Workshopbethel2015

Leading through dismantling racism…

Bethel EdD in leadershipGuest workshop21 July 2015

my context

• Luther Seminary

• EMID

• REA / guilds

• Ferguson, Cleveland, NYC, Charleston

an outline

• power flows and racism

• what is white privilege, and what is micro-aggression?

• living into Christ’s new creation

• building better communication through adaptive action

• unlearning racism in liberating structures

• resources

• racism as inter-personal practice (bigotry + power)

• racism as institutional practice (disparities created and exacerbated by societal institutions)

• racism as structural practice (normalization and legitimization that routinely confers advantages on whites, while producing chronic adverse outcomes for others)

power flows and racism

Minnesota• Poverty rates for children under 18 in

Minnesota are twice as high for Asian children, three times as high for Hispanic/Latino children, four times as high for American Indian children, and nearly five times as high for African American children as for white children

• While 75 percent of the white population in Minnesota owns their own home, only 21 percent of African Americans, 45 percent of Hispanic/Latinos, 47 percent of American Indians, and 54 percent of Asian Pacific Islanders own their own homes.

• African American and American Indian babies die in the first year of life at twice the rate of white babies. While infant mortality rates for all groups have declined, the disparity in rates has existed for over 20 years

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/healthequity/ahe_leg_report_020114.pdf

Minnesota

• racial inequities in higher education

• health inequities

• Minneapolis inequities

• racial inequities in finances

• disparities overview (MN Compass Project)

white privilege

“A right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities.”

• “our” images (that is, white ones) are human, others are important “for diversity” (just as “men” used to stand in for all humans)

• “our” ways of communicating are appropriate, other ways are in need of socialization or improvement

• when “we” walk into a building, store or church, we expect to be welcomed

• when “we” call the police, we expect to be taken seriously and respected

• “we” can speak for ourselves, and are not expected to represent anyone else -- let alone an entire group of people

white privilege — a null curriculum

micro aggression

• daily encounters with ignorance which highlight power flows (http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/racial-microagressions-you-hear-on-a-daily-basis)

• http://www.microaggressions.com/

• relative inequality (and its accompanying status consciousness) creates worse outcomes at every end of the scale (Wilkinson TED talk, http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html)

• MDH health outcomes draft report (http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/healthequity/ahe_leg_report_020114.pdf)

• living into Christ’s new creation (2 Cor 5:20-21)

• being one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28)

• recognizing the power of original sin in structural racism

• cherishing the Imago Dei and the power of kenosis (Phil 2: 6-11)

possible ways to enter faithfully

change communication

• recognize that racism is a real problem

• recognize that white privilege creates blinders on white people’s perceptions

• reach out in faith and learning, be open to change

• learn how to be a good ally

rethinking change

• static: when an object is moved from one place to another (bounded, low-dimension linear spaces)

• dynamic: motion along a smooth course to end up at a predictable point (some open boundaries, more factors, causality is messy)

• dynamical: complex change that results from unknown forces acting unpredictably to bring about surprising outcomes

adaptive action

• when adaptive action is called for, seeing, thinking and acting in iterative cycles is exactly the right response

• every ending action makes the next beginning question necessary

• an adaptive action is always standing in inquiry — it’s framed as a series of questions

• is simple enough to be flexible

• reduces the risk of uncertainty in dynamical change

• lots of ways to do this work!

• cycles can be embedded inside one another to build a network of inquiry and action

standing in inquiry

• know your “stuff,” but remain open to and actively engaged in learning more

• be comfortable with ambiguity and vulnerability of holding questions

• ask questions more than you give answers

• turn judgment into curiosity [I would say “wonder”]

• turn disagreement into mutual exploration

• turn defensiveness into self-reflection

pattern spotters

• generalizations (“in general I noticed…”)

• exceptions (“In general I noticed, but…”)

• contradictions (“on one hand I noticed…. and on the other hand…”)

• surprises (“I was surprised that…”)

• puzzles (“I wonder what was different that set the conditions for…”)

liberating structure

• 1 - 2 - 4 - all

• (1) in silence : what had real meaning for you from what you’ve heard today? (1 minute)

• (2) generate ideas in pairs, building on ideas from self-reflection: (2 minutes)

• (4) share and develop ideas in foursomes (4 minutes)

• (all) what is one idea that stood out in your conversation?

some steps to try

• build relationships amongst diverse groups

• design events to support open and respectful communication

• teach advocacy as a skill set

• focus on shared social justice efforts

• be a voice of faith-filled hope!

resources

• Global Voices Online

• Teaching Tolerance

• Zinn Education Project

• Racial Justice bibliography web resources

• The Storytelling Project Curriculum

• YWCA Racial Equity Network

• St. Paul Foundation Facing Race series

Videos:

Systemic racism: is it really a thing? (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPnh2GdtHWcWrhpdLGxAWQg)

5 tips for being an ally (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dg86g-QlM0)

What kind of Asian are you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ

by mary e. hess (http://meh.religioused.org/web/Home.html)