LSA Anti-Racism Task Force Definitions

Before productive and constructive dialogue can occur around Anti-Racism, it is necessary to be on common ground regarding definitions. The following are definitions from the LSA Anti-Racism Task Force.

Racism

The fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice against Black people, Indigenous people and People of Color in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life, and serves the function of upholding White supremacy. Racism limits the life chances and opportunities of BIPOC people, creates and maintains the hierarchical structure of Whiteness, and supports the internalization of beliefs of group dominance of White people and subordination of BIPOC people.

Anti-Racism

The awareness of and active rejection of institutional, systemic and structural policies, practices, and behaviors that create and maintain white supremacy. It is also the creation of new structures, policies, practices, behaviors, and relationships that undo their racist predecessors and the conditions that make them possible. As racist policies, practices, biases and behaviors exist in a complex web of relations, the work of anti-racism can be taken up by all, but is informed by group and individual power, status and context, and prioritizes futures in which Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) thrive. Anti-Racism is inextricable from efforts to dismantle ableism, classism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia, as these structures are intricately connected in the maintenance of white supremacy and its attendant systems of hierarchies organized by the “normal,” the “normative,” and of course, the “superior.”

Whiteness and White Privilege

Whiteness does not refer to specific individuals within a particular racial group. Instead, is is the socially constructed idea of a White Race and a positionality in society by virtue of perceived color (White) at the top of the racial hierarchy, which positions white people as the standard for what is normal and valuable and nonwhites as lacking morally, socially, culturally, and/or physically desirable characteristics associated with whiteness. The central positionality of whiteness produces white privilege, entitlement, superiority, and the ensuing effects of structural racism, interpersonal mistreatment, and internalized stigma.

White privilege refers to the collective unearned advantages, both historical and current, given to people based solely on their racial identification as white. These unearned advantages undergird White peoples’ access to a range of rights, benefits, favor, and immunity, which results in their preferential treatment over People of Color.

Structural/Institutional Racism

In the U.S., this is the normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional and interpersonal – that routinely advantage whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. It is a system of hierarchy and inequity, primarily characterized by white supremacy – the preferential treatment, privilege and power for white people at the expense of Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Middle Eastern/North African and other racially oppressed people.

The university as an institution has its own political geographies that are interconnected with other political geographies and wherein we must work to see structural racism as the legitimation and codification of white supremacist ideas and behaviors into a system of network of policies, practices, and norms that work to routinely advantage White people and disadvantage BIPOC.

Culture

Includes the values, norms, and assumptions of our College organization; they are more often top-down (set by leaders via communications and reward structures, based on historical structures and influenced by the broader societal context) but continually reinforced at all levels of the organization.

Climate

A manifestation of culture; it includes individuals’ and groups’ perceptions and experiences of a setting or environment (e.g., what people observe, feel, hear in a setting). Climates can vary in different parts of an organization due to differences in local leadership and organizational structures and norms.

Micro-Aggression

A comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced or hostile attitude toward a member of a marginalized group.

Levels of Racism: A theoretic framework

Before engaging in anti-racist practices, it is important to develop the proper framework for understanding the different levels of racism. Oftentimes when one thinks of racism, they first think of the interpersonal level – individual prejudice and discriminatory acts exhibited toward targeted marginalized groups or individuals. Additionally, when we think of ways to address this level of racism, we focus our attention on individual level solutions such as addressing implicit bias or offering a DEI training. Although the interpersonal level of racism is typically the most thought of or depicted in the media, it is not the root cause of racism. Rather, the interpersonal level can be seen as a result of the institutionalized racism that creates differential access and opportunity in society, leading to cultural beliefs and norms about different groups. Because of this, there needs to be a more acute focus on the institutional/structural level as we strive for racial equity. If our solutions do not include the institutional/structural level or racism, the results can be reformative rather than disruptive. Connecting this framework to anti-racist pedagogical practices, we are called to think about approaches within and beyond our individual classrooms and contexts. The Key Principles presented on the Home Page emphasize the need to take this holistic approach to anti-racist practices.

The following definitions are taken from Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones’s piece, Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale.

Institutionalized/Structural

Institutionalized racism is both structural and normative. Through its codification in different systems, there is no identifiable perpetrator in its functioning. Institutionalized racism is made manifest in material conditions and in access to power. Examples of material conditions include, “differential access to quality education, sound housing, gainful employment, appropriate medical facilities, and a clean environment.” Examples of access to power include, “differential access to information (including one’s own history), resources (including wealth and organizational infrastructure, and voice (including voting rights, representation in government, and control of the media.”

Personally Mediated/Interpersonal

When most people think of racism, they think about personally mediated racism. This level of racism includes prejudice and discrimination. Personally mediated racism includes intentional and unintentional acts such as micro-aggressions. Personally mediated racism is made manifest through a lack of respect, suspicion, devaluation, scapegoating, and dehumanization. An example of the dehumanization of personally mediated racism is found in the ongoing police brutality against Black individuals and communities.

Internalized

Internalized racism is defined as, “acceptance by members of the stigmatized races of the negative messages about their own abilities and intrinsic worth.” Internalized racism can be caused by institutional and personally mediated racism. This level of racism is made manifest in an individual embracing “whiteness”, self-devaluing themselves, and feelings of resignation, helplessness, and hopelessness. Stereotype threat can be a result of internalized racism, as individuals feel pressure of fulfilling stereotypes about a particular identity they possess. For Black individuals, internalized racism can show up during the Pre-Encounter stage of one’s racial identity development. At this stage, internalized messages of “white is right” and “Black is wrong” can be prominent (Tatum, 1992).

The Gardener’s Tale

Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones uses a garden to illustrate the different levels of racism. In the Gardener’s Tale, two sets of red and pink flowers are planted in two sets of soil. The gardener, preferring red over pink, plants the red flower seeds in rich and fertile soil while the pink flower seeds are planted in poor, rocky soil. Over time, the red flowers flourish while the pink flowers struggle to grow and survive. As the gardener observes the two flowers, they claim that they were right to favor the red flowers over the pink flowers. In their disdain for the pink flowers, the gardener goes as far as to pluck them before they can reseed.

Addressing the disparate outcomes for the two flowers can be done on the internal level by telling the pink flowers they are beautiful, but it won’t change the soil or the gardener. At the interpersonal level, the gardener could attend workshops on letting the pink flowers seed, but they may or may not decide to do so after attending the workshop. However, even if they were to stop plucking the pink flowers before they seed, this does nothing to change the soil in which they grow. Indeed, to affect long-term change, the gardener needs to examine the boxes and soil in which the flowers grow – the institutional level. By either breaking down the boxes and mixing up the soil or fertilizing the poor soil to become just as fertile as the other box, the gardener responds to the most fundamental level racism in their garden. The hope is that once the institutionalized racism is addressed, the other levels (internal and interpersonal) will in turn follow suit over time.

Although in this story Dr. Jones equates the gardener to the United States government, we can all assume the role of the gardener as well. We can reflect on how we see the internal, interpersonal, and institutional levels of racism show up in our lives. From this reflection, we commit to holding ourselves accountable to practicing anti-racism through learning, self-reflection, and listening.

Citations

Jones, C. P. (2000, August). Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework. American Journal of Public Health Vol. 90, No. 8, 1212-1215. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.90.8.1212

Tatum, B.D. (1992). Talking about Race, Learning about Racism: The Application of Racial Identity Development Theory in the Classroom. Harvard Educational Review Vol. 62, No. 1, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.62.1.146k5v980r703023