White Fragility

I just finished White Fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism, by Robin DiAngelo.

I need this book. I need it to help me talk about race. To help me verbalize what I'm learning about racism. I wanted to share my notes publicly, even if it's hard for white people to read. If you find it difficult, I suggest you pick up this book and read it yourself - I will miss a TON.

We are socialized into different groups - whether we acknowledge this or not. (17)
Race is a social construction - never more prevalent than in the United States.
If we "look white," we are treated as white in society at large. Although our internal identities may be different, if we "pass" as white, we will still have the white experience externally. (18)
All humans have prejudice. Prejudice is pre-judgment about another person based on thoughts and feelings, including stereotypes, attitudes, and generalizations that are based on little or no experience and then are projected onto everyone from that group. (19)
Discrimination is action based on prejudice (ignoring, exclusion, threats, ridicule, slander, violence). Everyone has prejudice, and everyone discriminates. (20)
Racism occurs when a racial group's prejudice is backed by legal authority and institutional control. This authority and control transforms individual prejudices into a far-reaching system that no longer depends on the good intentions of individual actors; it becomes the default of the society and is reproduced automatically. Racism is a system.  (White men granted suffrage to women, but only granted full access to white women.) (21)
The racial ideology that circulates in the U.S. rationalizes racial hierarchies as the outcome of a natural order resulting from either genetics or individual effort or talent. (21)
The direction of power between white people and people of color is historic, traditional, and normalized in ideology.  Whites hold the social and institutional positions in society to infuse their racial prejudice into the laws, policies, practices, and norms of society in a way that people of color do not. ... In the U.S. only whites have the collective social institutional power and privilege over people of color. THIS is racism. (22)
White supremacy = promotes the idea of whiteness as the ideal for humanity.

Who controls our institutions?

White supremacy is more than the idea that whites are superior to people of color; it is the deeper premise that supports this idea - the definition of whites as the norm or standard for human, and people of color as a deviation from that norm. (33)
White people are defensive, because we have a lack of understanding of implicit bias. (43)
Here I am, today, reading this book in a "good" and "sheltered" community = white community. I am so very privileged. All I see is whites. I belong here. I can go into highly affluent communities and not worry that I don't belong - after all, I'm white. Wherever I go, I am not looked at as a threat or as a criminal. I can teach without worrying about losing my job by saying something "wrong." I am not troubled by racism on a daily (or even weekly or monthly or YEARLY basis). I am free from many burdens - because the color of my skin is white, and society accepts this. (ch 4)

I was actually worried about sharing my thoughts on this book, because of fear of being shunned by fellow white people. There is white solidarity everywhere - no white person wants to cause a stir. That would mean we'd have to TALK about it. Oh, how uncomfortable that would make us. (ch 4)
The "good old days" that white people talk about were only good for white men! (59)
White innocence is NOT an excuse to not talk about race. Just because I grew up segregated (for the most part) from people of color does not mean I haven't benefited from racism. Growing up in segregation (schools, work, social gatherings, places of worship, entertainment, shopping...) reinforces the message that our experiences and perspectives are the only ones that matter. We don't see people of color around us, and few if any adults acknowledge a lack of racial diversity as a problem. In fact, the classification of which neighborhoods are good and which are bad is always based on race. (65)
White people often use color-blind statements or color-celebrated statements to show they are not racist. This only takes race off the table and closes any further exploration. This protects the racial status quo. (78)
Once we understand the power of implicit bias, we know that we must deepen rather than close off further reflection. (81-82)
While it isn't comfortable for most whites to talk about racism, we must do so if we want to challenge - rather than protect - racism. (86-87)
Am I actively seeking to interrupt racism in this context? How do I know? (87)
We've been taught that people of color aren't as smart as white people. We've been taught that they're more violent. We've been taught that it's them vs. us. Yet America was (literally) founded on the backs of black people. White men raped black slaves, only to enslave more. They sold black children. This guilt that whites must have also contributes to anti-blackness.
Anti-blackness is rooted in misinformation, fables, perversions, projections, and lies. (94)
White people are surrounded by protection. We have an insulated environment of racial privilege. We expect racial comfort and become less tolerant of racial stress (she's getting into what white fragility means now). (100)

Random thoughts - Why is it that the government comes down on crack/cocaine users (mostly black) and yet tries to help herion addicts (mostly white)? Jesus is white in my world. Santa Claus is almost always white. (My ignorance shows here - is it because he lives at the North Pole?? Please let me know if this is racism on my part, and help me figure it out.)

