FOUR REALMS OF RACISM AND CHANGE

MELISSA WOO

& MELANIE

MORRISON

PACIFIC NORTHWEST CONFERENCE ANNUAL MEETING

APRIL 25, 2009

1)Personal

2)Interpersonal

3)Institutional

4)Cultural

THE FOUR REALMS:

• Values, beliefs, attitudes, and feelings

• Can be expressed in the fear of

difference, prejudice, and stereotyping.

• Example: the belief that Euro-American

culture and traditions are inherently

superior

1. PERSONAL

EXAMPLES OF PERSONAL RACISM

White teachers frequently have lower expectations for students

of color

CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

2. INTERPERSONAL

• Acting on fears, prejudices, and

stereotypes.

• This can be conscious or unconscious

behaviors, such as discrimination,

condescension, verbal abuse, or

physical violence.

Anti-Latino hate crimes on the rise

ERNANDO VERGARA / Associated Press

Relatives of Jose Sucuzhañay carry his coffin draped with Ecuador's flag during his funeral in Cuenca, Ecuador, last month. The real estate broker, 31, was beaten to death in Brooklyn. An FBI report details a surge in anti-Latino violence since 2003.

“50 SHOTS INDICT THE COPS” JUSTICE FOR SEAN BELL

LYNCHING & NOOSES: Then vs. Now

1930 2007

3. INSTITUTIONAL

• Racism that is “institutionalized” into

policy, procedure, practices, or rules

• Can be informal or formal

• Can be intentional or unintentional

THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

Although African

Americans account for

only 12% of the

population, 44% of all

prisoners in the U.S. are

African American. In

2002, the average

prison term of African

Americans was 69%

longer than the term for

whites convicted of the

same offense.

NATIVE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE CRISISHelen Sage, 89, takes a break from an exercise class Tuesday at the Pearl

Warren Building in Seattle. The class is offered free through the Seattle

Indian Health Board. Tribes are taking steps to improve members’ health.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/403196_tribes12.html

AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE KATRINA

4. CULTURAL

• What is valued as right, true, beautiful,

normal and worthy of our time and

attention.

• Affect what we understand to be normal

or appropriate styles of behavior,

expression, and thought.

Examples of CULTURAL RACISM

ASIAN “DOUBLE EYE-LID” SURGERY

What is valued as “beautiful”? What does one have to

undergo in order to obtain this beauty?

SKIN BLEACHING/LIGHTENING

FOUR REALMS OF RACISM AND CHANGE

THANK YOU!

SACRED CONVERSATIONS ON RACE

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