7/16/14
1
Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly
Providence, RI 2014
Many Roads, One Journey to Beloved Community
Welcome and Introductions
Jan Taddeo Josh Pawelek Jacqui C. Williams Jyaphia Christos-Rodgers
Jan Taddeo
7/16/14
2
How this Workshop Came to Be
UU Commitment to Anti-Racism, Multiculturalism: 1992 Calgary GA (Recommend The Arc of the Universe is Long)
Council on Cross-Cultural Engagement Confusion when new programs introduced,
previous programs apparently set aside
Intercultural Competency and the Intercultural Development Indicator
UU Minister’s Association Not the next best “right” way New insights about past work Additional tools for our toolkit Make new friends, keep the old…
Assumptions of the Intercultural Approach
About perception
Developmental
Differences that make a difference
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
7/16/14
3
Communication is the creation of shared meaning.
Intercultural communication is the creation of shared meaning across cultural contexts.
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
In intercultural contexts:
Shared meaning can not be assumed Shared meaning must be:
Negotiated, Discovered and Created
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
Culture…
“It’s just the way we do things around here”
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
7/16/14
4
Culture: It’s a Matter of Perspective
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
The Iceberg Model of Culture
Verbal and Non-Verbal Symbols
Primarily in Awareness
Primarily Out of
Awareness
Incentives to Work Concept of Justice Patterns of Relations Patterns of handling emotions Patterns of Group Decision Making
Conception of Cleanliness Conception of Status Mobility Eye Behavior Attitudes toward the Dependent
Fine Arts Food
Traditional Dances Clothing Language
Cultural Symbols
Approaches to Problem Solving Ordering of Time Patterns of handling conflict Body Language
Roles in Relation to Status: age, sex, class, occupation, kinship, etc Notions of Leadership Nature of Friendship Conception of Past & Future Tempo of Work
Theory of Disease Notions of logic and validity Preference For Competition /Cooperation
Social Interaction Rate Patterns of Communication Facial expressions Arrangement of physical space
and much much more . . . . Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
Key Intercultural Skills… Cultural self-awareness Empathy Curiosity Tolerance for ambiguity Flexibility Courage
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
7/16/14
5
Monocultural Mindsets
Denial
Polariza,on
Minimiza,on
Acceptance
Adapta,on
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensi,vity
Mindsets Intercultural
E x p e r i e n c e o f D i f f e r e n c e
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
Ethnocentric Stages Ethnorelative Stages
Denial/
Defense
Minimization
Acceptance/
Adaptation
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
DAMN!
WOW! That’s really
BAD!
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
7/16/14
6
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
The Iceberg Model of Culture
Verbal and Non-Verbal Symbols
Primarily in Awareness
Primarily Out of
Awareness
Incentives to Work Concept of Justice Patterns of Relations Patterns of handling emotions Patterns of Group Decision Making
Conception of Cleanliness Conception of Status Mobility Eye Behavior Attitudes toward the Dependent
Fine Arts Food
Traditional Dances Clothing Language
Cultural Symbols
Beth Zemsky MAEd, LICSW www.beth.zemsky.com
Approaches to Problem Solving Ordering of Time Patterns of handling conflict Body Language
Roles in Relation to Status: age, sex, class, occupation, kinship, etc Notions of Leadership Nature of Friendship Conception of Past & Future Tempo of Work
Theory of Disease Notions of logic and validity Preference For Competition /Cooperation
Social Interaction Rate Patterns of Communication Facial expressions Arrangement of physical space
and much much more . . . .
Jyaphia Christos-Rodgers
7/16/14
7
One path on the Journey towards racial justice, a strategy to dismantle racism.
We who do this work owe much credit to Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training and the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond for long term mentorship on this ever evolving path.
Anti-Racist Organizing for Systemic Change
Since the mid 1990’s this methodology for racial justice has been embodied in the UU Journey Toward Wholeness initiative, largely shared through two of the Association’s AR/AO organizing/training programs:
The adult-oriented Creating a Jubilee World Youth and Young Adult-driven Groundwork
Collective
What’s Unique About this Approach? A movement-building strategy for systemic change through
institutional and community organizing
Assumes that Racism: Is more than just overt discrimination,
Is largely shaped by laws and also by practices
Is more than just black and white, but a multiracial reality,
Is a social construction that dehumanizes the privileged and the oppressed.
7/16/14
8
Skills for the Work Learn from history and pay attention to dynamics of power.
Have to talk about why people are poor to understand it.
Racism is a strategy to keep class arrangements in place.
The Analysis: Race OR Class? – Wrong Question Racism manifests at the Institutional, Cultural and Individual
levels. To do this we need: Skills for identifying racism at work – a common analysis that
addresses layers of history, culture, and power in the U.S.
