Cultural Competency & Social Justice Allyship: A Partnership for Change

Lucy Flowers, MA, OCPS (she/her/hers)

Director, School-Based Prevention, PASS

Instructor, Women & Gender Studies, Wright State University

&

Janeece West, BA, RA (she/her/hers)

Coordinator, Mental Health First Aid, PASS

Certificate of Women & Gender Studies

Session Ground Rules

• Be respectful and empathetic

• Participate

• Be considerate with sharing (time is limited!)

• Will be Q & A session at end

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Session Overview/Outcomes

5 Core Allyship Skills

1. Understanding Intersectionality

2. Understanding Oppression

3. Understanding Privilege

4. Learning & Moving Forward

5. Enacting Allyship (an ongoing process)

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Allyship Defined

• Not only equated with the LGBT community

• Allyship: an active, consistent, arduous practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person of privilege seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group (Anti-Oppression Network).

• Being a good ally is a LIFELONG PROCESS

• Why is being an ally important in prevention or behavioral health type work?

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Allyship Skill #1 Understanding Intersectionality

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What is Intersectionality?

• Term coined by activist KimberléWilliams Crenshaw

• Framework for understanding ways aspects of identities intersect and shape individual experiences (oppression, domination, discrimination)

• The belief that oppressions are interlinked and can’t be solved alone

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Image: views-voices.oxfam.org

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Chart by University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

Allyship Skill #2 Understanding Oppression

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What is Oppression?

“To hold down—to press”

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Image: Silent-Boy Poetry

Understanding Oppression

10Video produced by Eliana Pipes & Encompass at the Western Justice Center in Pasedena, CA

The 4 Levels or “I’s” of Oppression

• Internalized internalized ideology of inferiority

• Interpersonal personal disrespect and mistreatment

• Institutional about control: laws, legal system, police practices, education system, hiring policies, media representation etc.

• Ideological beliefs or ideas (superior vs inferior)

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Chinook Fund (2010)

Group Activity

• Come up with examples of how an individual from one of the identity groups below might experience the cycle of oppression through the 4 levels

A Person…• with a mental illness and/or substance use disorder• who is lesbian or gay• with a physical disability• who is an immigrant and person of color• who is over 65• who is non-christian• whose native language is not english• who has been incarcerated for a felony• who has a low socioeconomic status

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Internalized

Interpersonal

Institutional

Ideological

Allyship Skill #3Understanding Privilege

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Why Does Privilege Make People So Angry?

14Video by Franchesca Ramsey and MTV Decoded

Privilege defined“Living without ever having to think twice, face, confront, engage, or cope with anything regarding your race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, ability, age, first language, sexual orientation, gender identity and so on.” (Petey Peterson--WSU)

“Before you can fight for the rights of others you have to understand what rights you have and others do not.” (Anonymous)

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Image: Emanu.se

Allyship Skill #4Learning & Moving Forward

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Learning Effective Allyship

•Cultural awareness is a social responsibility• DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Education is key. Don’t allow ignorance to hurt

others or undermine your perceived intelligence

• Do not expect individuals from marginalized groups to educate you –use the resources available to you (will be some at the ending slide)

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Some Ways to Learn• Educate oneself

• Learn from and listen to people who are targets of oppression

• Examine and challenge one’s own prejudices, stereotypes, and assumptions

• Get used to using “person-first” (and recovery friendly) language

• Work through feelings of guilt, shame, and defensiveness

• Don’t generalize

• DO NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT ISSUES!!!!

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Moving ForwardHow to work through an “Oops”

• Apologize – and mean it

• Openness to being corrected instead of being defensive

• Resist making excuses – own up to your mistakes

• Recognize your impact, not just your intent

• Use it as a learning opportunity and keep improving

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‘Getting Called Out: How to Apologize’ @chescaleigh

Allyship Skill #5Enacting Allyship

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Developing Into an Ally

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Chart by Karen Bradberry, PhD, Director of Equity & Inclusion, Greenhill School in Texas

How can we address Microaggresions?• Ask open ended questions/Ask for elaboration

• “Can you elaborate on that?”

• Paraphrase what was said• “So you're saying ….”

• Use “I” statements• “I felt uncomfortable when you said…”

• Use preference statements (not demands)• “It would be helpful to me if…”

• Separate the person from the action or behavior • “You’re sexist” vs “That could be perceived as a sexist remark.”

• Reframe• “Could there be another way to look at this?”

• Revisit• “I would like to go back to a previous conversation we had…”

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Image: Peacelove.org

University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point

Thank you!Questions, Comments?

General Resource Examples/Websites: • Sierra Club (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resource) (sierraclub.org)• Anti-Oppression Network (antioppressionnetwork.com)• Guide to Allyship (guidetoallyship.com)

Prevention and Behavioral Health Specific Resources for Cultural Competency:• Center for Disease Control (cdc.gov)• Suicide Prevention Resource Center (sprc.org)• SAMHSA (samhsa.gov)