Anita Ukpokolo
I think it is so funny, or perhaps just interesting, that people are really out here thinking we’ve entered a post-racial era due to a few glimpses of progress in the past several decades. Things like Brown versus Board of Education, the Voting Rights act and the election of Barack Obama were all great, monumental things from the last century that the United States desperately needed to have happen. As commendable as those events were however, not only were they all within the most recent set of one-hundred years, but they were all also received with plenty of reluctance to spare. Events like the murder of Emmett Till, assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and just about any act of police brutality toward modern-day blacks proved that over and over again. Now I could I could get into how detrimental it is to give this country such a heavy pat on the back for only beginning to clean up the mess that its inhabitants started but that isn’t why I’m here today. Today I want to discuss newly evolved forms of racism that occur in this very present because there is no way that less than a hundred years ago (a.k.a. A very small sliver of history) black students could barely go to school let alone learn alongside white folk, and then fast-forward seventy years and find no remnants of racism in our time. It makes no sense. The United States has not outgrown racism. The people here have only found ways to make it more stylish and socially-acceptable. A current cult favorite are microaggressions. Microaggressions are “commonplace verbal or behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults” (Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder & Nadal, 2007, p. 278). Microaggressions are far more fluid and easily veiled. In fact, they’re so full of gray areas that a lot of people who use them, don’t even know they’re using them. Asking about a racially-ambiguous person’s heritage is a prime example or criticising a group of Asian descent for “always sticking together” is another one. My research on campus microaggressions led me through several examples of this issue and how it can affect the targets of these offenses. Then I happened upon some solutions for the issue courtesy of research analyst Jennifer Crandall and professor Gina Garcia; that schools assess administrators, faculty, staff and student perceptions of racial inclusivity; strive for dynamic diversity (a diversity that is found in the environment and not just in demographics); Empower cross-functional teams committed to addressing racially inequitable educational environments and outcomes; and Evaluate the degree of “inclusive excellence,” or how well colleges and universities and their leaders infuse diversity, equity and educational quality into institutional missions, goals and practices (Crandall and Garcia, 2016). We must keep undoing the damage so that the real work can begin.
The viewpoint you shared on microaggressions is a topic society needs to hear more often than not (sadly). I understand how difficult it must be to see, hear and view someone's heritage being played down as "socially acceptable". How can Concordia's staff, faculty, and students do more to react to this issue?
ReplyDeleteThank you for speaking on this topic. I wish everyone was able to understand cultural appropriateness and have adequate cultural competency. I read the research you linked to better understand dynamic diversity vs. diversity through demographics; I will definitely link this to my own research regarding diversity in the nutrition and dietetics profession.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your research on microaggressions and how they affect non-caucasions in America. I wonder if microaggressions are only geared towards race or if there may be different facets such as gender, sexual orientation, or religion, that may also be present in our country? I will consider microaggressions while I work on my capstone project and highlight this with anti-fat bias and examine the dynamic these have (or don't have) on one another.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the work you are doing. I agree with you and everyone who has commented—it is so unfortunate that racial discrimination continues in America and on our campus. It is also unfortunate and unfair that the burden of educating others so often seems to fall on people of color. I can also tie your research into my paper on women in Congress because there is a far greater inequality when it comes to race in Congress. Thank you for offering suggestions to improve the situation.
ReplyDeleteBravo for saying what needs to be said. I wish these points were brought up more in conversation, and, thankfully, work like this will help it do so. Please keep speaking out - there's a lot of us behind you!
ReplyDeleteTo further strengthen the points you make in this post, I think it would be helpful to shift the formatting a bit. One large paragraph can be difficult to read, so I would suggest putting in breaks like this:
It'll help guide your readers along.
And it is a great way to emphasize certain points.
I think one of the most wonderful parts of breaks like this is that you can use them to show your natural rhythm of cadences as if you were speaking. Maybe try reading aloud; where you pause to begin a new idea is probably a great place for a break.
It is incredible to me that some people believe we have 'fixed' issues like racism, sexism, classism etc. .. when in reality there are still so many issues so engrained into our society that are so woven in and incredibly difficult to overcome. Hopefully more education institutions make this a focal point of their strategic plans so future generations are fully aware of the work that needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing on this topic. Conversations regarding race and micro aggressions need to be had more often and with intentional mindfulness. I can relate this to my own research regarding diversity in coaching gender diversity. Thank you for your powerful research paper.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for talking about this topic and bringing up these problems. To be honest, I didn't even know about microaggressions before you presented your topic. I do view things, phrases and behaviours different know and try to be more cautios about my own behaviour as well.
ReplyDeleteThe article is written good but it might be good to put it in paragraphes. That would make it easier to read and easier find certain sentences and phrases again.