Skills for organizing to make change in our communities and institutions
Institutional Level Racism Since the nation’s inception, racial bias was built into the
structure and function of all U.S. institutions
Because of this “baked-in” quality of racial bias, our societal systems and institutions often “Feet of Oppression” for people of color communities and “doors of opportunity” for whiter communities.
7/16/14
9
The Individual Level of Racism We are all racialized at birth in this country when a race is
assigned to us
Our socialization tells us who we are in the social order. We inherit either white privilege, or oppression as People of Color
Consciously or unconsciously, we live out these identiites
Organizing For Change Working inside and outside ourselves, our communities, and
our institutions
Develop teams and networks that strategically act to dismantle the specific ways racial inequity shows up
These efforts must focus on developing accountability to anti racist People of Color if they are to be effective at creating racial equity
This path invites us, in Ghandi’s words” to “be the change we want to see in the world”
Transformative Culture Organizing across race lines, with real commitment to
address our individual and collective racialization, we develop relationships that can transform our communities and institutions
Racism fosters a culture of competition, scarcity, secrecy and rigid, dichotomous logic*
Antiracism infuses deep values of collaboration, transparency, abundance, and affirmative, “both/and” thinking. It is intentional but focuses on impact, not intent to identify the presence of racism*
* Credit goes to Crossroads Antiracism
7/16/14
10
No Quick Fix
Our job is to infuse our communities with transformative values by co-creating institutions that are anti-racist, diverse and inclusive.
Given the harm that has occurred across generations, it will take a generational effort to restore the human family to beloved community. It is a long haul.
Pair Share: Discuss with a Partner
Choose a single social system or instution (i.e. schools, the police department, grocers, etc.) and discuss specific ways that they can be the “feet of oppression” for POC communities and “doors of opportunity for whiter communities.
The Long Haul is a Fourfold Path
Identity work Lenses and analyses Organizing and witness Infusion
7/16/14
14
UUA Multicultural Growth and Witness Staff Group www.uua.org/multiculturalism
Engaging in Multicultural Ministry Multicultural Leadership Institute
Beyond Categorical Thinking www.uua.org/careers/ministers/transitions/bct
Social Justice Empowerment Workshop www.uua.org/action/empowerment
UUA Tapestry of Faith www.uua.org/tapestry
Building the World We Dream About: A Tapestry of Faith Program for Adults Dr. Mark A. Hicks and Gail Forsyth-Vail www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/btwwda
Examining Whiteness: An Anti-Racism Curriculum Rev. Dr. William Gardner www.uua.org/multiculturalism/curricula/whiteness
Beloved Conversations: Meditations on Race and Ethnicity Dr. Mark Hicks www.meadville.edu/beloved
Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice, Edited by Wayne Au www.rethinkingschools.org
Resources: On-Line
7/16/14
15
Beacon House and Skinner House: Wide selection of books on anti-racism, anti-oppression, and multiculturalism
Mark Morrison-Reed Black Pioneers in a White Denomination
Been in the Storm So Long
In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby
Darkening the Doorways: Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism
The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism
Learning to Be White: Money, Race and God in America, Thandeka
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander
The Arc of the Universe is Long: Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism, and the Journey from Calgary Leslie Takahashi-Morris, James (Chip) Roush, Leon Spencer
Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice, Edited by Wayne Au
Resources: Books
Atlanta Monthly June issue Ta-Nehisi Coates, May 21, 2014 The Case for Reparations: Two hundred fifty tears of slavery, Ninety Years of Jim Crow, Sixty Years of separate but equal, Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole.
UUA Multicultural Growth and Witness Staff Group, Video Lending Library www.uua.org/multiculturalism/discuss
Buzzfeed Videos: If Asians Said the Stuff White People Say
If Black People Said the Stuff White People Say
10 Conversations on Racism I’m Sick of Having with White People
The White Privilege Pop Quiz: The Test You Can’t Fail: Molly Secours
Resources: Videos, Articles, Curricula
• Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM)
• UU Allies for Racial Equity (ARE)
• Transgender Religious Professional Unitarian Universalists Together (TrUUsT)
• Equual Access
• Southern Poverty Law Center: Teaching Tolerance Project
• Colorlines: On-line, Magazine & Facebook
Resources: Organizations
7/16/14
16
History does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are consciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do.
- James Baldwin
You feel like a drop in the bucket? Who asked you to fill the bucket – especially all alone? …
Persistence depends on patience, on keeping at it when there is little to reassure us. It would be too bad to give up, to sit, bemoan the sorry state of the world and wonder why somebody, anybody, everybody (but not me, thank you) doesn’t do something about ‘it.’
After all, the Grand Canyon was fashioned by drops of water as ordinary as they seem.
- Rev. Gordon McKeeman
Josh Pawelek
Top Related