Racism: We White People are the Dangerous OnesJane F. Gilgun, Ph.D., LICSW

Professor

School of Social Work

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA

Topics

•Projections

•Racism

• Effects of Racism

• Intersectionality

• Identity

•Resistance

Projections

• “If a person constructs a situation [or person] as real, they are real in their consequences” (Thomas theorem)•Projection: seeing others through

our own fears, stereotypes, and beliefs; • projections are below levels of

awareness•We don’t realize we’re doing it

Racism

• Racism: constructions of persons with similar physical features based on beliefs & practices held by persons who are members of groups with more power, privilege, & prestige

• Physical features:

• Color of skin

• Shape of eyes

• Shape of body

• Types of hair

• Food

Racism as Projection

• We project our beliefs and images on others

• We therefore construct others based on what is inside of us and outside of our awareness

• In racism,

• We project negative inner beliefs & images

• We are unaware that we construct others on the basis of our beliefs & images

Racism Leads to Harm

• Racist beliefs and images construct others

• As not as good as we are

• As dangerous

• As people to be feared

• As people who want to hurt us

• As people who are not as smart as we are

• As people who are not as worthy as we are

Racism Leads to Harm

•With these beliefs

•We are the dangerous ones

•We are people to fear

•Our beliefs and images bring great harm to others

Change

• We can change our racist beliefs & practices

• By becoming aware of them

• Group and individual work where we reflect on our beliefs and experiences with persons of other races

• If we are white, individual and group work on

• Our own privileges

• The sources of our privileges• Whose work makes our privileges possible?

• Is anyone underpaid or exploited in any way to maintain

Change

• Immerse ourselves in non-white cultures• Visits ethnic neighborhoods

• Go to ethnic spoken word

• View ethnic art exhibits, movies

• Join advocacy efforts

• Learn histories of non-white people

• Start discussion groups related to racism

• Get training on cultural sensitivity

Effects of Racism: Structurally/Institutionally

• US: long history of institutionalized racism

• Limits power, privilege, prestige, opportunities

• Disproportionality that results from racist constructions of other people:

• Poverty

• Quality of education

• Expulsion from schools

• Child protection cases

Effects of Racism: Structurally/Institutionally

• Disproportionality

• Police killings

• Increased scrutiny at airports

• Arrests; Crack vs. powder cocaine

• Juvenile/adult prison populations

• Physical health

• Access to medical care

• Alternative economies

• longevity

Effects of Racism: Interpersonal

• Daily microaggressions

• Pejorative language regarding identity

• Dehumanizing

• Becomes embedded in brain circuits from an early age

• Inner working models

• Adult reactions to normal child behavior

• Appears to vary by adult perceptions of the meaningsof appearance/race/gender

• White children may be treated more benevolently that children who do not look European American

• If persons define situations as real, they are real in their consequences

Advantages of Dehumanizing Others• Historically

• Genocide of American Indians freed up the land

• US Economy boomed during slavery

• Today: Cheap Labor

• Farm workers

• Undocumented workers

• For Some, Feeling Superior is a Boost

Practice Principles

• Children of color who act out in schools & elsewhere require special care

• Often have experienced complex trauma• Experiences of racism included

• Have a systems of beliefs that guide their behaviors

• Work with parents and the children

• Work with school personnel

• Develop relationships

• Offer services such as group work, recreational opportunities, opportunities to develop talents

• Recreational opportunities that build on children’s interests

Effects of Racism: Interpersonal

• How young people think is laid down in the brains’ neural pathways from birth and even before birth.

• Experiences shapes us long before we have choices about how to behave

• We have choices about how we behave but our choices are limited according to our interpretations of our experiences

• Practice principle:

• Our jobs are to understand other persons’ interpretations of their experiences

Effects of Racism: Interpersonal• Parents socialize children

• By who they are

• Some model resilience in racist contexts

• Some do not

Effects of Racism: Interpersonal• Parents socialize children (cont’d)

• By how they respond to their children

• Some socialize their children to understand and cope with racisms

• Some cannot: too disorganized themselves

• Many others socialize children

• Some foster coping well with racism: resilience

• Some do not

Practice Principles

• Empathy

• Listen

• Seek to understand meanings of behaviors

• Don’t assume

• You can’t do much

• Be a reflective practitioner

• Open up to internalized racism

• Think in terms of butterfly effect

Practice Principles

• Dealing with our own privileges

• We have them

• We did not chose them

• We accept them

• We know we are no better than anyone else

• SW Ethics

• Dignity & worth of all persons

• Social and economic justice

• Care

Practice Principles

• We are social workers because of these values

• Others may be defensive about their privilege

• Some unmovable

• Some open to change

Practice Principles

• Words encapsulate beliefs about other people.