I realized what my own response has been when it's been suggested I don't benefit from being white...
Some responses are challenges to objectivity, white taboos on talking openly about race, racial comfort, the expectation that people of color will serve us, white solidarity, white racial innocence, white authority, white centrality, and universalism. My issue? A challenge to meritocracy. I've always thought - I've worked hard to get to where I am. My family wasn't the richest. We lived in what people called "Hangover Park," for goodness sake. Dad was being laid off all the time. We reused paper plates! My white fragility comes when I must acknowledge that access is unequal between racial groups. (104)
When it comes to white solidarity, white protect their positions when challenged by characterizing themselves as victimized, slammed, blamed, and attacked - all violent actions that are not actually happening. Yet - they're playing on one of the biases we have of people of color - that they're dangerous. Whites claim they are unfairly treated if they're called out on racism!! (109)
Whites can make it so miserable to be confronted - that those "bullying" them will back off, give up, and never raise the issue again - thus supporting the status quo and maintain power and control. (112)
The author asked people of color, "What would it be like if you could simply give us feedback, have us graciously receive it, reflect, and work to change the behavior?" One reply - "It would be revolutionary." (113) Revolutionary.
When whites act fragile - they are protecting racism. (122)

When it comes to feedback, the author tries to follow these guidelines on page 125:

1. How, where, and when you give me feedback is irrelevant - it is the feedback I want and need. Understanding that it is hard to give, I will take it any way I can get it. From my position of social, cultural, and institutional white power and privilege, I am perfectly safe and I can handle it. If I cannot handle it, it's on ME to build my racial stamina.
2. Thank you.

White people raised in Western society are conditioned into a white supremacist worldview because it is the bedrock of our society and its institutions. Regardless of whether a parent told you that everyone was equal, or the poster in the hall of your white suburban school proclaimed the value of diversity, or you have traveled abroad, or you have people of color in your workplace or family, the ubiquitous socializing power of white supremacy cannot be avoided. The messages circulate 24-7 and have little or nothing to do with intentions, awareness, or agreement. Entering the conversation with this understanding is freeing because it allows us to focus on how - rather than if - our racism is manifest. (129)
The more defensive (fragile) we act, we will protect our limited worldview, and stunt our emotional and intellectual growth.  We need to receive feedback on our inevitable but unaware racist patterns, and we may feel gratitude, motivation, humility, compassion, discomfort and guilt that may lead to reflection, apology, seeking more understanding, grappling, engaging, listening, and processing. (141)

Let's try to use these assumptions from pages 142-143 (these are the ones that hit me the most)...

• Racism is a multilayered system embedded in our culture.
• Whites have blind spots on racism - I have many blind spots on racism.
• Racism is complex, and I don't have to understand every nuance of the feedback to validate that feedback.
• Bias is implicit and unconscious; I don't expect to be aware of mine without a lot of ongoing effort.
• Giving us white people feedback on our racism is risky for people of color, so we can consider the feedback a sign of trust.
• Authentic antiracism is rarely comfortable. Discomfort is key to my growth and thus desirable.
• It takes courage to break with white solidarity; how can I support those who do?
• Racism hurts (even kills) people of color 24-7. Interrupting it is more important than my feelings, ego, or self-image.

Finally, I was looking for WHAT TO DO. It's simple. It will take the rest of my life. Keep learning. Do my homework. How have I managed to not know what to do about racism? I need to get educated. I need to build more relationships with people of color. I need to get out of my comfort zone and change my environment. (144)

In a vicious racial cycle, white fragility has functioned to keep people of color from challenging racism in order to avoid white wrath. In turn, not challenging white people on racism upholds the racial order and whites' position within that order. (153)

Frivolous Expenses

I once overheard a student say his family went to Ruth's Chris over the weekend. I'd never been. I did purchase a $50 gift card for my parents to go there - they went during Happy Hour and split a sandwich. That's all the $50 covered. So when I heard that one of my students went there, I thought, "Why shouldn't I be able to go?" When it came time for my parents' wedding anniversary this year, I decided to splurge and bring them with us. All four of us could enjoy some excellent steak, right?

I underestimated the cost and the service. I have never had such a wonderful piece of meat or lobster tail (I got the surf and turf - 6 oz filet and two lobster tails). Each of us got what we wanted - and each meal was around $50 without sides or drinks.

The cost - without tip - $316.00

I didn't cry. I didn't choke. I didn't pass out. I accepted what was, added the tip, and smiled all the way. We had enjoyed every aspect of the meal - the service and food were impeccable, and the atmosphere was pleasant. I learned why they offered us black linen napkins, what "medium rare" really meant, what the top 2% of meat in the US tasted like, and my food stayed warm on the 500 degree plate. My parents even got a tiny cheesecake and bit of ice cream (with "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate on the plate...), and we got two photos of us to take home.

As we were getting ready to leave, I took in the other patrons. There were probably 35 other people dining, and all were white except one. My gut said I didn't want to eat there again. We just spend how much money? On food and drink? In my mind, it was a once in a lifetime visit. In my mind, even though it was a special treat, it was "too frivolous."

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The next morning, my husband showed me an article from the May 2018 issue of Science Focus. For those with the means, you can book your 12-day 2022 trip to the space hotel on the Aurora Station. Of course you'll have to train for three months prior, but for approximately $9.5 MILLION....... Turns out space tourism has been going on since the first man went in 2001.

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I know that going to Ruth's Chris is not comparable to heading into space. I do think, however, that the takers they'll have for that trip will also be white. I cannot find the other seven non-astronauts that have taken a trip in space. I wonder what kind of money or status got them there.

