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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWhiteDominantCulture 1 WHITE  DOMINANT  CULTURE  &  SOMETHING  DIFFERENT   a  worksheet             ‘Preservation  of  one's  own  culture  does  not  require  contempt  or  disrespect  for  other   cultures.’  –César  Chávez     ‘All  learning  happens  through  culture.  Thus,  we  all  have  culture.’  –Zaretta  Hammond       We  all  have  culture  which  we  express  in  observable  ways,  how  we  interact,  what  we  value  and   hold  to  be  true.  No  culture  is  better  than  another.  As  lovers  of  freedom  and  justice,  we  can  aim   to  create  inclusive  spaces  where  we  all  can  bring  our  best  and  highest  selves.  At  the  same  time,   we  can  be  mindful  of  how  our  environments  impede  our  ability  to  unleash  our  unlimited   potential.       In  our  society,  the  dominant  culture  that  shapes  our  institutions,  our  media,  the  way  we  see   ourselves  and  each  other  is  that  of  the  white,  middle  class.  Racial  equity  trainer  Tema  Okun   suggests  that  the  characteristics  of  white  dominant  culture  can  be  harmful  not  in  and  of   themselves  but  ‘when  they  are  used  as  norms  and  standards  without  being  pro-­‐actively  named   or  chosen  by  the  group….  These  attitudes  and  behaviors  can  show  up  in  any  group  or   organization,  whether  it  is  white-­‐led  or  predominantly  white  or  people  of  color-­‐led  or   predominantly  people  of  color.’       In  the  table  below,  Okun  calls  the  attitudes  and  behaviors  in  the  left  column  aspects  of  white   supremacist  culture.  The  definition  of  white  supremacist  culture,  or,  white  dominant  culture,   that  we  like  to  use  is  simple  and  expansive:     The  explicit  to  subtle  ways  that  the  norms,  preferences  and  fears  of  white  European   descended  people  overwhelmingly  shape  how  we  à  organize  our  work  and  institutions,   see  ourselves  and  others,  interact  with  one  another  and  with  time,  and  make  decisions.       We  invite  you  to  take  a  look  at  the  characteristics  of  white  dominant  culture  in  the  left  hand   column  (‘Norms  of  White  Dominant  Culture’).  Think  about  how  they  might  apply  to  you  as  an   individual  or  play  out  in  your  organization.  Take  a  look  at  the  right  hand  column  for  some   antidotes,  or,  alternatives,  to  white  supremacist  culture  (‘Something  Different’).  How  are  you  or   could  you  apply  those  to  yourself,  your  work  or  your  organization?       2 What  can  you  personally  do  to  make  a  change,  or  pivot,  from  the  left  column  to  the  right  column?  What   can  your  organization  do?     ‘NORM’  of  White  Dominant  Culture  PIVOT  SOMETHING  DIFFERENT   Either/or  thinking   Believing  people  are  racist  or  not  racist,  good  or  bad.   Seeing  incidents  of  inequity  as  isolated  events.    Systems  and  complexity  thinking   Understanding  context  and  intersectionality.  Seeing   patterns,  holding  contradictory  thoughts  &  feelings   simultaneously.     Paternalism     No  consultation  or  transparency  in  decision  making.   Taking  over  campaigns,  mediating  and  facilitating  others.      Partnership   Decision  making  is  clear,  affected  parties  are  consulted.   Evaluations  include  staff  at  all  levels.  Leadership  of   Frontline  communities  is  respected  and  nurtured.     Competition   Taking  unearned  credit  for  wins.  Coopting  local  organizing   efforts,  or  the  work  of  other  staff.    Treating  core   campaign  issues  as  more  important  than  issues  that  other   people  are  working  on.    Collaboration   Taking  time  to  build  relationships  based  on  trust.  Focus   is  on  ‘building  a  bigger  pie’  instead  of  fighting  over  a   slice.  