Harm Reduction is an action based movement shifting power & resources to people who use drugs & those most vulnerable to racialized drug policies

NextDisto, “What is Harm Reduction “, Haley Mattiz-Uzzo

Structural Racism: the normalized and legitimized range of policies, practices, and attitudes that routinely produce cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color, especially black people–is the main driver of racial inequality in America today. (Brown University's Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America)

A couple questions to reflect on:

1. How do these definitions compare with your personal understanding of racism?

2. What are some of the ways that you see racism playing out around you?

Part 4. The issues with colorblind ideology or the notion that we live in a post-racial society. This is where this learning journey digs deep into reflecting on everything we've taken in thus far.

Colorblind Ideology: "I don't see race" or this is a good one "I don't judge people based on the color of their skin". Now everything we've shared says that the world doesn't work that way. Even if you think you are color blind reflect on that and please abandoned that notion. People with privilege and power have used this ideology to dismiss or oppose anti-racist policies and ideas.

The idea that we live in a post-racial society is another way of dismissing or opposing anti-racism policies and ideas. It takes an event like the end of slavery, civil rights, or the election of president Obama and says we can't live in a racist society because of an event (we can call that eventism).

Critical Race Theory (CRT) - The term “critical race theory” has been co-opted by opponents of race equity as a catch-all and rallying cry to silence any discussions about systemic racism, ban the truthful teaching of American history, and reverse progress toward racial justice. (The NAACP LDF CRT FAQ, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,)

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines critical race theory (CRT) as an intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that racism is inherent in the law and legal institutions of the United States insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans.(Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is an academic and legal framework that denotes that systemic racism is part of American society — from education and housing to employment and healthcare.( NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund). The concept of CRT grew out of the legal academy in the 1970s. The American lawyer, activist, and law professor Mari J. Matsuda described CRT as the work of progressive legal scholars seeking to address the role of racism in the law and the work to eliminate it and other configurations of subordination. (Janel George, Jan.2021, A Lesson on Critical Race Theory, American Bar Association.).

Part 5. Implicit Bias is a belief or attitude that affects one’s understanding, decision, and actions, and that exists without conscious awareness.

Are you ready to do some self-reflection on what implicit biases you may have about other groups of people? We all have them. Becoming aware of them and examining them may be uncomfortable, but you are not alone and this is the first step to understanding them and addressing how may inform your ideas about & treatment of others.

Part 6. Exploring privilege, taking inventory of the privileged intersections of our identities. Let's start by learning some terms and reflecting on our relationships to these concepts.

privilege

noun: privilege

Defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.(Oxford Languages and Google)

white privilege

Watch - Deconstructing White Privilege with Dr. Robin DiAngelo

noun: white privilege

Defined as the inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice.(Oxford Languages and Google)
"I benefit from white privilege" Rob Hoffman

Read - White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Watch - Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Watch - "How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion": Peggy McIntosh

white fragility

Watch -Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses 'White Fragility

noun: white fragility

Defined as the discomfort and defensiveness on the part of a white person when confronted by information about racial inequality and injustice.(Oxford Languages and Google)

This section is under construction.

This section is under construction. Come back next week to see more.

Please check out: Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources

Please check out: Anti-Racism Resources for White People at bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES

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