My mind goes to all the wealth we've accumulated. My husband worked until he was 59 - and he worked hard - running service, watching so boilers don't explode, fixing machines on roofs during the hottest summer and coldest winters, and how he has his social security and retirement income. I am still working, and used to work every summer (until one lucky summer off - and I haven't turned back). I've gone for my Master's and my National Board certification, and I am constantly learning and growing as an educator. I have been able to choose my jobs and haven't slacked off. Yes, we've both earned what we make, and yes, we've both grown up white.

I have no clue how to spread the wealth to those who couldn't dream of eating at Ruth's Chris. I have no clue where to go from here. The "blessings bags" for homeless aren't enough. The volunteering at Feed My Starving Children is not enough. Donating to Donors Choose with low-income families is not enough. By no means does that mean I'll stop - I just need to know what to do better.

Breakout by Kate Messner

I just finished Breakout by Kate Messner, and did not expect to be writing about it on this blog.

I needed to let readers know that this book is such a great start for discussions about race and hidden biases!! I'd suggest it for grades 5 and up. Although it's 433 pages, it's full of letters, reports, text messages, recorded conversations, poems, and drawings, so it doesn't take that long to read. It also includes inspiration from Nikki Giovanni, Nikki Grimes, Jacqueline Woodson and Lin Manuel Miranda.

Blind Spot

I'm currently reading Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Banaji and Greenwald. Here are some of my rambling notes as I read through it...

It's going slowly, as I take more time with nonfiction. I've taken the "tests" they have for us, and I'm proud to share my results:

And even better?

I can now breathe again. I wonder, however, how my results may have turned out 5 years ago. Or ten. Or fifteen. I hope they would always be the same. My mom had to be the one to tell me I "couldn't be with" certain people... I wonder how my parents would do on these?

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The above was published on this blog on August 26th...
Here's a bit more information from September 9th that irks the heck out of me...

Weapons pictured in this test were not just guns, but weapons that have strong historical associations with European cultures.

And a quote from pgs 105-106 in Blindspot:

First, the automatic Black = weapons association is much stronger among all groups who took the test - White, Asian, Hispanic, and even African American - than is suggested by surveys that asked questions about this association. Second, the size of this automatic stereotype varies noticeably by groups - it is largest in Whites and Asians, next largest in Hispanics, and smallest in African Americans. But even African Americans show a modest Black = weapons stereotype.

Black men are well aware that those around them associate them with violence, often including other Black Americans themselves, who carry the stigmatizing belief to a lesser extent than Whites and Asians. They experience it every day, whether they are walking down a street, trying to hail a cab, entering a store, applying for a job, for housing, for a loan. Many have developed explicit strategies to signal that they are harmless. ...

And then... as I was taking the next one, I could FEEL my unconscious (subconscious?) kicking in, and knew I'd have a bias for this one, even though I'd JUST READ that 64.2 million women and 63.4 million men are non-farm payroll employees. AND... my husband stays home and I go to work! (To be fair, though, he did work and is now retired.)

From the book again:

Despite the fact that a massive cultural and economic change has resulted in 50 percent of the workforce in the United States now being female, there has been much less of a change in who occupies the role of primary caregiver at home. ... So even though the workplace is now populated by as many women as men, we suspect that stereotypes remain present because of the strong and dominating presence of women in the home sphere and the strong and dominating position of men in the highest status positions at work (112). This result [mine above, and most people's] isn't especially surprising. After all, as discussed..., men still dominate in the world of work, and women still dominate domestic life (115).

The data from the gender-career IAT show that about 75 percent of male respondents display the automatic gender stereotype of male = work and female = family. Leading them by a little, 80 percent of women show the same automatic stereotype! ...  [To help some of us feel better, the authors added this next bit of information...] Decade by decade, the younger the test takers are, the weaker is this automatic gender bias (115).

This, to me, is easier to understand than the bias I held above with Black = weapons. What still bugs me, is my bias that American = White; this I found out earlier in the book, and it's still kicking my butt.

Also, I'm thinking of my current students. Which may I have not talked with much yet because I figure they're more into athletics than reading and writing? Which may I have not paid as much attention to because I figure their parents may not be as involved? Keeping my eyes open...

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This bit was eye-opening...

The use of language to establish identity was nicely demonstrated in a recent study led by Andy Baron at Harvard University. In his study, three- to five-year-olds were shown pictures of two groups of cartoon characters, one colored purple, the other red. One group did rotten things such as break toys and cause car crashes, while the other did nice things such as help others. If the children merely saw these differently colored and differently behaving characters, they didn't seem to assign them a group identity. But if they were given names for the two groups ("These are the Nifs," "These are the Lups") they quickly figured out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. In other words, at that age, the differences in the appearance of the two sets of characters (purple versus red) were not automatically seen as cues to group membership. But once the groups had names, the children became aware of the differences between them and understood that they belonged in different categories. This is the beginning of stereotyping (131-132).

I. Love. This. It makes so much sense! And I hate it just the same. We are hard-wired to categorize. We are hard-wired to label. It's part of our being.