• These beliefs translate into policies,

• programs, every day practices, and inner working models of those

• who hold these beliefs and

• those who are the subject of these beliefs.

Intersectionality/Identity

• Race & gender

• Differential effects of racism by gender

• Practice Question• What do behaviors mean in the contexts of

racism and gender• How about when poverty is an issue?

• How about when age is an issue?

• How about sexual identity?

• Unaddressed complex trauma at issue?

• Parents with unaddressed complex trauma?

Identity Formation

• Who am in these intersectionalities of status variables?

• How do I internalize experiences connected to intersectionalities?

• What specific experiences have I had that connect to these intersectionalities?

• How are these intersectionalities connected to cultural-wide beliefs and practices?

Coping & Resistance

• Coping=Resilience

• Resilience=adversities + use of resources

• Racism-Specific Coping

• Identify the adversities

• Respond to the adversities

• Structural/culture wide responses

• Interpersonal responses

Coping & Resistance

• Responses to adversities associated with racisms

• Structural/culture wide responses

• Critical race theory

• Names racist practices

• Advocates against racist practices & beliefs

• Counterstories to push back against dominant stories

• Research & Teaching

Coping & Resistance

• Responses to the adversities

• Research & Teaching

• Organized resistance: Example

• Civil rights movement

• Chavez: National Farm Workers’ Movement

• Ghandi in India

• Advocacy & Organizing

Coping & Resistance

•Responses to the adversities

• Policies--examples

• Scholarships & Grants

• Head Start

• Indigenous Peoples Day

• Voting Rights

Coping & Resistance

• Interpersonal responses

• Parents socialize children

• Other institutions socialize children

• Invite children and parents in

• Be safe havens

Coping & Resistance

• Interpersonal responses (Continue)

• Teachers, social service providers

• UNDERSTAND PERSONS IN CONTEXTS

• Listen, show, teach, and refer when professional services are required

• Partner with parents, schools, legislators, policy makers

• Join advocacy groups

• organize

• VOTE

Coping & Resistance

• Interpersonal responses (continued)• Create safety• Safety is first

• Children learn when they feel safe• They cooperate

• When they dysregulate• Safety is first

• Build coping once re-regulated• Listen

• Affirm

• Show other ways of responding to triggers

Teaching about Projections

• Is racism related to projections of what is inside of us onto others?

• Do we project what is inside of us onto others?

• How about when we meet someone we like?• Are these positive projections?

• If we become friends or marry this person, do our first impressions change?• Are first impressions projections?

Teach about Projections

• Are we aware of our projections?

• What are our beliefs and images about race?

• How do we become aware of our inner beliefs and images?

• How do we test our inner beliefs and images?

• What can we do to change our inner beliefs and images?

Resources

• Du Bois, W.E.B. (1935). Black reconstruction. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Co.

• Penumbra Theater, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

• Northside Achievement Zone, Minneapolis, MN, USA

• NAACP

• Critical race theory

• Social stratification theory

• Life course theory

• Early movies of Spike Lee

Resources

• Immerse yourself in the cultures of others

• Festivals

• Novels

• Study groups

• Organizations

• Volunteer work in schools and mentoring programs

• Work in soup kitchens

• Work with the homeless

• Use your own talents in the many programs for youth in your own communities

Resources

• Listen

• Know you don’t know

• Empathy: Walk a mile in the shoes of others

• Values: Dignity and worth of all persons of all ages, social class, gender, races, abilities, looks

• Equal opportunities, level playing grounds

• Be willing to change your mind when evidence warrants it

Resources

•What else?