Anti-racism scholarship
Noted scholars who have contributed to the field of anti-racism scholarship.
Lesson 2: What is racism?
Unpacking racism
Racism is often exclusively portrayed as individual acts of harshness that are only being committed by a few unpleasant members of society. This perception is consistently reflected in the media’s coverage of individual acts of racism. This makes the conception difficult to challenge, as people don’t look beyond individual levels of racism. As a result, prevalent systematic issues typically go unchallenged or ignored.
I've had professors nickname me, without my consent, for their own personal convenience. Decolonizing teaching begins when my real name is accepted.
Student Feedback on Improving Anti-Racism on Campus
African and Caribbean Students Association
Figure 3: Anti-Racism, EDI, and Positionality – the four dimensions of racism.
The four dimensions of racism
Racism is a form of oppression and can occur at many different levels. These include individual, cultural, institutional, systemic, or structural levels.
This is generally the most common understanding of racism. Individual (interpersonal) racism occurs between individuals. This includes public expressions of racism or prejudice towards or between individuals, such as slurs, hate, bias, and/or bigotry. While individual (interpersonal) racism is a key component of racism, racism occurs at many other levels.
Example: I don't think he can afford this. Those people aren't responsible with money.
Representations, messages, and stories that convey “whiteness” as ‘better’ or ‘more advanced. Sociocultural racism often conveys a preference for white behaviours or values over those of other racially defined groups. This is evident in a lack of diverse representation in mainstream media (television, print). White culture, norms and values become the default or preferred standard that other cultures, groups, and individuals are measured against.
Example: A lack of representation in media by people of colour.
Institutional laws, policies and practices that benefit white people and negatively affect people of colour. Institutional racism differs from individual (interpersonal) racism as it affects groups of people, rather than individuals. This can be seen in random airport security checks, which disproportionately target people of colour.
Example: Policies that explicitly restrict the ability of Black people to get loans and purchase homes in white neighbourhoods (known as redlining).
Systemic racism can be the most difficult type of racism to identify. It is pervasive and subtle and can be unintentional. Systemic racism is embedded in societal and institutional policies. It can also be found in regulations, legislation and ideologies that perpetuate racial disadvantage.
Example: Proportion of Black and Indigenous people in the prison system.
There are faculty & staff members who believe that BIPOC undergraduates are strictly inferior or less than their white counterparts.
Student Feedback on Improving Anti-Racism on Campus
African and Caribbean Students Association
Pause and reflect
Take some time to pause and reflect on what you have just learned, by answering the following questions in this worksheet on racism.
Shifting towards anti-racism
Why does it matter? Anti-racism acknowledges and confronts institutional and systemic racism. It goes further than just 'not being racist', which, alone, only enforces apathy and neutrality.
Anti-racism involves taking active action against racism and dismantling oppressive mindsets and structures. Furthermore, anti-racism takes a structural approach in ensuring that institutional and individual level strategies address systemic barriers.
Anti-racism is the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies, practices and attitudes so that power is redistributed and shared equitably.
NAC International Perspectives: Women and Global Solidarity
Sherene Razack
Looks at Critical Race Studies, discrimination in Canada, and colonial violence against Indigenous peoples.
George Dei
Takes an anti-racist approach to education, Indigenous knowledge, and anti-colonial thought.
Lesson checklist
- Develop an understanding of what racism is
- Review the four dimensions of racism
- Complete the worksheet on reflections on racism in your own life
- Brainstorm ideas for disrupting patterns of racism in your everyday life
References
Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities. (2018). Equity language guide. Office of Financial Management. https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/shr/Diversity/SubCommit/EquityLanguageGuide_Final.pdf
More lessons
Lesson 3: Anti-racism in teaching and learning
Lesson 1: EDI, positionality and intersecting identities