Racial identity affects our interactions with others in so many ways. We may have negative experiences with one person of a particular race, and it will affect our unconscious about that group of people - just based on their color. Reactions such as these used to be used by our minds to help us survive - certain __________ used to be categorized in our minds as "safe" or "dangerous." But in present day, this hard-wired response has lost its relevance:

In the modern world, where friendships, collaborations, businesses, and entire economies span the globe in a highly networked web of interdependence, the ability to create alliances that bypass boundaries of race, nationality, and culture can have bearing on our well-being, our prosperity, our productivity - and perhaps even our survival (135).

We NEED people. Of all colors, races, opinions. We need to learn from everyone we meet.

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This bit was also disturbing. There's a chapter in Blind Spot about "Us & Them." The authors make a good point about how we help those that are most like us, and discriminate against those that are not - by NOT helping them as much. Here's one story shared...

Carla Kaplan was an assistant professor of American literature at Yale in the late 1980s, a serious young scholar in her late twenties who looked even younger than her actual age. Carla was also a dedicated quilter. While working with patches of cloth, she could be transported to faraway places of pattern and color, oblivious to all but the world she was creating.

One evening, Carla slit her hand from accidentally dropping a crystal bowl while she was washing it. Her boyfriend took her to the emergency room of the university affiliated Yale-New Haven Hospital.

At the ER, Carla's boyfriend made it clear to the resident physician on duty that Carla's quilting was very important to her and that he feared the injury might impair the fine motor control she needed for this activity she loved so much. The doctor seemed to understand this concern and expressed confidence that all would be well if they could just "stitch it up quickly."

As the doctor prepared Carla's hand for the stitches, a student volunteer who had been working nearby recognized Carla and exclaimed, "Professor Kaplan! What are you doing here?" and this sentence seemed to stop the doctor in his tracks. "Professor?" he asked. "You're a professor at Yale?" Within seconds Carla found herself on a gurney, being escorted to the hospital's surgery department. The best hand surgeon was called in, and a team worked for hours to restore Carla's hand to perfection (141)... 

The us / them discrimination was due, this time, to where they work. Sometimes, the discrimination rears its head by inaction - the absence of helping. I feel this relates to those I'm connected to at my work and in my Twitter PLN. I mentioned it a bit in this post about my own personal Twitter rules, and I'm going to try to explain here...

If anyone were to look at those I follow, they'd notice I am mostly connected to white educators. Is this a fault of my conscious? I doubt it. I think it's the fault of where I reside, who has connected with me, what it says on people's Twitter bios, and what I might miss or see on any given day. I'll blame my Twitter habits, too. When a teacher from my PLN tags me in a request to either donate or share their Donors Choose project, I do not retweet their request, and I feel terrible for at least a week. I feel terrible for not retweeting it, because, really, what could it hurt? But my brain thinks this - If I retweet this, this person might get a lot of donations due to the number of teachers following me. I don't see this as fair to those who are not connected as much on Twitter. When I read this section of "us and them," I could see that my choice to retweet would be, in a sense, making the rich richer. This made me feel better about my decision to not retweet requests for funds. Donating is a very personal decision for many people, and I want to help the least fortunate, and I do my research before contributing. When I think of Carla's story above, I don't want to NOT help others who may need the same help.

I don't know if I'm making sense, or if I'm rambling. I just hate the notion that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and I believe it's happening to me. I am making more money now than ever before, and that, perhaps, has allowed me to write and publish a book, meaning I make even more money (some may see this amount as significant, and others not so much). Because I was born into a family whose parents worked, and I went through a solid school district, I was able to pay my way through college and get this good-paying job myself. I currently live ten miles away from where I grew up. Many circumstances and decisions have gotten me here. Many roads have been passed while others have been taken. I am a product of opportunity, choices, and effort. If I'm going to help others, I'd rather be helping those who are a product of not-so-much opportunity. I do not want to contribute to what the authors call "hidden discrimination," and yet I know I already have.

Discrimination is hard to perceive because it does not present itself in obvious comparisons, where we must decide in a single moment whether to help one or the other. These behaviors happen in sequence, allowing the fact that one was helped and the other not to remain in our blindspot (142).

The importance of Carla's story is that by capturing not just acts of commission but acts of omission, we expand our sense of how hidden bias operates. It also allows us to see that the people responsible for such acts of omission are, like the doctor who is the main actor in this story, by and large good people who believe that helping is admirable. So far as we can tell, the doctor was a responsible and caring professional who had no conscious intention to discriminate against Carla the quilter. Nevertheless, he did discriminate and the harm that could have been done to Carla's hand had she not been recognized as a member of the in-group is a real one. 

How to outsmart the machine known as the brain? They haven't yet found a way, but the authors are confident there will be much more research, as they've seen temporary results from minor experiments. One thing we can do - put (literal) blinders on when possible. One more - expose ourselves to as many different people as we can. Those that defy the stereotypes would be the best for starters. And while we're at it, let's expose our children to as many different children (and their parents) as we can!

I'm exhausted. In a good way. My brain took a hit while reading Blind Spot, as the stories the authors shared made me read and re-read closer many times over. I'm so glad I read this book, and I'm looking forward to trying to explain parts of it to others when the occasion arises.

Media

This.



What is this?
Why is this?
How is this?

