Diversity, Difference & Privilege

Kurt Love, Ph.D.Central Connecticut State University

Difference, Diversity & Privilege

• What is difference?

• What is diversity?

• What is privilege?

Civil Rights and Racial Integration

Racial Integration & Civil Rights

Jackie Robinson (1947)

Racial Integration & Civil Rights

Rosa Parks (1954)

Civil Rights Movement & Racial Integration

Woolworth Sit-In (1960)Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil, and Franklin McCain

Civil Rights &Racial Integration

Freedom Riders (1961)

Civil Rights & Racial Integration

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)

•Difference - Different social and/or cultural characteristics. Often associated with multiculturalism or multicultural education. An umbrella term for diversity and issues of privilege (social justice).

•Diversity - Focuses on social differences like race, gender, class, sexuality, etc. Characteristics that are assigned to us by our society.

•Privilege - Opportunities afforded to us or the level of access present based on one’s social characteristics or social identities.

Difference, Diversity & Privilege

Walking To Overcome Oppression

Privilege Walk

• When we walk together in solidarity, we build energy to create social change that promotes equality, fairness, and celebrates diversity.

• Privilege does not allow us all to walk together. Privilege separates us, creates and “us” and “them,” and makes us think that “they” are not working hard enough. We look down on “them,” but in reality those with privilege have to work less to get more.

Tim Wise

• Tim Wise’s Grandmother

• Video

What is Racism Today?

What is Racism Today?

What is Racism Today?

What is Racism Today?

What is Racism Today?

• People who say that they are not racist often are, but they are using a 1950’s model of racism

• Racism has changed, but White people usually are not aware of those changes because of their privilege.

• Because they don’t see a change in racism, that means that they don’t see racism.

• Racism in the 1850’s = SlaveryRacism in the 1950’s = Enforced and Legalized SegregationRacism in the 2010’s = Racial Microaggressions, Institutionalized Racism

Is Globalization Racist? Is Globalization Sexist?

White Privilege

• What is White Privilege? (Think, Pair, Share)

• Watch Tim Wise Video

• White privilege creates a strong condition of ignorance among White people

• The not-knowing then is turned into “We don’t have racism.” - White Denial

• This is different than White simply acknowledging that they don’t know. - Ignorance

• The cause of racism today is White privilege because it denies the experiences of people of color (similar patterns occur in other marginalized identities such as Male privilege, Heterosexual privilege, Class privilege, Christian privilege, etc.)

Racial Microaggressions

• The constant, ongoing barrage of actions and language that imply that a person does not belong or is different (often “less than”)

• Very difficult to identify if you are not the recipient

• Colorblindness

• Melting Pot

• Physical Responses

• “Where are you from?”

Microaggressions

• Microassaults - An explicit, purposeful, and derogatory behavior that is meant to harm a person of a traditionally subordinated group (i.e. person of color, women, LGBTQI, Muslim, working class/poor, etc.)

• Microinsults - Rude or demeaning comments that demeans a person’s heritage or a traditionally subordinated group

• Microinvalidations - Negating, diminishing, dismissing or nullifying the experiences of a person of a traditionally subordinated group

Colorblindness - “I Don’t See a Person’s Color.”

• Colorblindness is a form of racial microaggression.

• White people use colorblindness as a way to avoid being racist. However, it was very negative implications.

• It denies a person something that is part of their identity.

• “I have two cousins who are Native American, and I have always been close with them. I spent many hours of my childhood on the

reservation with them and with other Native Americans. However, I have never seen them as Native Americans; they are simply family

and friends.”

One Race, The Human Race

•“We are all the same”

•Human = White

•Essentially the same as colorblindness

When do civil rights become present in education?

First Integrated Schools in U.S.

• 1745 - Frederick Township (now Upper Frederick, PA) called the Antes House.

• 1817 - American School for the Deaf becomes the first racially integrated school in Connecticut.

• 1957 - St. Anne’s Parochial School becomes first school in South Carolina to integrate.

• 2008 - Mississippi holds first integrated prom.

Links

• Dumbo:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6c-bCSSKMo

• A Girl Like Me:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyI77Yh1Gg

• Weiner Circlehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1LPf9mnyU

• Police Brutality at a Drive Thru Windowhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPseyY0Vg0E

• Many other examples:http://drlove.synthasite.com/Racism.php