Courageous Conversations: Unpacking Words and Actions
Wendy McRae-Owoeye, Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion October 19, 2016
Objective I. Society, Race and Race Relations II. Single Stories III. Terminology and Language IV. Our Ivy Community at Brown
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Guidelines • • • • • • • •
Learn from each other All ideas are created equal Keep an open mind No finger pointing No calling people out Be a part of the solution Be confidential Participate
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Resources Derald Wing Sue, Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia University
Dr. Melanie Killen, Professor, Development Science Program,
Human Development and Quantitative Methodology (HDQM), and Associate Director for the Center for Children Relationships, and Culture, University of Maryland
John Chu, University of Southern California, School of Cinema
Television, and internationally known and awarded for his unique style and authenticity
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What is Diversity vs. Inclusion Day-to-Day? Diversity: More than a count of numbers and who is (of
difference) in the room?; the composition of students, faculty, and staff; a large variety of individual experiences and unique interpretations of how to work and communicate with one another
Inclusion: Every person in the room has an equal voice; every person adds value; everyone is recognized as a contributor; demonstrating that a person is validated, respected, and welcomed (e.g., including their feelings and opinions) 5
Race vs. Ethnicity • Race is the classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, ancestry, genetics or social relations, or the relations between them. Race refers to a person's physical characteristics, such as bone structure, skin color, hair type, or eye color
• Ethnicity refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture,
ancestry, and language. Ethnicity is determined based on the social and cultural groups you belong to. A person can have more than one ethnicities, but only one race, even if it is a “mixed race” 6
I.
Society, Race and Race Relations
Reflections:
Think about the first time you experienced seeing or meeting someone who was OBVIOUSLY different than you?; what was your experience? how old were you?
II. Single Stories
Setting the Stage
“There are people breaking down, dropping out of classes and failing classes because of the activism work they are taking on,” Brown University Students
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Race-Relations-Among-Millennials/
Reflections:
How do we talk about race and race relations as colleagues?; what can we learn about ourselves?; why is it challenging for Brown administrators to have the same conversations as our students?
III. Terminology and Language
Terminology and Language Microaggressions • Racial microaggressions are brief and ordinary daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults towards others
Stereotypes • A preconceived notion about a particular group of people; a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing
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Reflections:
Have you observed this situation?; have you actually experienced this situation?; how do each of the characters perceive each other? what are the stereotypes?; what can we learn?
IV. Our Ivy Community at Brown
Courageous Conversations I, TOO AM BROWN I, TOO AM HARVARD
Ivy Community at Brown Key Take Aways
UNDERSTAND, RESPECT, AND APPRECIATE DIFFERENCE
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Self-Reflection? Community Reflection? Cultural Awareness? Demonstrate Inclusivity?
A Community… Imagine 100 People
Closing “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ~ Nelson Mandela
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