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How Does a Caterpillar Change 🐛  by Eric Carle

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A Tree is for 🌳 by  Judith Bauer Stamper

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https://www.iloveny.com/blog/post/stories-of-black-history-in-new-york/

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With more than 24 Underground Railroad sites and deep historical ties to leaders like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, New York is home to profound moments throughout Black history. Discover the stories during Black History Month this February (and every month of the year) at these famous sites.
When a group of 600 abolitionists-the NYS Anti-Slavery Society-were left with nowhere to meet in 1835, wealthy landowner Gerrit Smith invited them to assemble at Peterboro Presbyterian Church. The former church, now the Smithfield Community Center, currently houses the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, a portal into the dangerous lives of abolitionists living and fighting for freedom in the nineteenth century.

The new-in-2018 Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area shares the stories of freedom seekers and the abolitionists who helped them.

Visit the Fenton History Center in Jamestown to learn about the key role Jamestown and Chautauqua County played in the Underground Railroad, including the story of escaped slaves disguised as women.

Head to Auburn to visit the home of Harriet Tubman, known famously as the Underground Railroad "conductor." She was also a humanitarian who stood for both African American and women's rights.

Lake Placid is the resting place to the ardent 19th-century abolitionist John Brown, best known for his failed attempt to catalyze the liberation of slaves in the South. Brown was also a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad and helped freed slaves develop their own farms in New York. Visit his home and final resting place, the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, where you can get a refined sense of this important piece of our history.

In Rochester, you'll find the "Flight to Freedom" exhibits in the Rochester Museum & Science Center. These interactive exhibits reveal the story of influential African American abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass as well as other formerly enslaved freedom seekers such as Austin Steward, Harriet Jacobs, and Reverend Thomas James.

Stop by the 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse, a center for equal rights, and the Matilda Joslyn Gage Home in Fayetteville, a museum devoted to furthering the progressive ideas of suffrage leader and abolitionist Matilda Joslyn Gage.

Visit the oldest continuously run African American musicians club in the US, the Colored Musicians Club Museum in Buffalo. Founded in 1935 and full of interactive exhibits, the museum shares the stories of the jazz legends who performed there and the legacy they left behind.

For a glimpse into the reality of what slavery was like in the north, visit Philipsburg in Tarrytown, an 18th-century working farm.

Visit John Jay's estate, now the Jay Heritage Center in Rye, where you can enjoy educational programs in history, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Jay, an early advocate of emancipation and founding father of the United States, pushed for the abolition of slavery in New York State.

Visit the African American Museum in Hempstead, a place that helps promote the appreciation of African American culture.

Take a literary walk through history at the Joseph Lloyd Manor House in Lloyd Harbor. The home-turned-museum is where Jupiter Hammon, the first published black poet in the US, lived and wrote.

Visit King Manor in Jamaica, Queens, a museum dedicated to preserving the historic home and legacy of anti-slavery politician Rufus King. A member of the Continental Congress and framer and signer of the Constitution, King was perhaps most known for his radical anti-slavery speeches to the Senate before the Civil War.

Get a glimpse of the past 200 years of black history at the Studio Museum located in the heart of Harlem, which houses works by African artists from around the world.

Visit the Apollo Theater in Harlem where some of the best African American talents of the twentieth century have performed. Since the 1930s, it has been the premiere venue showcasing performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Afterward, head to Queens to see Louis Armstrong's House Museum.

Explore Path Through History and share your New York State adventures with us on Instagram and Twitter with #iSpyNY and tag us on Facebook!

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With more than 24 Underground Railroad sites and deep historical ties to leaders like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, New York is home to profound moments throughout Black history. Discover the stories during Black History Month this February (and every month of the year) at these famous sites.

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Explore New York's Black History with NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

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Explore New York's Black History with NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

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https://parks.ny.gov/history/black-history/default.aspx

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Exploring New York’s Black History - NYS Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation

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Explore the rich heritage of Black history in New York State.

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Center for Racial Justice: Black History Month Resource Guides for Educators and Families

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Center for Racial Justice: Black History Month Resource Guides for Educators and Families

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https://centerracialjustice.org/resources/black-history-month-resource-guide-for-educators-and-families/

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Beyond Books! Authors, Books, Films, Website, and More for Black History

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Beyond Books! Authors, Books, Films, Website, and More for Black History

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https://libguides.mnsu.edu/c.php?g=995142&p=7200994

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Resources for Teachers

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Library Class and Subject Guides: Black History Month: Authors, Books, Films, Websites, and More!: Websites and Podcasts for Black History Month and Beyond!

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Celebrating and Learning about Black History and Culture

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Celebrating and Learning about Black History and Culture

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https://www.readingrockets.org/calendar/blackhistory

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Through children's books, interviews with Black children's authors and illustrators, classroom activities, online history resources, and powerful documentaries, we celebrate and learn about the lives and contributions of African Americans.

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The Great Migration - A Story of America

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The Great Migration - A Story of America

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The Great Migration - A story of America

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The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration

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The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration

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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/long-lasting-legacy-great-migration-180960118/

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In 1963, the American mathematician Edward Lorenz, taking a measure of the earth's atmosphere in a laboratory that would seem far removed from the social upheavals of the time, set forth the theory that a single "flap of a sea gull's wings" could redirect the path of a tornado on another continent, that it could, in fact, be "enough to alter the course of the weather forever," and that, though the theory was then new and untested, "the most recent evidence would seem to favor the sea gulls."

At that moment in American history, the country had reached a turning point in a fight for racial justice that had been building for decades. This was the year of the killing of Medgar Evers in Mississippi, of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, of Gov. George Wallace blocking black students at the schoolhouse door of the University of Alabama, the year of the March on Washington, of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech and his "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." By then, millions of African-Americans had already testified with their bodies to the repression they had endured in the Jim Crow South by defecting to the North and West in what came to be known as the Great Migration. They were fleeing a world where they were restricted to the most menial of jobs, underpaid if paid at all, and frequently barred from voting. Between 1880 and 1950, an African-American was lynched more than once a week for some perceived breach of the racial hierarchy.

"They left as though they were fleeing some curse," wrote the scholar Emmett J. Scott, an observer of the early years of the migration. "They were willing to make almost any sacrifice to obtain a railroad ticket and they left with the intention of staying."

The migration began, like the flap of a sea gull's wings, as a rivulet of black families escaping Selma, Alabama, in the winter of 1916. Their quiet departure was scarcely noticed except for a single paragraph in the Chicago Defender, to whom they confided that "the treatment doesn't warrant staying." The rivulet would become rapids, which grew into a flood of six million people journeying out of the South over the course of six decades. They were seeking political asylum within the borders of their own country, not unlike refugees in other parts of the world fleeing famine, war and pestilence.

Until that moment and from the time of their arrival on these shores, the vast majority of African-Americans had been confined to the South, at the bottom of a feudal social order, at the mercy of slaveholders and their descendants and often-violent vigilantes. The Great Migration was the first big step that the nation's servant class ever took without asking.

"Oftentimes, just to go away is one of the most aggressive things that another person can do," wrote John Dollard, an anthropologist studying the racial caste system of the South in the 1930s, "and if the means of expressing discontent are limited, as in this case, it is one of the few ways in which pressure can be put on."

The refugees could not know what was in store for them and for their descendants at their destinations or what effect their exodus would have on the country. But by their actions, they would reshape the social and political geography of every city they fled to. When the migration began, 90 percent of all African-Americans were living in the South. By the time it was over, in the 1970s, 47 percent of all African-Americans were living in the North and West. A rural people had become urban, and a Southern people had spread themselves all over the nation.