37 New Hires

All but one are female.
Most are white.
   -One looks to be wearing a hajib.
   -One looks to be Asian Indian.

This district has this demographic of children:

Here is a new list of questions:

• Where is the one male going? 
• Where is the one woman who is not white heading?
• When students draw a "scientist," they usually draw a male. What about when they draw a teacher?
• I know of three males on Twitter that do not have a teaching job yet this year. Do their neighboring districts need male teachers?
• How important is it that we have male teachers at each school? At each grade level?
• Do school districts keep track of how many male and female teachers they hire?
• Do school districts keep track of how many ethnicities they hire?
• I wonder how many people with any type of "disability" teach? (Do corrective lenses or hearing aids count?)
• What other questions should I be asking?
• What am I missing? What am I not noticing?

Billboards

On the way to Cedar Point (in Sandusky, OH) from our house (west of Chicago), I started noticing the "color," or lack thereof, of the people featured on advertisement billboards. I decided to notice it intentionally on the ride home. I'm becoming more and more upset with my own ignorance...

Here's the line that is representative of where I took notes on billboards I could see heading west:

Given the myriad billboards along this route (they came fast and furious!), I thought I'd organize them here in some fashion... I'm only going to use skin tone. Some last names may give away more of an ethnicity, but I'm only noticing color this time around. I'll start with the most prevalent.

WHITE / Caucasian people in billboards:
Males:
  Alvarez (lawyers) - two white males (5 billboards)
  NuMale.com - one white male - can only see his hands (4 billboards)

  Glen Lerner (lawyer) - one white male (3 billboards)
  Krazy Kaplan's (fireworks) - one white animated male (3 billboards)
  Reef River Waterpark - one white male child (2 billboards)
  Ken Allen Law - one white male (2 billboards)
  Leona's Law - one white male (2 billboards)
  Blackburn & Green - two white males
  Shoreline Brewery - one white (older - 80s?) male
  Fly South Bend - one white male on a tablet
  Sarkisian Assoc. (lawyers) - two white males
  Franciscan Health - one white male
  Philippe Homes - one white male
  Pilot - one white male
  Portage Dental - one white male
  Purdue - one white male
  Langer Law - one white male
  Specialty Physicians - one white male
  Accelerate - one white boy
  One-Hour Tees - one white male
  Raging Waters - one white boy
  U.S. Waterproofing - one white male
  United Home Loans - Einstein
Females:
  Franciscan Health - one white female (3 billboards)
  St. Mary Cancer Care - one white female doctor and one white female patient
  Club 39 - one white (fake blonde) female
  Polekatz - one white (fake blonde) female
  Dream Girls - one white (fake blonde) female
  Serenity Salon - one white female
  Mane Image - one white female
  Caldwell Banker - one white female
  Exact Time (watchmaker) - one white female
  Cosmetology - one white female
  Webb Ford - one white female ("Even if your credit isn't perfect!")
Mix of genders:
  Pintas & Mullins (lawyers) - one white male and one white female (7 billboards)
  Pintas & Mullins (lawyers) - two white males (one a doctor) and one white female (7 billboards)
  Teeth Tomorrow - one white male and one white female (3 billboards)
  Pintas Law - two white males, one white female
  Midwest Express Clinic - one white male doctor, one white female child patient
  Dark Forest (homes? subdivision?) - one white family
  Adopt U.S. Kids - one white male and one white teen female
  In the Game - one white female and one white child
  Hotels of Oakbrook - two white children

BLACK / African-American people in these billboards:
Males:
  Marines - one black male
  Gary Community School - one black male
Females:
  Webb Hundai - one black female ("Where everyone gets the 'family' treatment!")
  Church Girl Closet - one black female
  Kali Beauty - one black female
  Kreations by Kashell - three black females
  Entenmann's Lite Bites - one black female child
  Brookfield Zoo - one black female child
  UTI.edu - one black female
Mix of genders:
  107.5 FM - two black males, one black female (musicians/artists)

MIX of ethnicities in these billboards:
  Community Health - three white females, one black male, one white male (2 billboards)
  Ken Allen Law - one white male, one black male child, one white female child
  Purdue University - two black males, one white female, one I'm not sure of
  Summer Learning - mix of young adults

I'M NOT SURE of the ethnicities in these billboards:

  Anti-abortion ad - one baby

  Don Quixote / Best of Spain - one male

  103.5 FM / Fred and Angie - one white male and one female

  IKEA - one female

  Cabela's - one male silhouette

These are simply observations of the billboards along this area that had humans in them. Now I know I need to notice more intentionally - more often!

Immediately, I thought of when I was going through my undergrad classes, in Deaf education. One of my friends who is Deaf, mentioned one time that she thought Deaf people died early. She'd never before met any other Deaf person (her parents are hearing) until college. I wondered - where are the advertisements with people with hearing aids? Service dogs? Wheelchairs? This is a whole other avenue that needs to be noticed.

