, low birth weight, infant mortality, hypertension amongst

African-Americans

A word of acknowledgementand

appreciation…

Thank you for your commitment!

s

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How to contact us:

Virginia Flores, LCSW Region 03 Equity Specialist817-321-8226

[email protected]

Sharibeth Niehaus, Region 01 Equity Specialist 806-783-6627

[email protected]

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Brown, B. (2012). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead.

DiAngelo, R. (2015, June 30). Why it’s so hard to talk to White people about racism [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-men-project/why-its-so-hard-to-talk-to-white-people-about-racism_b_7183710.html

Elder, J. & Irons, B. (2006). Distancing behaviors. Retrieved from https://www.pcc.edu/resources/illumination/documents/distancing-behaviors-anti-racism-handout.pdf

Gallavan, N. (2005). Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Retrieved from http://rmc.org/wpdev/allguide/pdfs/mac_gallavan_act1.pdf

Hackman, H. (2013, January 24). Understanding resistance to social justice trainings [Blog post.] Retrieved from http://hackmanconsultinggroup.org/blog/understanding-resistance-to-social-justice-trainings/

Leigh, D. (n.d.) 28 common racist attitudes and behaviors that indicate a detour or wrong turn into white guilt, denial or defensiveness. Retrieved from http://www.ywcamadison.org/atf/cf/%7B2487BD0F-90C7-49BC-858D-CC50637ECE23%7D/28ToolsChange.pdf

Metta, J. (2015, July13). I don’t discuss racism with White people. Retrieved from https://www.popularresistance.org/i-dont-discuss-racism-with-white-people/

Painter, N.E. (2015, June 20). What is whiteness? Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/sunday/what-is-whiteness.html

Smith, D. (2015, June 18). The 8 R’s of talking about race: How to have meaningful conversations [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.netimpact.org/blog/the-8-r%E2%80%99s-of-talking-about-race-how-to-have-meaningful-conversations

Tochluk, S. (2010). Witnessing whiteness: The need to talk about race and how to do it. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Trent, S. (2015, May 18). We can talk about race without fighting or getting defensive, if we’re willing to learn how.Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp

References

The Changing Face of America. Retrieved from:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/changing-faces/funderburg-text

Cultural Humility: A Lifelong Practice. Retrieved from:

http://socialwork.sdsu.edu/insitu/diversity/cultural-humility-a-lifelong-practice/

Are You Practicing Cultural Humility? – The Key to Success in Cultural Competence.

Retrieved from: http://www.cahealthadvocates.org/news/disparities/2007/are-you.html

Reflections on Cultural Humility. Retrieved from:

http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resouces/newsletter/2013/08/cultural-humility.aspx

Transcultural Psychiatry. Retrieved from: http://tps.sagepub.com/content 49/2/149

Implicit Bias. Retrieved from http://plato.Stanford.edu/entries/implicit-bias/

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References