Merely by leaving, African-Americans would get to participate in democracy and, by their presence, force the North to pay attention to the injustices in the South and the increasingly organized fight against those injustices. By leaving, they would change the course of their lives and those of their children. They would become Richard Wright the novelist instead of Richard Wright the sharecropper. They would become John Coltrane, jazz musician instead of tailor; Bill Russell, NBA pioneer instead of paper mill worker; Zora Neale Hurston, beloved folklorist instead of maidservant. The children of the Great Migration would reshape professions that, had their families not left, may never have been open to them, from sports and music to literature and art: Miles Davis, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, August Wilson, Jacob Lawrence, Diana Ross, Tupac Shakur, Prince, Michael Jackson, Shonda Rhimes, Venus and Serena Williams and countless others. The people who migrated would become the forebears of most African-Americans born in the North and West.

The Great Migration would expose the racial divisions and disparities that in many ways continue to plague the nation and dominate headlines today, from police killings of unarmed African-Americans to mass incarceration to widely documented biases in employment, housing, health care and education. Indeed, two of the most tragically recognizable descendants of the Great Migration are Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Chicago boy killed in Mississippi in 1955, and Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Cleveland boy shot to death by police in 2014 in the city where his ancestors had fled. Their fates are a reminder that the perils the people sought to escape were not confined to the South, nor to the past.

The history of African-Americans is often distilled into two epochs: the 246 years of enslavement ending after the close of the Civil War, and the dramatic era of protest during the civil rights movement. Yet the Civil War-to-civil rights axis tempts us to leap past a century of resistance against subjugation, and to miss the human story of ordinary people, their hopes lifted by Emancipation, dashed at the end of Reconstruction, crushed further by Jim Crow, only to be finally, at long last, revived when they found the courage within themselves to break free.

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A little boy boarded a northbound train with his grandmother and extended family, along with their upright piano and the rest of their worldly possessions, stuffed inside wooden crates, to begin their journey out of Mississippi. It was 1935. They were packed into the Jim Crow car, which, by custom, was at the front of the train, the first to absorb the impact in the event of a collision. They would not be permitted into the dining car, so they carried fried chicken and boiled eggs to tide them over for the journey.

The little boy was 4 years old and anxious. He'd overheard the grown-ups talking about leaving their farm in Arkabutla, to start over up north. He heard them say they might leave him with his father's people, whom he didn't know. In the end they took him along. The near abandonment haunted him. He missed his mother, who would not be joining them on this journey; she was away trying to make a stable life for herself after the breakup with his father. He did not know when he would see her again.

His grandfather had preceded them north. He was a hardworking, serious man who kept the indignities he suffered under Jim Crow to himself. In Mississippi, he had not dared stand up to some white children who broke the family's wagon. He told the little boy that as black people, they had no say in that world. "There were things they could do that we couldn't," the boy would say of the white children when he was a grown man with gray hair and a son of his own.

The grandfather was so determined to get his family out of the South that he bought a plot of land sight unseen in a place called Michigan. On the trip north, the little boy and his cousins and uncles and aunts (who were children themselves) did not quite know what Michigan was, so they made a ditty out of it and sang it as they waited for the train. "Meatskin! Meatskin! We're going to Meatskin!"

They landed on freer soil, but between the fears of abandonment and the trauma of being uprooted from his mother, the little boy arrived with a stutter. He began to speak less and less. At Sunday school, the children bellowed with laughter whenever he tried. So instead, he talked to the hogs and cows and chickens on the farm, who, he said years later, "don't care how you sound."

The little boy went mute for eight years. He wrote down the answers to questions he was asked, fearing even to introduce himself to strangers, until a high school English teacher coaxed him out of his silence by having him read poetry aloud to the class. That boy was James Earl Jones. He would go on to the University of Michigan, where he abandoned pre-med for theater. Later he would play King Lear in Central Park and Othello on Broadway, win Tony Awards for his performances in Fences and in The Great White Hope and star in films like Dr. Strangelove, Roots, Field of Dreams and Coming to America.

The voice that fell silent for so long would become among the most iconic of our time-the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, of Mufasa in The Lion King, the voice of CNN. Jones lost his voice, and found it, because of the Great Migration. "It was responsible for all that I am grateful for in my life," he told me in a recent interview in New York. "We were reaching for our gold mines, our freedom."

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The desire to be free is, of course, human and universal. In America, enslaved people had tried to escape through the Underground Railroad. Later, once freed on paper, thousands more, known as Exodusters, fled the violent white backlash following Reconstruction in a short-lived migration to Kansas in 1879.

But concentrated in the South as they were, held captive by the virtual slavery of sharecropping and debt peonage and isolated from the rest of the country in the era before airlines and interstates, many African-Americans had no ready means of making a go of it in what were then faraway alien lands.

By the opening of the 20th century, the optimism of the Reconstruction era had long turned into the terror of Jim Crow. In 1902, one black woman in Alabama seemed to speak for the agitated hearts that would ultimately propel the coming migration: "In our homes, in our churches, wherever two or three are gathered together," she said, "there is a discussion of what is best to do. Must we remain in the South or go elsewhere? Where can we go to feel that security which other people feel? Is it best to go in great numbers or only in several families? These and many other things are discussed over and over."

The door of escape opened during World War I, when slowing immigration from Europe created a labor shortage in the North. To fill the assembly lines, companies began recruiting black Southerners to work the steel mills, railroads and factories. Resistance in the South to the loss of its cheap black labor meant that recruiters often had to act in secret or face fines and imprisonment. In Macon, Georgia, for example, a recruiter's license required a $25,000 fee plus the unlikely recommendations of 25 local businessmen, ten ministers and ten manufacturers. But word soon spread among black Southerners that the North had opened up, and people began devising ways to get out on their own.

Southern authorities then tried to keep African-Americans from leaving by arresting them at the railroad platforms on grounds of "vagrancy" or tearing up their tickets in scenes that presaged tragically thwarted escapes from behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. And still they left.

On one of the early trains out of the South was a sharecropper named Mallie Robinson, whose husband had left her to care for their young family under the rule of a harsh plantation owner in Cairo, Georgia. In 1920, she gathered up her five children, including a baby still in diapers, and, with her sister and brother-in-law and their children and three friends, boarded a Jim Crow train, and another, and another, and didn't get off until they reached California.

They settled in Pasadena. When the family moved into an all-white neighborhood, a cross was burned on their front lawn. But here Mallie's children would go to integrated schools for the full year instead of segregated classrooms in between laborious hours chopping and picking cotton. The youngest, the one she had carried in her arms on the train out of Georgia, was named Jackie, who would go on to earn four letters in athletics in a single year at UCLA. Later, in 1947, he became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.

Had Mallie not persevered in the face of hostility, raising a family of six alone in the new world she had traveled to, we might not have ever known his name. "My mother never lost her composure," Jackie Robinson once recalled. "As I grew older, I often thought about the courage it took for my mother to break away from the South."

Mallie was extraordinary in another way. Most people, when they left the South, followed three main tributaries: the first was up the East Coast from Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston; the second, up the country's central spine, from Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas to St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and the entire Midwest; the third, from Louisiana and Texas to California and the Western states. But Mallie took one of the farthest routes in the continental U.S. to get to freedom, a westward journey of more than 2,200 miles.

The trains that spirited the people away, and set the course for those who would come by bus or car or foot, acquired names and legends of their own. Perhaps the most celebrated were those that rumbled along the Illinois Central Railroad, for which Abraham Lincoln had worked as a lawyer before his election to the White House, and from which Pullman porters distributed copies of the Chicago Defender in secret to black Southerners hungry for information about the North. The Illinois Central was the main route for those fleeing Mississippi for Chicago, people like Muddy Waters, the blues legend who made the journey in 1943 and whose music helped define the genre and pave the way for rock 'n' roll, and Richard Wright, a sharecropper's son from Natchez, Mississippi, who got on a train in 1927 at the age of 19 to feel what he called "the warmth of other suns."