And here are more questions I have now...
What does this say?
What are the demographics of this area?
Who are the billboards appealing to?
Who goes through this area the most?
Do many truckers need lawyers?
Why are there so many billboards for lawyers?
Are most lawyers white?
Are most strippers white?
Are most people who attend strip clubs white?
Should I look next time on our way to Michigan at only the strip club billboards?
Can people tell the ethnicity of babies just by looking at them?
How do people tell the ethnicity of other people? I, obviously, can NOT.
What IS white? Does it include Hispanic? Italian?
What IS black? Does it include Dominican? Brazilian?
Where are the Hispanic, Asian or Indian faces on the billboards?
Are these people on billboards role models?
Where are the doctors and lawyers of color?
How much do they charge for these billboards?
How many billboards is too many in one area?
Do multiple billboards (Pintas & Mullins!) increase business? Or just plant a seed?
Do billboards contribute to accidents?
How many of these billboards are lit up at night?
How can I ask students about their own ethnicity so I make sure to include those characters in the books/stories we read?

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

Dangerous Discussions...

I just finished reading this piece from Ursula Wolfe-Rocca...

Dangerous Discussions: Voice and Power in My Classroom

Give it a read!!

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

Assumption or Bias

Thank you Joy for sharing your very personal reflection about biases which lead me to stop and think about my own.

My first thought is, I'm not comfortable with the word -bias. To me, I don't wish to be associated with its negativity, prejudice or inclination against a person or group. I'm not bias or prejudice. Then I thought, why am I being so defensive?

Because it is true. I make assumptions without any facts or proof, which leads to being bias. We recently sold our house and are applying for a rental while our new home is built. I'm avoiding certain parts of town because I'm bias. I assume anyone who lives there is in a lower social economic circumstance, perhaps dysfunctional families and wouldn't make ideal neighbours.

I see very young mothers and couples during the day and assume they are unemployed, unwed and living on welfare and life must be challenging. Again I'm being bias, stereotyping.

Having greater awareness of biases and preconceived ideas can be addressed by knowing and understanding different groups and cultures in my community, country and the world and listening to their story.

I am very conscientious not to show any assumptions or biases, especially in the classroom. It's a priority to know each of my students well, to build a relationship with each. When biases are raised, together we need to arm ourselves with proper knowledge, understanding, and perspective.

This post was written by Catherine Williams.

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

Boston Colors

We were in Boston this week!

I did not feel any biases (even though they're there... hiding for now), but I did NOTICE.

This post is only about what I saw.

Fenway - the "green monstah," and red and white all around - shirts, socks, hats...

And white, white, and more white people... all through the stands.

We forked over the moolah for a box seat, and there was a white person in every single seat in our box. The box next to us was white, white, white, a teeny bit of color, and more white.

On the video score board, where they show fans dancing or cheering or eating - white, white, white, white. ONE couple the camera happened on was not white. Very representative of the ball park fans.

(It appeared as if one white fan was trying to hide her use of a vape pen of sorts. It looked like a thumb drive.)

Walking home via a couple of streets and the T (subway system), there are many people asking for money. The ones selling programs, hats, tees, or bobble heads were white. The ones asking for money by jingling a cup or holding a sign were very diverse, including white.

I didn't know how to express what I was thinking in this post, so I figured I'd stick to what I noticed.

Questions I have...
   Does the cost of the tickets affect the color the fans?
   What are the demographics of Boston?
   What are the employment rates in Boston?
   What's the cost of living in Boston?
   How much does a "typical" ticket cost?
   What does a "person of color" mean?
   Is it wrong for me to say "white" and not white?
   Is it okay for me to have no clue what nationality people are when I look at them?
   How can I continue to write about so much I don't know?
   Just what did the guy behind us do for a living? (He currently lives abroad in Ireland, but has a home in Maine - he used his dad's season tickets.)

What I didn't notice...
   The color of the people at the concessions.
   The color of the ticket takers.
   The color of the staff checking our bags as we entered.
   The amount of fans of each and every gender.
   Why didn't I notice? Should I notice?

The very next day, I saw this post - "Why White Teachers Don't Like Talking about a Lack of Diversity." Just a bit more to read.

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

Home Depot

A trip to Home Depot is often uneventful for me.

However Julianne Harmatz (@Jarhartz) shared a story about a recent visit. She noticed something. Read her blog post Slice of Life: Hidden Biases to see what she has to say about her own hidden biases...

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

I love your pants!

I'm not a shopper.

My mom, however, loves it when I say to her, "I need a new outfit for a presentation," because she knows I'm ready to spend some money. She LOVES helping me spend my money. 😘

Of course, we have to go to Macy's, because they have "quality clothing" there. We parked, we started walking to the door, and there was a woman far ahead of us walking in, as well. I loved her pants! They were so feminine and summer-y! Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to look for.

When we got in, the woman was there - so I took a chance. I came around to her side, noting that she is probably my age or older, and Asian. I started, "Excuse me, but I love your pants! Can I ask you - where did you get them?"

She responded, "Yes, yes. Over there," pointing ahead. REALLY?! What?! It can't be that easy!

My assumptions kicked in, and I hated myself for it as the excitement deflated out of me. I assumed she didn't know much English, as her accent was heavy and she spoke slowly. I thought that she's probably just saying the pants are "over there" in the store. My smile must have faded, but I thanked her and started walking in the direction she pointed, giving up hope of finding them here.

