Discussion Guide for Basic Cultural Humility Modules

This discussion guide was developed by Stephanie Vallejo, with suggestions and insights from Judy Kramer and community volunteers from 10000 Degrees, who formed intergenerational learning cohort with Dominican service-learning students from Dr. Cynthia Taylor's Human Cultures class and worked through the modules together.

Module 1

• Cultural Humility: general framework

• Cultural Humility Principle 1: Lifelong Learning & Critical Self Reflection

Implicit Bias Activity:

1. What steps can you take to prevent implicit biases from resurfacing? 

2. What are some implicit biases you and/or your classmates might hold? How could this impact your conversations about race?

“But race is the child of Racism, not the father.”

1. Analyze the quote, what is your interpretation of it?

Whiteness & Colorism

1. What role does whiteness play in the communities of POC?

2. Why is it important to recognize that POC can hold white privileges?

Questions to connect to disciplinary/course content:

1. How has White privilege contributed to the “legacy” of your discipline?  Are there theories and assumptions that are foundational to the discipline that expected students/scholars to have, or at least aspire to have, white privilege?

Questions to connect to community engagement:

How would you practice CH Principle 1 in your community engagement?  How does your racial identity/identities and the racial identities of the members of the community you work with this semester figure into your considerations?  

Module 2

• Cultural Humility Principle 2: Recognizing Power Imbalances 

• Connecting the history of Civil Rights Movements to understanding power imbalances within racialized dynamics

Amendments:

1. Why is it important to look at past legislation when addressing power imbalances within communities?

2. How does systemic racism play a role in inequalities today?

New vs. Old Racism:

1. Do we live in a post-racist society? Why or Why not?

2. Why is it difficult for society to see systemic racism?

BLM:

1. Why do some individuals have a negative reaction to BLM?

2. Why do you think there is a divide among the black community and other marginalized communities when it comes to BLM?

Colorism:

1. Even though Slavery and Colonization occured over a 100 years ago, why does society today still equate white/fair/pale skin tones with success?

“ Racism is so American, that when we protest racism, some assume we are protesting America.”

1. Analyze the quote, what is your interpretation of it?

Questions to connect to disciplinary/course content:

In what other ways are the American Civil Rights Movement and the racist structures related to your subject matter/course content?  How have/haven’t the Civil Rights movement affected the way knowledge and perspectives are understood in your discipline?

Questions to connect to community engagement:

In what other ways are the American Civil Rights Movement and the racist structures affected/contributed to the challenges and/or strategies to face challenges in the community you work with this semester?  How has BLM affected the community you work with this semester?

Module 3

• Cultural Humility Principle 2: Recognizing Power Imbalances

• Understanding POC experiences within racialized dynamics

Intersectionality:

1. How is intersectionality and implicit bias connected? How can we use our identities to challenge our implicit biases?

Cycle of Whiteness:

1. Why is whiteness a cycle? What can we do to break a cycle that reinforces itself?

Colorblind Workplace:

1. “I don’t see color. I see people by who they are not the color of their skin” Why is a statement like this harmful? Is it a bad thing to see/recognize the color of one’s skin?

Activities:

Replacing White Guilt/Defensiveness [THE ANATOMY OF WHITE GUILT]

• • The opposite of Whiteness is pushing against oppression, inequality and White privileges. And when White folks are doing those things, they are too busy to be burdened by a much played-out sense of guilt. [Source]

• Why do you think people get defensive when they are addressed about statement that are hurtful to *BIPOC? 

• Have you ever encountered any of these three experiences? Whether you experienced White Guilt or Defensiveness when topics of race come up? Or Entitled Uncomfortability? When you addressed a statement that made you uncomfortable and then it was somehow turned on you?

Privilege for Sale

Module 4

• Cultural Humility Principle 3: Institutional accountability and mutual respectful partnership based on trust

• How to be good allies for each other

Model Minority Myth

1. Do you think there is a bigger racial divide between the white communities and POC or with the POC communities? Explain

2. Why do we heavily believe in stereotypes of the marginalized communities, but see white stereotypes as jokes?

What is your role as an ally?

1. Is it possible to care/support multiple movements? How can we do so?

2. “What about the Latinx community?” What about child trafficking” Why is it that we as a society tend to take away attention from issues by attempting to make one seem more important than another? 

Performative Allyship

1. Why is performative Allyship harmful? 

2. Should we expect more from celebrities/rich individuals in regards to their allyship?

3. Is Cancel culture helpful?

4. Can we separate the music/art from the musician/artist after they’ve done/said harmful things?

Tokenisms

1. How can we hold tv shows/movies accountable for continuing on with the tokenization of POC?

Activities:

Why Aggression is (Sometimes) Necessary [Angela Davis Video]

• Discussion about Riot vs. Protest vs. Civil Unrest

Why Silence Isn’t the Answer: 50 years of racism -- why silence isn’t the answer | James A. White Sr. | TEDxColumbus