In Chicago, Wright worked washing dishes and sweeping streets before landing a job at the post office and pursuing his dream as a writer. He began to visit the library: a right and pleasure that would have been unthinkable in his home state of Mississippi. In 1940, having made it to New York, he published Native Son to national acclaim, and, through this and other works, became a kind of poet laureate of the Great Migration. He seemed never to have forgotten the heartbreak of leaving his homeland and the courage he mustered to step into the unknown. "We look up at the high Southern sky," Wright wrote in 12 Million Black Voices. "We scan the kind, black faces we have looked upon since we first saw the light of day, and, though pain is in our hearts, we are leaving."

Zora Neale Hurston arrived in the North along the East Coast stream from Florida, although, as was her way, she broke convention in how she got there. She had grown up as the willful younger daughter of an exacting preacher and his long-suffering wife in the all-black town of Eatonville. After her mother died, when she was 13, Hurston bounced between siblings and neighbors until she was hired as a maid with a traveling theater troupe that got her north, dropping her off in Baltimore in 1917. From there, she made her way to Howard University in Washington, where she got her first story published in the literary magazine Stylus while working odd jobs as a waitress, maid and manicurist.

She continued on to New York in 1925 with $1.50 to her name. She would become the first black student known to graduate from Barnard College. There, she majored in English and studied anthropology, but was barred from living in the dormitories. She never complained. In her landmark 1928 essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me," she mocked the absurdity: "Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry," she wrote. "It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It's beyond me."

She arrived in New York when the Harlem Renaissance, an artistic and cultural flowering in the early years of the Great Migration, was in full bloom. The influx to the New York region would extend well beyond the Harlem Renaissance and draw the parents or grandparents of, among so many others, Denzel Washington (Virginia and Georgia), Ella Fitzgerald (Newport News, Virginia), the artist Romare Bearden (Charlotte, North Carolina), Whitney Houston (Blakeley, Georgia), the rapper Tupac Shakur (Lumberton, North Carolina), Sarah Vaughan (Virginia) and Althea Gibson (Clarendon County, South Carolina), the tennis champion who, in 1957, became the first black player to win at Wimbledon.

From Aiken, South Carolina, and Bladenboro, North Carolina, the migration drew the parents of Diahann Carroll, who would become the first black woman to win a Tony Award for best actress and, in 1968, to star in her own television show in a role other than a domestic. It was in New York that the mother of Jacob Lawrence settled after a winding journey from Virginia to Atlantic City to Philadelphia and then on to Harlem. Once there, to keep teenage Jacob safe from the streets, she enrolled her eldest son in an after-school arts program that would set the course of his life.

Lawrence would go on to create "The Migration Series"-60 painted panels, brightly colored like the throw rugs his mother kept in their tenement apartment. The paintings would become not only the best-known images of the Great Migration but among the most recognizable images of African-Americans in the 20th century.

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Yet throughout the migration, wherever black Southerners went, the hostility and hierarchies that fed the Southern caste system seemed to carry over into the receiving stations in the New World, as the cities of the North and West erected barriers to black mobility. There were "sundown towns" throughout the country that banned African-Americans after dark. The constitution of Oregon explicitly prohibited black people from entering the state until 1926; whites-only signs could still be seen in store windows into the 1950s.

Even in the places where they were permitted, blacks were relegated to the lowest-paying, most dangerous jobs, barred from many unions and, at some companies, hired only as strike breakers, which served to further divide black workers from white. They were confined to the most dilapidated housing in the least desirable sections of the cities to which they fled. In densely populated destinations like Pittsburgh and Harlem, housing was so scarce that some black workers had to share the same single bed in shifts.

When African-Americans sought to move their families to more favorable conditions, they faced a hardening structure of policies and customs designed to maintain racial exclusion. Restrictive covenants, introduced as a response to the influx of black people during the Great Migration, were clauses written into deeds that outlawed African-Americans from buying, leasing or living in properties in white neighborhoods, with the exception, often explicitly spelled out, of servants. By the 1920s, the widespread use of restrictive covenants kept as much as 85 percent of Chicago off-limits to African-Americans.

At the same time, redlining-the federal housing policy of refusing to approve or guarantee mortgages in areas where black people lived-served to deny them access to mortgages in their own neighborhoods. These policies became the pillars of a residential caste system in the North that calcified segregation and wealth inequality over generations, denying African-Americans the chance accorded other Americans to improve their lot.

In the 1930s, a black couple in Chicago named Carl and Nannie Hansberry decided to fight these restrictions to make a better life for themselves and their four young children. They had migrated north during World War I, Carl from Mississippi and Nannie from Tennessee. He was a real estate broker, she was a schoolteacher, and they had managed to save up enough to buy a home.

They found a brick three-flat with bay windows in the all-white neighborhood of Woodlawn. Although other black families moving into white neighborhoods had endured firebombings and mob violence, Carl wanted more space for his family and bought the house in secret with the help of progressive white real estate agents he knew. He moved the family late in the spring of 1937. The couple's youngest daughter, Lorraine, was 7 years old when they first moved, and she later described the vitriol and violence her family met in what she called a "hellishly hostile 'white neighborhood' in which literally howling mobs surrounded our house." At one point a mob descended on the home to throw bricks and broken concrete, narrowly missing her head.

But not content simply to terrorize the Hansberrys, neighbors then filed a lawsuit, forcing the family to move out, backed by state courts and restrictive covenants. The Hansberrys took the case to the Supreme Court to challenge the restrictive covenants and to return to the house they bought. The case culminated in a 1940 Supreme Court decision that was one of a series of cases that together helped strike a blow against segregation. But the hostility continued.

Lorraine Hansberry later recalled being "spat at, cursed and pummeled in the daily trek to and from school. And I also remember my desperate and courageous mother, patrolling our household all night with a loaded German Luger, doggedly guarding her four children, while my father fought the respectable part of the battle in the Washington court."

In 1959, Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, about a black family on Chicago's South Side living in dilapidated housing with few better options and at odds over what to do after the death of the patriarch, became the first play written by an African-American woman to be performed on Broadway. The fight by those who migrated and those who marched eventually led to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which made such discriminatory practices illegal. Carl Hansberry did not live to see it. He died in 1946 at age 50 while in Mexico City, where, disillusioned with the slow speed of progress in America, he was working on plans to move his family to Mexico.

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The Great Migration laid bare tensions in the North and West that were not as far removed from the South as the people who migrated might have hoped. Martin Luther King Jr., who went north to study in Boston, where he met his wife, Coretta Scott, experienced the depth of Northern resistance to black progress when he was campaigning for fair housing in Chicago decades after the Hansberrys' fight. He was leading a march in Marquette Park, in 1966, amid fuming crowds. One placard said: "King would look good with a knife in his back." A protester hurled a stone that hit him in the head. Shaken, he fell to one knee. "I have seen many demonstrations in the South," he told reporters. "But I have never seen anything so hostile and so hateful as I've seen here today."

Out of such turmoil arose a political consciousness in a people who had been excluded from civic life for most of their history. The disaffected children of the Great Migration grew more outspoken about the worsening conditions in their places of refuge. Among them was Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little in 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, to a lay minister who had journeyed north from Georgia, and a mother born in Grenada. Malcolm was 6 years old when his father, who was under continuous attack by white supremacists for his role fighting for civil rights in the North, died a violent, mysterious death that plunged the family into poverty and dislocation.