And...

I FOUND THEM. Right away. I found the pants she was wearing. She must have followed me, because suddenly she was there. She had a smile on her face as she saw my excitement return, and she said, "Yes, that's them. I bought them just yesterday!"

My mom and I told her how they look great on her and that we'd definitely try them on.

-----

I've sat on this for a day (yes, I actually saw these pants yesterday - this blog is for our little stories!), and realized something -- I was with my mom.

My mom was born in 1943. My mom's father (Italian - his mom brought him to the US when he was a child) would not speak to anyone of color. Even when I was a teen, Mom had a story of how Papa wouldn't talk with the man who came to fix something in the house. Because he was black.

My mom has many biases that she's shared with us through the years. Her biases may have become mine at times. I went right into assumption mode when the stranger responded to me yesterday.

The rest of the shopping (which was very fruitful, I might add - and of course EVERYTHING was on sale...) went well. I tried to smile at as many people as I could, and I struck up conversation when there was an opportunity.

Writing these small stories has made me notice more of my assumptions and biases. It's about time.


P.S. You wanna see the pants? Come to the Building Learning Communities conference - I'll wear them two Thursdays from today. 😉 

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

I'm Privileged. And Spoiled.

I went down a Twitter rabbit hole today.

Push-back from an educator (1) had me looking at this person's timeline. The pinned post led me to another educator (2) upset with yet another educator (3). Looking at this educator's (2) timeline led me to another educator (4) upset with consultants and speakers who are "out of touch" with education. In this post were myriad links to another educator (5) who shared thoughts on two views of education. And this, my friend, got me thinking about inequities in education. And in life. And it showed me - AGAIN - how privileged and spoiled I truly am.

I'm reminded of this daily, actually. There are so many things I don't need to think about. My race (white). My parents (health is good, and money will somehow appear for them, even if they're struggling). My children (whom I never actually had). Money (we live within our means). My classroom (so much choice in the matter - with administrative support). Hmmm... my classroom. That's what these posts were getting at. Many educators (me, included) don't take into account inequities in schools.

My problem is that I don't have that problem. My district is affluent. I get paid pretty well. I have 24-26 students in my courses (homeroom is 30-31). Population at my middle school (of about 1000 students) is as such - I looked it up on our Illinois Report Card:

Our "low income" is 4.8%. IEP'd students - 11%, and we have resource and co-teachers. I don't know how many students have 504s, but that number is increasing yearly. My guess is it's about the same number as those who have IEPs.

And check out the student attendance rate!

I've got a cush job. I've never thought otherwise since I moved to this district in 2002 after seven years as an itinerant special education teacher in another county.

I'm so very privileged.

Just a rambling sampling: I have so many "first-world problems." I had to look up how to spell "privilege" - I get it wrong more often than not. I have a MacBook Air without a CD port, so I can't listen to as many free audio books from my library as I used to. I don't know what I'm going to eat for lunch, as we've got a bunch from which to choose. I have to switch out my clothes from the attic when the seasons change, because I have a small closet in our little ranch house on a quiet street. I have to help my husband in the summer with all his work fixing up the house and yard (today he's back in the crawlspace getting it ready to seal to bring the humidity down - he's retired from Ford Motor Company - and an HVAC expert). Sometimes (like today), it simply means I'm here doing other work while he's down there - just in case he needs anything - I have to entertain myself. I don't know how much to give to the charity my coworker shared. Should I put the top down when driving to meet friends at dinner tonight or will it be too hot? I don't know how we're going to tackle grammar next year - I need to find time to meet with my coworkers to chat about it. Speaking of finding time, I didn't even take the time to truly - completely - read the posts I cited above from those educators - I've got too many YA and ELA books to read on my nightstand next to my clean water I get from turning on a faucet...

Geez. I could go on and on and on...

I have so very many privileges, and I am so very spoiled. What helps me through this is that I am so very grateful. Most of the time, I'm aware of how spoiled I am.

Then I'm reminded by a friend or family member (and myself!) that I made many many choices that helped me along on this path towards prosperity and happiness. Yes! I have always been a saver, and most of the time a hard worker. ... And yet it's privilege that has helped me to be able to make these choices...

I won't keep going on about how fortunate I am, or turn to focus on why gratitude is so important. I want to focus on the rabbit hole I went down and where it took me next.

I simply don't know what to do about it.

I don't know how to make others' lives better - financially or institutionally. I don't have answers. I don't share ideas about inequity in Shift This, because it wasn't my focus. I don't even know how much I actually thought about inequity while I was writing it. Did I ever consider how my race played into what I was saying? I doubt it. Did I consider low-income areas? At times. I did try to make the shifts about what we can do - with or without resources. Did I ever say "all" or "none" or group schools, administrators, teachers, and students into one category? Oh, geez, I hope not.

I DO make sure the books I purchase for my classroom are becoming more diverse. I DO make sure we take time to talk with each other about diversity and individuality. When difficult conversations come up, we'll have them. We'll let them be awkward. My hope is that we recognize that we DON'T know much more than we think we DO know. My priority is on my own students first.

I still don't know what else to do about it.