Mutual  support  and  promotion  of  each  other's   campaigns  and  issues.   Power  hoarding   Ideas  from  less  senior  people  are  treated  as  a  threat,   information  and  decision  making  is  confidential.  Holding   on  to  resources,  scarcity  mindset.    Power  sharing   Ideas  at  all  levels  are  valued  for  the  positional  expertise   they  represent,  ideas  from  others  are  requested  and   space  is  made  for  them  to  be  heard.  Budgets  are  made   available  for  viewing,  providing  input  on,  and  resources   are  shared  equitably  and  appropriately.     Comfort  with  predominantly  white  leadership   Defaulting  to  all  or  mostly  white  leadership  using  urgency   and  lack  of  available,  qualified  people  of  color  as   justifications  for  doing  so.    Leadership  representative  of  the  communities  most   affected  by  inequity   Take  time  to  weave  into  the  fabric  of  the  organization  a   critical  mass  of  equity-­‐oriented  people  of  color  in   leadership  and  on  staff  at  large.  Create  inclusive   culture.  With  graceful  awareness,  acknowledge  that   we’re  all  unconsciously  socialized  to  see  physical   features  that  are  more  white  European,  including   lighter  skin,  as  ‘better’.  Be  mindful  of  how  norms  of  the   white,  middle  class  can  easily  permeate  the  main   organizational  culture.   Individualism  &  Separateness   Focus  is  on  single  charismatic  leaders,  Working  in   isolation,  from  each  other  and  from  other  organizations.             Community  &  Collectivism   Working  together,  working  from  a  movement  lens.   Understanding  that  to  change  everything  it  takes   everyone.  Understanding  interdependence  of  all  social   struggles.  Working  for  all  who  are  impacted  by   destruction  and  seizing  of  land,  air,  water  and  climate,   especially  those  hit  first  and  worse.   Fear  of  open  conflict       Right  to  comfort.  Politeness  is  valued  over  honesty.  White   fragility  goes  unchecked.  Those  who  bring  up  discomfort   for  others  are  scapegoated.  Useful  feedback  not  given  in    Direct  and  constructive  feedback/  Growth  and   learning   Peers  call  each  other  in  and  continuously  learn  from   each  other.  Managers  are  skilled  at  providing  timely,   3 timely  manner  resulting  in  underperformance,  lack  of   growth  and  distorted  sense  of  how  one  is  doing.  Smaller   problems  left  unattended  become  bigger  ones  down  the   road.   supportive  feedback  in  culturally  and  individually   responsive  ways.   Priorities  and  timelines  that  perpetuate  white   supremacy  culture   Sense  of  urgency  for  funder-­‐driven  deliverables,  but  not   for  community  building,  capacity  building  or  equity  work   implementation.             Priorities  and  timelines  set  for  sustainability  and   equity   People  have  space  for  what  comes  up  that  is  important   to  address  in  the  moment.  More  realistic  timeframes   set.  Allocating  time  for  the  unexpected  and  based  on   how  long  things  actually  took  last  time.   Superiority  of  the  nonprofit  written  word   If  it’s  not  written  down,  it  is  not  valued.  If  it’s  written   down  in  any  way  other  than  “Standard  American  English”,   it  is  seen  as  incorrect  or  less  intelligent.  Superiors   “correct”,  edit  and  change  documents  to  reflect  a   particular  normalized  language  for  that  non-­‐profit.    All  forms  of  communication  valued  and  taken   seriously   Communication  is  treated  simply  as  communication,   stripped  of  “right”  or  “wrong”,  recognizing  that  an   individual’s  use  of  language  involves  culture,  power,   lived  experience  and  geography.  Editing  focuses  solely   on  communicating  more  clearly  to  a  particular   audience  and  done  with  permission  of  the  writer.   