Despite the upheaval, Malcolm was accomplished in his predominantly white school, but when he shared his dream of becoming a lawyer, a teacher told him that the law was "no realistic goal for a n-----." He dropped out soon afterward.

He would go on to become known as Detroit Red, Malcolm X and el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, a journey from militancy to humanitarianism, a voice of the dispossessed and a counterweight to Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement.

At around the same time, a radical movement was brewing on the West Coast. Huey Newton was the impatient son of a preacher and itinerant laborer who left Louisiana with his family for Oakland, after his father was almost lynched for talking back to a white overseer. Huey was a toddler when they arrived in California. There, he struggled in schools ill-equipped to handle the influx of newcomers from the South. He was pulled to the streets and into juvenile crime. It was only after high school that he truly learned to read, but he would go on to earn a PhD.

In college he read Malcolm X and met classmate Bobby Seale, with whom, in 1966, he founded the Black Panther Party, built on the ideas of political action first laid out by Stokely Carmichael. The Panthers espoused self-determination, quality housing, health care and full employment for African-Americans. They ran schools and fed the poor. But they would become known for their steadfast and militant belief in the right of African-Americans to defend themselves when under attack, as had been their lot for generations in the Jim Crow South and was increasingly in the North and West.

Perhaps few participants of the Great Migration had as deep an impact on activism and social justice without earning the commensurate recognition for her role as Ella Baker. She was born in 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, to devout and ambitious parents and grew up in North Carolina. After graduating from Shaw University, in Raleigh, she left for New York in 1927. There she worked as a waitress, factory worker and editorial assistant before becoming active in the NAACP, where she eventually rose to national director.

Baker became the quiet shepherd of the civil rights movement, working alongside Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and W.E.B. DuBois. She mentored the likes of Stokely Carmichael and Rosa Parks and helped to create the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee-the network of college students who risked their lives to integrate buses and register blacks to vote in the most dangerous parts of the South. She helped guide almost every major event in the civil rights era, from the Montgomery bus boycott to the march in Selma to the Freedom Rides and the student sit-ins of the 1960s.

Baker was among those who suggested to King, then still in his 20s, that he take the movement beyond Alabama after the success of the bus boycott and press for racial equality throughout the South. She had a keen understanding that a movement would need Southern origins in order for participants not to be dismissed as "Northern agitators." King was at first reluctant to push his followers in the aftermath of the taxing 381-day boycott, but she believed that momentum was crucial. The modern civil rights movement had begun.

Baker devoted her life to working at the ground level in the South to organize the nonviolent demonstrations that helped change the region she had left but not forsaken. She directed students and sharecroppers, ministers and intellectuals, but never lost a fervent belief in the power of ordinary people to change their destiny. "Give light," she once said, "and people will find the way."

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Over time, as the people of the Great Migration embedded themselves in their cities, they aspired to leading roles in civic life. It could not have been imagined in the migration's early decades that the first black mayors of most major cities in the North and West would not be longtime Northerners, as might have been expected, but rather children of the Great Migration, some having worked the Southern fields themselves.

The man who would become the first black mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, was born on a cotton plantation in Calvert, Texas, to sharecroppers Crenner and Lee Thomas Bradley. The family migrated to Los Angeles when he was 7 years old. Once there his father abandoned the family, and his mother supported him and his four siblings working as a maid. Bradley grew up on Central Avenue among the growing colony of black arrivals from the South. He became a track star at UCLA and later joined the Los Angeles police force, rising to lieutenant, the highest rank allowed African-Americans in the 1950s.

Seeing limits on his advancement, he went to law school at night, won a seat on the city council, and was elected mayor in 1973, serving five consecutive terms.

His name would become a part of the political lexicon after he ran for governor of California in 1982. Polls had overestimated support for him due to what was believed to be the reluctance of white voters to be truthful with pollsters about their intention to vote for his white opponent, George Deukmejian. To this day, in an election involving a non-white candidate, the discrepancy between polling numbers and final outcomes due to the misleading poll responses of white voters is known as the "Bradley Effect." In the 1982 election that Bradley had been favored to win, he lost by a single percentage point.

Still, he would describe Los Angeles, the place that drew his family out of Texas, as "the city of hope and opportunity." He said, "I am a living example of that."

**********

The story of African-Americans on this soil cannot be told without the Great Migration. For many of them, the 20th century was largely an era of migrating and marching until freedom, by law and in their hearts, was won. Its mission over, the migration ended in the 1970s, when the South had sufficiently changed so that African-Americans were no longer under pressure to leave and were free to live anywhere they chose. From that time, to the current day, a new narrative took hold in popular thought that has seized primarily on geographical census data, gathered every ten years, showing that since 1975 the South has witnessed a net increase of African-Americans, many drawn (like other Americans) to job opportunities and a lower cost of living, but also to the call of their ancestral homeland, enacting what has come to be called a "reverse migration."

The phrase and phenomenon have captured the attention of demographers and journalists alike who revisit the trend after each new census. One report went so far as to describe it as "an evacuation" from the Northern cities by African-Americans back to the place their forebears had fled. But the demographics are more complex than the narrative often portrayed. While hundreds of thousands of African-Americans have left Northern cities, they have not made a trail to the farms and hamlets where their ancestors may have picked cotton but to the biggest cities of the South-Atlanta, Houston, Dallas-which are now more cosmopolitan and thus more like their Northern counterparts. Many others have not headed South at all but have fanned out to suburbs or smaller cities in the North and West, places like Las Vegas, Columbus, Ohio, or even Ferguson, Missouri. Indeed, in the 40 years since the migration ended, the proportion of the South that is African-American has remained unchanged at about 20 percent-far from the seismic impact of the Great Migration. And so "reverse migration" seems not only an overstatement but misleading, as if relocating to an employer's Houston office were equivalent to running for one's life on the Illinois Central.

Richard Wright relocated several times in his quest for other suns, fleeing Mississippi for Memphis and Memphis for Chicago and Chicago for New York, where, living in Greenwich Village, barbers refused to serve him and some restaurants refused to seat him. In 1946, near the height of the Great Migration, he came to the disheartening recognition that, wherever he went, he faced hostility. So he went to France. Similarly, African-Americans today must navigate the social fault lines exposed by the Great Migration and the country's reactions to it: white flight, police brutality, systemic ills flowing from government policy restricting fair access to safe housing and good schools. In recent years, the North, which never had to confront its own injustices, has moved toward a crisis that seems to have reached a boiling point in our current day: a catalog of videotaped assaults and killings of unarmed black people, from Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1991, Eric Garner in New York in 2014, Philando Castile outside St. Paul, Minnesota, this summer, and beyond.

Thus the eternal question is: Where can African-Americans go? It is the same question their ancestors asked and answered, only to discover upon arriving that the racial caste system was not Southern but American.

And so it was in these places of refuge that Black Lives Matter arose, a largely Northern- and Western-born protest movement against persistent racial discrimination in many forms. It is organic and leaderless like the Great Migration itself, bearing witness to attacks on African-Americans in the unfinished quest for equality. The natural next step in this journey has turned out to be not simply moving to another state or geographic region but moving fully into the mainstream of American life, to be seen in one's full humanity, to be able to breathe free wherever one lives in America.

From this perspective, the Great Migration has no contemporary geographic equivalent because it was not solely about geography. It was about agency for a people who had been denied it, who had geography as the only tool at their disposal. It was an expression of faith, despite the terrors they had survived, that the country whose wealth had been created by their ancestors' unpaid labor might do right by them.

