day 19: tools for the racial equity change process
Over the past 19 days, we have learned how racial inequities permeate our communities on individual, institutional and systemic levels. We are all impacted by the system of racism in our country and therefore all responsible for dismantling the structures that allow it to persist. Change is possible and there are many tools we can employ as individuals and organizations to drive individual and community transformation. We will highlight a few of these tools below, but encourage you to explore Racial Equity Tools, a comprehensive site of resources designed to support learning, planning, acting, and evaluating efforts to achieve racial equity.
Creating equitable outcomes also requires that we change the way we talk about members of our community, focusing on their aspirations rather than their challenges. In practice, this is called asset-framing and uses narratives to change the unconscious associations ingrained in our society. The opposite practice of deficit-framing, or defining people by their challenges, encourages continued stigmatization of groups of individuals.
TODAY'S CHALLENGE
- Read this “Beginner’s Guide to Asset Framing”, to learn more about why how we communicate impacts our ability to achieve racial equity. (8 minutes)
- Read “10 Ways to Start a Conversation About Race” by Race Forward. (3 minutes)
- Use these strategies of Being an Active Bystander when faced with the emergence of bias in interpersonal interactions.