Appreciation  for  how  in  some  communities,  info   relayed  effectively  through  relationship  networks  and   the  spoken  word,  not  just  the  written  word.   Comprehensiveness     Continual  research  and  writing  that  leads  nowhere.   Creating  multiple  reports,  groups,  committees  that  are   working  in  isolation  and  don’t  build  on  each  other’s  work.   Vision,  values  and  goals  that  no  one  can  remember  nor   easily  refer  to  in  a  meeting.               Clarity  &  alignment  for  action   Simple,  memorizable  and  repeatable  shared  vision,   values  and  goals.   Transactional  relationships   Detached  “professional”  communication,  for  the  purpose   of  completing  a  transaction  and  efficiency.  Reaching  out   or  acknowledging  people  only  when  you  need  something   from  them.    Transformational  relationships   Building  relationships  internally  and  externally  that  are   based  on  trust,  understanding  and  shared   commitments.  Even  in  the  simplest  ways,  taking  time   to  see,  greet  and  acknowledge  each  other  to  sustain   caring  connections,  especially  when  there’s  ‘no  time’  to   do  so.  Space  to  appropriately  be  in  one’s  majesty,  and   share  in  each  other’s  cultural  bounty.   4 Transactional  goals   Transactional  deliverables  /  quantifiable  are   ranked  above  meaningful  engagement  or   qualitative  goals.  Rushing  to  achieve  numbers.      Transformational  goals   Working  towards  meaningful  engagement  with   depth,  quality;  using  qualitative  goals  in   addition  to  whatever  deliverables  a  foundation   is  asking  for.  The  timeline  for  the  deliverables   Includes  enough  time  for  quality.   Defensiveness   Nowhere  to  air  grievances.  Focus  placed  on   protecting  power  instead  of  addressing  harms,   naming  intention  instead  of  acknowledging   impact.    Vulnerability   Give  and  receive  feedback  non-­‐defensively,   have  a  clear  structure  to  hear  and  address   grievances.  Skills  are  supported  in  being  both   self-­‐critical  and  self-­‐loving.   Progress  is  bigger,  more   Focus  on  quantity;  less  focus  is  put  on  the  cost   of  growth  on  people,  communities  and   relationships.               Progress  is  sustainability  and  quality   Cost/  benefit  analysis  includes  all  costs.  Focus   is  on  sustainability.   Over-­‐working  as  unstated  norm   Encouraging  people  to  work  through  weekends   and  into  the  night  (directly  or  passively  by   setting  up  work  plans  that  are  unachievable  in   a  40  hr  week)  -­‐  ignoring  how  Black  and  Brown   people  have  been  historically  and  systemically   requested  to  take  on  physically  taxing  work  by   white  bosses.      Self  Care/  Community  Care     Actively  encouraging  a  culture  of  self-­‐care  and   community  care  in  which  people  care  about   each  other’s  physical  and  emotional  wellbeing,   support  time  boundaries  and  are  considerate   of  time  zone  difficulties,  parental  needs,   personal  health  issues,  etc.  Work  plans  include   20%  of  unscheduled  time  to  enable  space  for   the  inevitable  unpredictable  tasks  that  emerge.     Perfectionism   Mistakes  are  seen  as  personal,  reflect  badly  on   the  person  -­‐  the  person  is  seen  as  a  mistake.   Little  time  for  learning.    Appreciation   Mistakes  are  valued  as  opportunities  for   learning.  People  verbally  show  their   appreciation  for  one  another   Skeptical  management   As  new  hires  slowly  learn  their  job,  it  is  subtly   or  directly  communicated  that  they  “must   prove  themselves”,  setting  them  up  to  hide   mistakes  or  face  discipline.    Supportive  management   As  new  hires  slowly  learn  their  job  they  are   supported,  given  freedom  to  make  mistakes   and  learn  from  them.    Supportive  feedback  is   provided  in  real-­‐time  or  soon  thereafter.   