We can no more reverse the Great Migration than unsee a painting by Jacob Lawrence, unhear Prince or Coltrane, erase The Piano Lesson, remove Mae Jemison from her spacesuit in science textbooks, delete Beloved. In a short span of time-in some cases, over the course of a single generation-the people of the Great Migration proved the worldview of the enslavers a lie, that the people who were forced into the field and whipped for learning to read could do far more than pick cotton, scrub floors. Perhaps, deep down, the enslavers always knew that. Perhaps that is one reason they worked so hard at such a brutal system of subjugation. The Great Migration was thus a Declaration of Independence. It moved those who had long been invisible not just out of the South but into the light. And a tornado triggered by the wings of a sea gull can never be unwound.

Buy

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The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration

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When millions of African-Americans fled the South in search of a better life, they remade the nation in ways that are still being felt

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Books to Read During Black History Month and Beyond

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Books to Read During Black History Month and Beyond

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https://www.toledolibrary.org/blog/books-to-read-during-black-history-month-and-beyond

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Black History Month

Black History Month (known officially in the United States as African American History Month) is celebrated annually in February, paying tribute to the generations of African-Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.

Historian Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week, which was first celebrated in February 1926, during the week that encompassed the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, the celebration was expanded to encompass the entire month of February by President Gerald R. Ford and since then every American president has issued African American History Month proclamations.

Learn More About African-American History

Library of Congress
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.

National Museum of African American History and Culture
The only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans.

National Archives
A wealth of material documenting the African American experience, paying tribute to the struggles and achievements of the people and events that have shaped our nation.

Scholastic
Resources for teachers, parents and caregivers for children grades 1-8.

Reading Rockets
Authors, books, activities, videos, history guides and additional resources.

Read-In

February is Black History Month, and we're celebrating in part with a read-in (and many other great programs)! Read, listen or watch ANY title from ANY African-American author and add your name to the banner at your favorite branch.
Feb. 1 - 28 | All branches | All ages
Reading Recommendations

Fiction Books for Adults

Nonfiction Books for Adults
42 Amazing Books Written by Black Authors 22 Award-Winning Books by Black Authors 100 Must-Read African-American Books
Looking for More Great Books to Read?

Books for Teens
21 YA Books to Read for Black History Month Fantastic YA Books by Black Authors
Looking for More Great Books to Read?

Books for Children

Picture Books

Juvenile Fiction
Favorite Books for Black History Month 17 Must-Read Picture Books to Celebrate Black History Month 100 Best Children's Books for African American History Month
Looking for More Great Books to Read?
Plays by African-American Playwrights Celebrating African American Poetry and Poets Black History Storytime 10 Influential Songs to Celebrate Black History Month
Related Toledo Library Blog Posts

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Books to Read During Black History Month and Beyond | Toledo Lucas County Public Library

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Black History Month (known officially in the United States as African American History Month) is celebrated annually in February, paying tribute to the generations of African-Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. Historian Carter G.

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BHM, AAMU Focus on Black Health and Wellness

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BHM, AAMU Focus on Black Health and Wellness

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https://www.aamu.edu/about/inside-aamu/news/aamu-observes-bhm-2022.html

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This year's theme for Black History Month-"Black Health and Wellness"-takes a look at how American healthcare has often underserved the African-American community, according to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The Association was founded by Carter G. Woodson in 1915.

Alabama A&M University has provided the academic fundamentals to hundreds of doctors and other members of the health professions for more than a century. A case in point is Dr. Sacoby Wilson, a 1998 AAMU graduate who directs the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The list of doctors continues to Gallipolis, Ohio, where Dr. Isis Holloway, a 2012 graduate, specializes in family medicine for the Holzer Health System. Finally, continuing to name just a tiny fraction of the hundreds of Normalites making an impact throughout the globe, is Dr. Robert Bullard, Class of 1968, called "the Father of Environmental Justice" by colleagues, and distinguished professor at Texas Southern University.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has recently shown, a widespread disparity of access to quality healthcare negatively impacts outcomes for blacks and other minorities. For African-Americans, the root of the problem goes deep, and extends back centuries. Beginning with slavery, a lack of economic opportunity often put medical care out of reach for many African Americans.

Bullard will make a Black History Month presentation for AAMU's Department of Community and Regional Planning on February 25, via Zoom at 10 a.m. The noted educator, administrator and activist will focus on "Black History is American History." For additional information, contact the Department of Community and Regional Planning at (256) 372-5426.

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This year's theme for Black History Month-"Black Health and Wellness"-takes a look at how American healthcare has often underserved the African-American community, according to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). The Association was founded by Carter G. Woodson in 1915.

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Implementation Checklist for the National CLAS Standards

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Implementation Checklist for the National CLAS Standards

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https://thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/assets/pdfs/AnImplementationChecklistfortheNationalCLASStandards.pdf

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https://leanin.org/allyship-at-work-program-materials?utm_source=email&utm_medium=ActiveCampaign

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Allyship at Work is a diversity training program that helps employees recognize their privilege and positional power and learn more than 50 specific, research-backed specific actions they can take to show up as allies.

It consists of two main components: a four-hour workshop that introduces participants to the practice of allyship and three small group follow-up sessions that provide participants with accountability and support as they put what they've learned into action.

Download the program materials

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Educate and
Engage Your Teams

Half-Day Workshop

Employees walk away with a shared understanding of allyship, more than 50 actions to try, and a commitment to do the work of real allyship.

Encourage
Ongoing Action

Follow-Up Sessions

Three follow-up sessions encourage coworkers to hold each other accountable as they build new habits and commit to practicing allyship over the long term.

In small discussion groups, participants:

Share steps they've taken to practice allyship, including any allyship actions they've taken

Share the challenges they're facing and problem-solve together

Explore more strategies for practicing allyship

Drive ongoing accountability by making One Commitment at the end of each session

Sign up to get the Allyship at Work toolkit

We provide you with everything you need to run a successful program. Sign up to receive:

Moderator Guide

Consider this detailed guide your ultimate moderator cheat sheet. It provides everything you need to know about Allyship at Work, including additional context on how the program is designed and frequently asked questions that may come up during the session.

Workshop Presentation

This is the heart of the program. It will lead you and participants through the workshop and comes loaded with built-in speaker notes so you know what to say and how to guide participants.

Company Playbook

Here you'll find everything you need to obtain buy-in, promote the program, and get employees excited and engaged. It includes marketing assets, such as logos and images, email templates, and suggested Slack messages.

Personal Workbook

Each participant gets a personal workbook to help guide their experience throughout the workshop and act as a reference for the follow-up sessions and beyond. It contains journal prompts, exercises, and discussion questions in an interactive PDF format.

Get the Toolkit

Sign up for a moderator training

Join one of our free moderator training sessions to learn how to bring Allyship at Work to your organization. Our 90-minute virtual training will walk you through the program materials, give you an understanding of the program concepts, and provide tips for answering frequently asked questions.

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Can't make it? Sign up to receive everything you need to implement Allyship at Work and stay up-to-date on Lean In's company programs.

Running Allyship at Work

A step-by-step guide for moderators

Learn how to bring Allyship at Work to your organization

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Attend a free training

Can't make it? Sign up to receive everything you need to implement Allyship at Work and stay up-to-date on Lean In's company programs.

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Allyship at Work is a diversity training program that helps employees recognize their privilege and positional power and learn more than 50 specific, research-backed specific actions they can take to show up as allies.

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https://arts.ufl.edu/site/assets/files/174533/uf_chc_whitepaper_2019.pdf

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NYC Racial Justice Commission Preliminary Report

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NYC Racial Justice Commission Preliminary Report

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https://racialjustice.cityofnewyork.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/RJC_NYC4RC_PrelimRept_FIN.pdf

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Hispanic Federation Releases 'Blueprint' for Next City Government to Improve Latino Representation, Communities

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Hispanic Federation Releases 'Blueprint' for Next City Government to Improve Latino Representation, Communities

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Mayor de Blasio at a Hispanic Federation event (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

With a new mayor and other city leaders set to take office January 1, the Hispanic Federation has released a "blueprint" for improving how local government serves New York City's 2.3 million Latino residents.

