Colorblind or Color Brave? Understanding and Eliminating Microaggressions

1. March Dialogue Session: • “Colorblind or Color brave?”: Understanding and Eliminating the Use of Microaggressions • Thursday, March 28, 2019 • 12:00 – 1:00pm • Mudd Hall, Room 203

2. “Working to change an [organization’s] diversity culture is not something that is achieved by a single individual or by proclaiming certain goals on a mission statement; it is a collective, moral responsibility for which we are all, ultimately, accountable.” -- (C. Stanley, 2016)

3. Agenda • Welcome and Overview – Kimberly, Terese, and Toni • Ground Rules – “Color blind or Color brave” TED Talk (14:11) • Define Microaggressions • PollEverywhere • Impacts of Microaggressions • How to be “color brave” • Adjourn (1:00 pm) SECTION TITLE | 2

4. Ground Rules • Participatory • Use “I” Statements • Respect • One voice, all ears • Suspend judgment • Seek to Understand • Confidentiality

5. Mellody Hobson is president of Ariel Investments, a value-driven money management firm — and an advocate for financial literacy and investor education. • Color blind or color brave?

6. “Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” Psychology Today What are Microaggressions? “Like the implicit biases from which they flow, microaggressions are particularly insidious because they are generally committed by agents who consciously regard themselves as committed to egalitarian and progressive values” (Dovidio and Gaertner 2002; Sue 2003).

8. Impacts of Microaggressions • Negative associations with well-being • Increase in perceived stress • Can contribute to depressive symptoms and/or anxiety • Two proposed mechanisms that may link microaggressions to depressive symptoms are perceptions of lack of control over one’s outcomes and internalization of others’ negative opinion (Lambert et al., 2009). “Microaggressionspoint out cultural difference in ways that put the recipient’s non-conformity into sharp relief, often causing anxiety and crises of belonging on the part of minorities. When your peers at a prestigious university express dismay at the ability of a person of color to master English, it calls your presence in that institution into question and magnifies your difference in ways that can be alienating. It can even induce imposter syndrome or stereotype threat, both of which I have felt while studying at Oberlin.” - “The Impact of Microaggressions and Why They Matter” by Simba Runyowa in the Atlantic

9. Color blind vs. Color brave • You cannot ignore race when there are vast racial disparities in the realm of socioeconomic status, career opportunities, etc. • Colorblindness = learned behavior where we “pretend” that we don’t see race. This allows us to ignore the issue of the lack of diversity in majority spaces • It is uncomfortable to address race. We should work to become comfortable being uncomfortable. • That takes bravery, willingness, and proactivity! • Remember: Being color brave does not require that you exploit or tokenize people of different cultural/ethnic backgrounds.

10. Closing Remarks For more on this topic • https://academicaffairs.ucsc.edu/events/documents/Microaggressions_Examples_Arial_2014_11_12.pdf • https://www.pwc.com/us/en/about-us/colorbrave.html • Next sessions: • Thursday, Apr. 25th 12:00PM – 1:00PM • Thursday, May 23rd 12:00PM – 1:00PM

11. Thank You!