I know it may not affect my blog posts on my regular teacher blog, as I typically write for a large teacher audience or an ELA-specific audience, but I hope these thoughts will start to stay with me as I write further. As I tweet. As I have conversations with others.

My only conclusion today?
I have so far to grow.
I hope I have a lot of time and opportunities in which to do so.

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

Assumptions

Since the word "assumption" was brought up, I've realized I make a TON of assumptions.

Just putting it out there...
     I assume my neighbor is so upset when his wife leaves to visit her family in another country for weeks on end that he just can't get up and get out to do things outside the house.
     I assume the girl down the street does not have a steady job. Or boyfriend.
     I assume the checker at Jewel is not happy with his job.
     I assume my students are all to happy not going to school in the summer.
     I assume my town has tons of money to spare (the fireworks get better and better each year).
     I assume the man I saw walking today doesn't have a job.
     I assume the guy I saw sitting in his car near the creek is up to no good.

What the heck? Why does my brain do this?

Again, it's trying to tell me stories about people I do not know.

In Being the Change, Sara K. Ahmed says implicit bias is...

thought processes that happen without you even knowing it; little mental shortcuts that hold judgments you might not agree with. They are associations with objects and symbols. How much we trust someone based on looking at them. How much value we place on information given the source. How we tend to feel more comfortable with and compassionate toward those who look like us. How we view and measure people’s character can be quick judgments grounded in our implicit bias.

I am willing to change.
How do I train my brain to stop snap judgments?

If you'd like to contribute to this blog, contact @JoyKirr via Twitter, or add a comment below as to how we can contact you. The more voices, the better - we need to keep having the conversations!

Defining Terms

After I posted the first in what I hope to be a series of posts (from YOU, too!) regarding checking our biases, I received this response:

I thought that because I "figured" the women did not work or were rich, that that was prejudging them, which would make it a bias. But the word "assume" seemed to fit, too. (I've learned that to assume is to make an "a$$" out of "u" and "me," so either way - it wasn't good.) So I looked them up in my huge American Heritage dictionary I have on the shelves. Here are the definitions that fit this idea, along with "prejudice" and "stereotype," as these will come into play.

When I immediately thought the women must not work, and must be rich... was it all four of these? Please share your comments below, so my future reflections on my biases can reflect my learning, as well!

Checking My Bias - Walkers

After reading Being the Change by Sara K. Ahmed, I have renewed vigor towards talking with strangers and asking them questions. My husband Bob is my role model for this, and he has taught me that most people want to share. Most people want to talk about themselves. It doesn't look tough for him, but I'm still a bit shy, so I have to force myself to say hello and ask questions. Some days are easier than others, and some instances are easier than others, as well - I've noticed it depends on my own biases about each person. I've already written up (and tried at the end of the last school year) mini lessons for my seventh graders based on identity, and I'm ready to have tough and awkward conversations with my students.

Meagan Parrish (who, thankfully, got me to join a Being the Change Voxer group) suggested Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, and it hit the spot for a Sunday into Monday read this summer. This book helped me see that I may have hidden biases that I don't even know about.

        

This blog is going to be about checking my own bias.

What biases do I have, and why do I have them?

What is it about my own identity that makes me have these biases?

What could be different about what I assume I know about people?

---------------

I'll start with a story from this morning...

I went for a morning walk today around 8am and saw two women walking the other way with a golden retriever.  I had these three strong biases that quickly went through my mind:
     They must not work.
     They must be rich.
     They might have children (teens is my guess).

I checked myself and thought... why do I think they don't work? Well, if they don't work, they must be teachers or stay-at-home moms, or sell Tupperware or are visiting family here, or they own their own businesses, or they're retired.

I know why I thought these things - because it's ALL I KNOW. It's all this person (me) has been exposed to! I know women in all of those situations, or have been in them myself. The reason I guess they have teens is because they didn't have a stroller or kids with them. If they have children, they must be able to be at home by themselves.

Soooo... what COULD these women do during the day? What could their lifestyle be?
     Maybe they were walking before heading to work.
     Maybe they are fitness gurus (personal trainers, yoga instructors).
     Maybe they have a noon or night shift some place - ANY place! Heck, this means they could work at the hospital, McDonald's, one of the industries in town...

And this, my friends, is a bias towards white women walking.
I, too, was a white woman walking this morning. I don't like that my brain is constantly telling me stories about people I DO NOT KNOW. This is why I needed to start this new blogging project. I am hesitant to share it with others, but I've learned more when I'm vulnerable with others than when I keep things to myself.

---------------

That being said, I told the Twitterverse today...

I knew if I tweeted it out, I'd have to do it. I wasn't planning on sharing my reflections, just like the other projects I've tried on this blog, but then this happened...

Let's do this.

Let's be vulnerable together.

Let's share our own biases.

Let's write long, rambling stories and quick short snippets.

Heck, the writing can even be anonymous.

Contact me - @JoyKirr on Twitter - or put a comment down below with a way for me to contact you. 

Reflect, write, and share. 

Let's start the conversations that get us to look at our own biases. 

We may learn more about each other, tear down stereotypes, and start thinking differently.