A nonprofit with 70 member organizations from all five boroughs, the Hispanic Federation issued its recommendations at a virtual press conference on Tuesday, hours before the final debate of this year's mayoral election, between Democratic nominee Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, which it was co-sponsoring.

The 71-page " La Gran Manzana: The Road Ahead For New York City's Latino Community " offers more than 550 specific recommendations for how city government should address social disparities that disproportionately affect the city's broad and diverse Latino community. They are broken down into ten policy areas including increasing Latino appointments in city government, bolstering Latino nonprofits, investing in education for Latino students, supporting immigrants, environmental justice, and more.

Specific recommendations of the blueprint include items like ensuring that the next New York City Council Speaker is Latino and increasing New York City's Nonprofit Stabilization Fund to $50 million over a five-year period to support people of Latino-led nonprofit organizations.

"[COVID-19] has attacked our friends, caused families to mourn the loss of loved ones, skyrocketed economic instability to levels not seen in generations, closed businesses, and left a learning gap among our children," said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of the Hispanic Federation and host of the event, at the Zoom press conference. "La Gran Manzana clearly outlines how our government can take bold action to meaningfully empower Latinos and support a comprehensive, fair and equitable recovery from the pandemic across the socio-economic spectrum."

He was among a number of Latino organization leaders, also including Maria Lizardo of the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, Marco Carrión of El Puente, and Arnaldo López of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, and others, who contributed to the report and discussed it at the release.

"We're really at an inflection point of what good governance can look like in this vibrant city and this is our opportunity, and our responsibility even, to create the peace in our families and in our communities that we deserve," said Margarita Guzman, executive director of Violence Intervention Program, a member organization of the federation and one of the press conference panelists.

The disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on New York's Latino community, exacerbated by and exacerbating existing inequalities, is an overarching theme in the Gran Manzana (Big Apple) blueprint and throughout the press conference.

Several keys to reducing those inequalities that are included in the report are increased protections for immigrant workers, expanding loans for small businesses hurt by the pandemic, and pushing for affordable housing and eviction protections.

A key recommendation in the blueprint is the call to increase New York City's Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund to $50 million over a five-year period and fix issues with the administration of the fund, which provides grants to Black, Latino, and Asian-led nonprofit organizations throughout New York City that are currently serving communities where 51% are people of color and have a budget between $150,00 and $2 million. Organizers believe additional investments in such groups will galvanize more community action and build bottom-up change positively impacting Latino communities.

"New York City is long past the time when it must understand that the nonprofit sector is not only a key instrument of social change and stability, but also an economic force and multiplier in Latino communities," the blueprint says. "The next Mayor and City Council must significantly reform the current system of contracting so that organizations do not flounder."

At the press conference, organizers also spoke about the need to address public health issues impacting New York's Latino community. With historical health disparities and the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic further exposed glaring healthcare challenges for Latinos in New York City, as well as other conditions like poverty and overcrowded housing that made low-income Latinos more susceptible to the highly-transmissible virus.

"We hope that the incoming administration will also embrace a commitment to erase health disparities in our city, to be an example about rebuilding a new city healthier, and also putting the wellness of our communities - not only Hispanic or Latinx, all New Yorkers - as an example to follow," said Guillermo Chacón, Founder of the Hispanic Health Network and President of the Latino Commission on AIDS, who was one of the press conference panelists.

Participants and the report also stress the need to invest in education for Latino children in New York City and reduce school dropout rates to help more Latinx students attend colleges and universities. The Gran Manzana blueprint recommends new city officials prioritize making free full-day pre-kindergarten available to all three- and four-year-olds in New York City (an effort that is well underway), reducing class sizes, creating more after-school programs in Latino communities, and increasing the number of adult literacy and English language support programs available. It also recommends replacing New York City's gifted and talented education program as well as the current admissions process for the city's eight specialized high schools, lending the Hispanic Federation's voice to an important and fraught education debate happening right now in the city.

"It is important that the city remedy the discriminatory practices in the Department of Education's gifted and talented program and in its specialized high schools, and lay out a clear and accountable plan to dramatically and immediately improve the recruitment, admission, and retention of Latino students who are woefully underrepresented in New York's most prestigious secondary schools," said Soledad Hiciano, Executive Director of the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, at the virtual press conference.

Another focus area highlighted at the event releasing the blueprint is the Federation's call to create new support systems for immigrants in New York City. This, the document says, includes stopping wage theft from undocumented workers, assuring immigrants that the city will not cooperate with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and supporting integration services.

"Without these increased protections and the proper support, that flame that our communities emit to light up the city and continue to make it the capital of the world is going to flicker," said Alba Villa, Executive Director of the Coalition for Immigrant Freedom, at the press conference.

With the recommendations unveiled, Miranda turned his attention to the work he says the city's Latino community must do through Election Day, November 2.

"From our end, we will make sure that our community gets out to vote," Miranda said, "and that we are going to make sure that the next mayor understands that they can no longer ignore the needs of our community and we will also work with the new class of City Council members and existing Council members."

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Hispanic Federation Releases 'Blueprint' for Next City Government to Improve Latino Representation, Communities

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Mayor de Blasio at a Hispanic Federation event (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office) With a new mayor and other city leaders set to take office January 1, the Hispanic Federation has released a "blueprint" for improving how local government serves New York City's 2.3 million Latino residents.

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10 Strategies to Build Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

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10 Strategies to Build Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

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https://blog.talaera.com/strategies-diversity-inclusion-workplace

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Workplace inclusion helps employees of all ethnicities, backgrounds, religions and sexual orientations thrive and feel safe in the modern workplace, but not only that. Diverse teams also produce better results and diversity and inclusion attract and retain the best talent.
But what makes some work environments more inclusive than others?
Some HR and talent management influencers believe that true workplace inclusion is top-down; workplace inclusion must be embedded in the DNA of the company or written into the company's core values.

But before we move on, what is the definition of diversity in the workplace? Organizational diversity means that your employees come from different backgrounds, and have different characteristics, viewpoints, and skills. Effective workplace inclusion means that you understand that each individual is unique, and you recognize their individual differences and praise them. These differences can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

Other talent managers think that workplace inclusion can be improved over time with strategies like diversity workshops to raise awareness. So what makes a genuinely inclusive environment? And how can companies learn from others championing diversity and inclusivity?

To learn more about this topic, download this free guide on How to manage language and cultural diversity in the workplace.

Why is workplace inclusion important?

Diversity and inclusion seem to go hand in hand. Or do they? There is a lot of buzz surrounding making workplaces more diverse. This often means making hiring processes as transparent and open as possible. But is this the same as workplace inclusion?

Workplace diversity does not equal workplace inclusion

Organizations often equate workplace diversity with inclusion. However, key thought leaders have shed light on some crucial differences between workplace diversity and inclusion.

"Diversity and inclusion are not one in the same, and neither happens through osmosis. To make employees feel more included, appreciated and safe in the workplace, initiatives must be targeted to achieve specific results." - Karima Mariama-Arthur, CEO and founder of WordSmithRapport speaking in Forbes .

"We often forget the 'I' in the D&I conversation. The challenge is in having a culture where all employees feel included. It's a major investment to bring talent into your organization, so why bring them in if they're not happy when they get here? You've got to get the inclusion part right." - Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, president and chief executive officer of the Society for Human Resource Management speaking in SHRM .

This makes workplace inclusion efforts important in their own right. It is not enough to just hire for diversity. Organizations should incorporate inclusivity as a key company goal. This will increase employee well-being and benefit the company over time.

