Race and Racism

The idea of race has a complex history.  It has been used for centuries to categorize, reward, and penalize people based on perceived differences.  Despite often being misguidedly defined by skin tone and other physical attributes, race has no genetic basis.  This powerful social construction has a tremendous impact on individuals’ lives because it is often employed to establish and maintain privilege and power dynamics.  Access to resources and opportunities are often distributed along racial lines.

Commonly defined as “prejudice + power,” racism is prejudice or discrimination against someone based on his/her race.  Underlying this is the belief that certain racial groups are superior to others.  Racism can be manifested through beliefs, policies, attitudes, and actions.  Racism comes in several forms, including:

Individual or internalized racism – This is racism that exists within individuals.  It is when one holds negative ideas about his/her own culture, even if unknowingly.  Xenophobic feelings or one’s internalized sense of oppression/privilege are two examples of individual or internalized racism.

Interpersonal racism – This is the racism that occurs between individuals.  It is the holding of negative attitudes towards a different race or culture.  Interpersonal racism often follows a victim/perpetrator model.

Institutional racism – Recognizing that racism need not be individualist or intentional, institutional racism refers to institutional and cultural practices that perpetuate racial inequality.  Benefits are structured to advantage powerful groups as the expense of others.  Jim Crow laws and redlining practices are two examples of institutional racism.

Structural racism – Structural racism refers to the ways in which the joint operation of institutions (i.e., inter-institutional arrangements and interactions) produce racialized outcomes, even in the absence of racist intent.  Indicators of structural racism include power inequalities, unequal access to opportunities, and differing policy outcomes by race.  Because these effects are reinforced across multiple institutions, the root causes of structural racism are difficult to isolate.  Structural racism is cumulative, pervasive, and durable.

The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. It also includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability. The ADA also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on that person’s association with a person with a disability.

Family Engagement: Amended by Annie Gage- Family Advocate

Family engagement describes what families do at home and in the community to support their children's learning and development. It also encompasses the shared partnership and responsibility, specifically with underserved families, between home and school. Such engagement is essential for school improvement.

Biracial identity development includes self-identification A multiracial or biracialperson is someone whose parents or ancestors are from different ethnic backgrounds. ... While multiracial identity development refers to the process of identity development of individuals who self-identify with multiple racial groups.

Agender is a term which can be literally translated as 'without gender'. It can be seen either as a non-binary gender identity or as a statement of not having a gender identity. People who identify as agender may describe themselves as one or more of the following: Genderless or lacking gender.

Black Lives Matter

The Black Lives Matter Global Network is a chapter-based, member-led organization whose mission is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.

BLM is expansive. BLM is a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. BLM also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, they must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities.

BLM affirms the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.

BLM are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.

Black Lives Matter Website

Double consciousness is a concept that Du Bois first explores in 1903 publication, “The Souls of Black Folk”. Double consciousness describes the individual sensation of feeling as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or impossible to have one unified identity.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may arise when people experience a traumatic event such as death, threatened death, serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence.* 

This definition applies primarily to simple trauma, or exposure to one circumscribed traumatic event. By contrast, complex trauma may arise from exposure over time to prolonged, repeated trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or violence. The symptom pictures resulting from simple and complex trauma differ somewhat.

Disablity- a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

Hispanic- those who trace their ancestry to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America.

Hispanic or Latino? While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, "Hispanic" is a narrower term that only refers to persons of Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry, while "Latino" is more frequently used to refer generally to anyone of Latin American origin or ancestry, including Brazilians.

Latin X- Pronounced “La-teen-ex,” Latinx is a gender-neutral term for people of Latin American heritage. By dropping the traditional –o or –a ending at the end of the root word ‘Latin,’ Latinx encompasses those who identify outside of the gender binary, such as transgender people or those who are gender-fluid