White  mediocrity   People  of  color  given  extra  work,  and   scrutinized  while  white  staff  with  more  years   and/or  formal  credentials  are  given  a  pass,  or   promoted.               Fair  evaluations  and  just  promotions   Based  on  a  broader  range  of  competencies   than  what  has  been  historically  valued  (skills  in   the  left  column)   5 Equity  washing   Signing  on  to  big  lofty  values,  but  not   enacting  them.  Hiring  people  of  color  but  not   supporting  a  culture  shift  to  retain  them,   focusing  on  inclusion  internally  while  the   field  work  perpetuates  inequities.               Real  equity   Focus  on  all  dimensions  of  the  organization   Official  title  outweighs  experience   Regardless  of  someone’s  broad  skill  and   experience  base,  they  are  treated  as  though   they  only  know  how  to  do  what  is  in  their  job   description,  and  their  ideas  are  valued  based   on  organizational  rank.  When  offering  to  do   more  or  different,  are  told  to  “stay  in  their   lane”      Holistic  view  of  people   People’s  experience  and  skills  are  understood  to  likely   expand  beyond  what  they  have  been  hired  to  do,  and   opportunities  to  contribute  more  of  who  they  are,  are   offered.     Changing  the  subject  away  from  the  role  of   race   Limited  understanding  of  how  biases   (preferences  and  dislikes)  based  on  race  and   culture  interplay  with  all  aspects  of  our  lives   and  systems.  Seeing  difference  as  bad.   Perception  that  talking  about  biases  is  an   attack  on  white  people  or  that  white  people   can’t  handle  the  conversation.    Compassionate  curiosity  about  how  race,  cultural   differences,  racial  bias  may  be  at  play  With  360-­‐degree   compassion,  assume  there  may  be  unconscious  biases   at  work  with  respect  to  race  to  some  extent.  Create  an   environment  that  celebrates  the  courage  to  explore   racial  bias  in  all  its  forms,  avoiding  ‘gotcha’  and  good   person/bad  person  dynamics  and  camps.  Acknowledge   we  all  carry  unconscious  bias  that  is  not  helpful  and   each  have  a  role  in  addressing  it.  Focus  on  building   stamina  and  healing  for  self-­‐reflection;  focus  on  the   consciousness  and  behaviors,  not  on  shaming  the   person.   Narrow  valuation  of  intelligence  /   performance     Assessing  higher  value  to  left  column   attributes  over  right  column  attributes.   Verbal/linguistic  and  logical-­‐mathematical   intelligences  treated  as  superior           Broad  appreciation  of  differences     Valuing  attributes  on  the  right  column.  Including  spaces   for  work  that  needs  musical-­‐rhythmic,  visual-­‐spatial,   bodily-­‐kinesthetic,  interpersonal,  intrapersonal,  and   naturalistic  intelligences.       Adapted  for  ACCE  from  adaptation  by  Partners  for  Collaborative  Change  based  on  “White   Supremacy  Culture”  By  Tema  Okun  and  Kenneth  Jones,  for  large,  majority  white  environmental   organizations,  using  interviews  with  staff  and  partners  of  these  organizations.     Tema  Okun’s  Partial  Bibliography:  Notes  from  People's  Institute  for  Survival  and  Beyond   Workshop,  Oakland,  CA,  spring  1999.  Notes  from  Challenging  White  Supremacy  Workshop,  San   Francisco,  CA,  spring  1999.  Beverly  Daniel  Tatum,  Why  Are  All  the  Black  Kids  Sitting  Together  in   the  Cafeteria?  NY:  HarperCollins,  1997.  Derrick  Jensen,  A  Language  Older  Than  Words.  NY:   Context  Books,  2000.  Paul  Kivel,  Uprooting  Racism.  PA:  New  Society  Publishers,  1996.  Anne   Wilson  Schaef,  Living  in  Process.  NY:  Ballantine,  1998.  For  complete  bibliography,  see  complete   notebook  for  dRworks  Dismantling  Racism  process.  dRworks  is  a  group  of  trainers,  educators   and  organizers  working  to  build  strong  progressive  anti-­‐racist  organizations.