Nowadays, top talent sees the workplace as an extension of their lifestyle; if their core values are not reflected in those of the company, it is unlikely that that employee will thrive in that atmosphere:

"In a race for talent, an inclusive culture can really draw people in and make them stay if it's done right. And today, it is a make-or-break for some individuals ," said Deborah DeHaas , vice chairman and chief inclusion officer of Deloitte.

Her comments followed a Deloitte study that found 72 percent of workers would leave a company to seek a more inclusive one. Almost one-quarter of respondents had already moved companies for this reason.

The bottom line: Inclusion is a deal-breaker, particularly for millennials, when it comes to choosing a workplace.

Diverse teams produce better results

This should read diverse teams that feel included produce better results. Kristel Kruustük, founder and CEO of tech company Testlio, has created a company where 40% of all hires are female. This is no mean feat in a typically male-dominated sector. Kristel is a major proponent of workplace diversity:

"At Testlio, we've strived to make diversity part of our competitive advantage from the very beginning. It's a research-supported strategy: Gender-diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to outperform their peers, according to a McKinsey study. Ethnically diverse companies are even more likely to outperform the competition." - Kristel Kruustük speaking in Entrepeneur

This really underscores the business case for hiring diverse talent.

10 actionable workplace inclusion tactics

Before talking about global strategies, it's a good idea to do a personal inclusion audit. This can help you understand things like the language you use, your unconscious biases.

Eric Kandel won a Nobel prize for his work in the field of neuroscience. He believes that the majority of our free will actually take place subconsciously. This leads to something called unconscious bias - a predisposition to see a situation in a certain way.

One unconscious bias is the classic gender role association: MALE = WORK and FEMALE = HOME.

2. Use inclusive language

Buffer challenged their use of language. The tech organization used to use the word hacker for computer programmer job descriptions. Only 2% of applicants were female. After some research, they found that more inclusive language may encourage more women to apply.

Another simple example is using greetings like "hey guys." this is considered non-inclusive as it is male-centric, i.e., assuming that a male greeting should be the norm.

Such use of language, particularly hyper-casual language may seem small and unimportant. But with a little effort, it's easy to adapt.

And for guys, check out this cool flowchart from Techlady Mafia:

Remember co-workers have the right to be addressed how they want. It's not up to you to question this.

3. Check your social media activity

What are the demographics of your followers on Twitter? Anil Dash, CEO of Glitch, asked himself this very question as was surprised to learn that almost 80% of his followers were male.

Check out your Twitter analytics to see your follower demographics.

The following inclusion strategies apply to the workplace as a whole.

There are two reasons why C-level leadership and management should attend diversity and inclusion workshops: firstly, its one of the least diverse areas of work, dominated by white males. Secondly, leaders can play a crucial role in shaping company values. If diversity goals are set top-down, it is likely they can be implemented company-wide. They are responsible for decision-making within an organization.

The Economist surveyed employees from various organizations and found that one-third of respondents agreed that LGBT inclusion in their companies had improved. While 63 percent felt it is the role of C-suite and senior management to improve the situation.

American Express has made diversity and inclusion mandatory for executives at vice-president and above. Dianne Campbell, vice president of global diversity and inclusion at American Express in Washington, D.C, has said that "It's the experience that the leader is creating that is going to make or break your D&I initiatives."

Every great community needs mentors. Mentors voice concerns and overcome challenges for their community members. PayPal Unity is a programme for female employees in their workforce hosts events to inspire them and make them feel valued.

6. Create cultural events

Celebrate the diverse nature of your team. Cultural activities can be anything from doing a weekly cook-out, asking each member of your team to cook a meal from their own country.

You need to listen to your organization. Try to add regular feedback events or town hall-style meetings to find out what is working and what is not. Speak to community mentors and make sure they have ample opportunity to raise issues related to inclusion. Also, arrange one-on-one session between employees and their community members to ensure they have a safe space to share their feedback.

8. Remember remote workers

40 Lessons From 4 Years of Remote Work

Buffer manage company retreats even though they are a remote company. This poses significant logistical challenges. Remote companies are a legitimate business structure and look highly likely to become the workplace norm in the next few years. This pushes the boundaries of what it means to work for the same company.

10. Create core company values

Workplace inclusion can unlock your company's true potential

Workplace inclusion is something every workplace should strive for. It ultimately leads to increased productivity and employee well-being. It's worth remembering that a diverse workplace does not necessarily lead to an inclusive one. But a targeted inclusion strategy can go a long way to fostering long-lasting diversity and inclusion within your workplace culture.
[This article was originally published in 2019, and updated in September 2020.]
About the Author: Tom Wells is an online author writing for some of the biggest brands in the tech industry. Connect with him on LinkedIn to check out some of his latest posts.
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10 Strategies to Build Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

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Workplace inclusion helps employees of all ethnicities, backgrounds, religions and sexual orientations thrive and feel safe in the modern workplace, but not only that. Diverse teams also produce better results and diversity and inclusion attract and retain the best talent. But what makes some work environments more inclusive than others?

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5 Ways to Get Employees More Involved in your DEI Efforts

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5 Ways to Get Employees More Involved in your DEI Efforts

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is everyone's responsibility-even if you have a Chief Diversity Officer. Every single employee and company leader can play a role in the success or failure of a company's DEI efforts. That's because the work is never truly done, and companies benefit when everyone offers their input. If you find that your employees are hanging out on the sidelines, here are 5 ways to nudge them toward making a more meaningful contribution.

1. Encourage employee resource groups

Employee resource groups (ERGs), also known as affinity groups, are a common way employees get involved in a company's DEI efforts. They are voluntary groups that build community between employees with shared characteristics, interests, and issues so they may support one another. For instance, women, Black employees, workers with disabilities, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and queer (LGBTQ+) employees. If your company is still small, a DEI task force can be a good alternative first step.

Encourage these groups to form and meet by providing executive sponsorship and budget-but leave the groups to be run by its members. This will ensure that the group can meet their goals and objectives, with the support they need to be successful. A sponsor is also key to sending the group's feedback to company leadership. For instance, an ERG for parents might suggest a "Bring your Kids to Work Day," or advocate for team building events that happen during business hours. This sort of feedback can help make the workplace more inclusive to parents.

2. Share employee stories

There can be many challenges with being an "only." That is, the only woman on a team, the only Black person in the company, or the only parent in the office. Candidates want to see others like them, and employee stories can help them see your company's commitment to DEI.

Be intentional about getting stories from a diverse group of employees. For instance, someone from your LGBTQ+ ERG can share a blog post or video about what the organization does to celebrate Pride. A recently promoted female employee can write a blog post about her career path and development opportunities at your company. Or a Black engineer can do a Twitter takeover to share a behind-the-scenes look of a "Day in the Life."

3. Request diverse referrals

Referred candidates are faster to hire, cost less to recruit, onboard faster, perform better and stay longer. But a common issue with these coveted candidates is that they don't tend to contribute to a very diverse talent pipeline.

Be international about requesting diverse referrals by asking for candidates with specific characteristics or from certain demographics. For instance, "Who is the best female engineer in your network?" or "Who is the best Black salesperson you know?"

This is also an excellent opportunity to tap your ERGs for recommendations. The parents at your company are likely to know other parents, and LGBTQ employees may be involved with a larger LGBTQ+ community outside of work. Members of your ERGs can be instrumental in providing diverse referrals-while also being able to speak to your company's inclusivity.

4. Build a DEI education budget

Get more employees involved in your DEI efforts by enabling them to learn and network. Arrange for a speaker to do a lunch and learn at your office, or host an external event for a local association. Sponsor company leaders and ERG community managers to attend DEI conferences, and sponsor employees to attend local meetups and join associations. While the goal is to learn, company representatives could also be adding valuable connections to their networks.

