Dear College of Education Community,
This February, we continue to honor Black History month and contemplate antiracism as a critical act of self-care for ourselves and the world we live in. The importance of understanding racism as not only existing on an individual level, but also as broadly imbedded in policies and all aspect of our lives is discussed in an article on Being Antiracist from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Types of racism can be identified as:
- Individual racism refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that support or perpetuate racism in conscious and unconscious ways.
- Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals. These are public expressions of racism, often involving slurs, biases, or hateful words or actions.
- Institutional racism occurs in an organization. These are discriminatory treatments, unfair policies, or biased practices based on race that result in inequitable outcomes.
- -Structural racism is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color.
This article provides excellent resources for understanding and acting to prevent racism, including “The Racial Healing Handbook,” by Dr. Anneliese A. Singh, who reminds us of the importance of being purposeful: “You need the intentional mindset of Yep, this racism thing is everyone’s problem-including mine, and I’m going to do something about it.”
To read more please go to
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/being-antiracist
For a list of many self-care options, please see our COE self-care website for resources for faculty, staff, students, and the community at:
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/self-care/articles-information-self-care
May we all grow in our understanding of racism and how we can do something about it.
Warmly,
Shari