Offer training and coaching to help interviewers, managers, and leaders recognize biases and make more fair decisions. Company leaders, in particular, should be held accountable for meeting specific diversity objectives on their teams. Leaders who fail to meet those objectives may benefit from a structured development program.

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5. Talk about your DEI efforts

Talk about your commitment to DEI and the programs and initiatives that support it, early and often. For example:

Discuss and demonstrate your commitment to DEI on your career site. Publish a statement around the importance of diversity at your company, and demographic information that you're proud to share. Feature your diverse workforce in photos, and ask them for quotes, testimonials, or stories about working at your company.

Discuss and demonstrate your commitment to DEI during your interview process. Let candidates know your goals around diversity, and what progress you've already made. Be intentional about setting a diverse interview panel.

Share your DEI initiatives during employee onboarding. Let new employees know about your ERGs, when they meet, and how to get involved (if they so choose). Let them know you encourage ongoing education, and share information for some local associations other employees are involved with. Ask if they know any great candidates from underrepresented groups.

Talk about DEI during company all-hands meetings. Discuss your new initiatives, and share the progress you've made toward goals. Share upcoming events you're hosting, and ERG meetup information.

Final thoughts on getting employees more involved with DEI

Once you get employees involved with your DEI efforts, it's crucial that you collect-and act on-their feedback. Then communicate the progress of your DEI program and how employees have contributed. This will ensure that employees feel their opinions are valued, so they keep up the effort to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

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Sapling - 5 Ways to Get Employees More Involved in your DEI Efforts

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Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is everyone's responsibility-even if you have a Chief Diversity Officer. Every single employee and company leader can play a role in the success or failure of a company's DEI efforts. That's because the work is never truly done, and companies benefit when everyone offers their input.

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Genderbread: understanding  gender identity/expression, sexual/romantic attraction, anatomical sex- SOGIE

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Genderbread: understanding  gender identity/expression, sexual/romantic attraction, anatomical sex- SOGIE

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https://www.genderbread.org/resource/genderbread-person-v4-0

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Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders

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Disarming Racial Microaggressions: Microintervention Strategies for Targets, White Allies, and Bystanders

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Join the EAP Weekly Support Group on Tuesday's at 8:00 PM

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Join the EAP Weekly Support Group on Tuesday's at 8:00 PM

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*Participation is free and confidential

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STOP ASIAN HATE-City leaders discussion resources

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"We Need to Talk About Anti-Asian Hate" Documentary

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"We Need to Talk About Anti-Asian Hate" Documentary

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Equity and Inclusion Resource List (Responses)

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Introduction What Is Social Justice? Communal Agreements Icebreaker: Respect Activity Activities: Introducing Identity: "My Fullest Name" Understanding Privilege and Systems of Power: "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" Gender and Sexuality Workshop: Creating Gender-Free Nouns Race and Ethnicity: Diversity Profile Intersection Identity and Privilege: Crossing the Line Recap and Closing Activity Closing and Recommended Resources
Introduction

This toolkit is meant for anyone who feels there is a lack of productive discourse around issues of diversity and the role of identity in social relationships, both on a micro (individual) and macro (communal) level. Perhaps you are a teacher, youth group facilitator, student affairs personnel or manage a team that works with an underserved population. Training of this kind can provide historical context about the politics of identity and the dynamics of power and privilege or help build greater self-awareness.

The following activities are intended for groups of 10 to 60 people. For larger groups, you can break into multiple sessions with additional facilitators to ensure the conversations and activities remain focused. The diversity toolkit outlined here may be used as a guideline and can be modified to better fit your group's unique needs.

A note on facilitators: Facilitators should be well versed in the topics and themes we will be discussing, but they do not need to be experts. This workshop is organized as a popular education activity where the majority of the outcomes are learned from the experiences and knowledge of the individuals participating rather than a teacher/student relationship.

Facilitator Sensitivity

Facilitators will be experiencing and addressing the feelings that come with confronting participants' notions of identity, privilege, race and sexuality. Some participants may be required to attend this workshop (through work or school, etc.), so facilitators should be clear that participants are there because these are issues that affect everyone and that there will not be personal judgment of anyone's feelings about a particular issue. Facilitators should remind participants that:

Facilitators should emphasize that what is shared during the workshop is private and confidential. Participants can talk about how the workshop affected them personally and what they learned generally, but they should respect the privacy of the personal information of the other participants.

What Is Social Justice? Setting a Stage for Discussion

Before beginning, it's important that everyone have a basic understanding of two core concepts related to privilege and identity. This will allow everyone to start the conversations on the same page and ensure that the participants have a foundation upon which to build future knowledge.

The first core concept is culture, which is:

The second core concept is identity, which is:

Everyone Has Many Identities

Age, gender, religious or spiritual affiliation, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are all identities. Some identities are things people can see easily (like race or assumed gender), while other identities are internalized and are not always easy to see (like a disability, socioeconomic status or education level). There are two types of identities that need to be defined in order to spark a discussion on social justice. The first type deals with identities that are part of a majority status - or "agent" - while the second includes identities that are part of the minority status - or "target."

Agent: Members of dominant social groups privileged by birth or acquisition who knowingly or unknowingly exploit and reap unfair advantage over members of the target groups.

Target: Members of social identity groups who are discriminated against, marginalized, disenfranchised, oppressed, exploited by an oppressor and oppressor's system of institutions without identity apart from the target group, and compartmentalized in defined roles.

After participants understand the difference between agent and target groups, the facilitator can begin a discussion on oppression. The key features of oppression are:

But remember:

When the facilitator talks about these concepts with the group, it is helpful to start with an understanding that everyone experienced being a target or agent at some point in their lives. This helps create a dialogue of understanding. This is not to say that some target statuses are more salient (for example, people can see I am a woman, or a Black woman, before they even speak with me) and others may be easier to conceal (for example, if I am lesbian). But each creates a burden on the individual and each has its own set of challenges to overcome.

Communal Agreements

Before initiating any activity, it is critical that the group builds communal agreements. Rather than naming these "rules" that are then placed upon the group, we will call these "agreements" because these are the guidelines built by the group that all members agree to follow during the course of the workshop. Once an agreement has been put forward, the facilitator should then ask for a definition of what that agreement means to ensure that there is a communal language. Below are several suggested agreements.

Icebreaker: Respect Activity

Source: Critical Multicultural Pavilion

Ask participants to find someone in the room they don't know and make an introduction. Talk for five to 10 minutes about respect. What does it mean to you to "show respect?" How do you show respect to others? After the allotted time, ask all participants to sit and open the discussion. How did people define respect? What were some of the core concepts discussed?

Common responses will likely include:

All responses are worthy of reflection in terms of their cultural and hegemonic influences. Ask participants where their ideas of respect come from and whom they are meant to protect. If the group raises any of the common responses above, challenge them to answer the following questions:

The point of the discussion is to reflect critically on assumptions and socializations regarding respect. The point is not to agree and to learn from each other's differences.

This activity helps to establish a basis of respect within the group, helping the participants take the first steps toward creating and maintaining a constructive discussion of social justice and equity. At the very least, participants meet someone new and exchange ideas with that person. The group also gets its first look at the similarities and differences between participants, potentially in ways that reflect privilege and power.

Activity One: Introduction Identity

Definition
Everyone has a personal and social identity. Personal identities include an individual's name, unique characteristics, history, personality and other traits that make one different from others. Social identity includes affinities one has with other people, values and norms that one accepts, and the ways one has learned to behave in social settings.

Objective
The following activity is particularly useful when working with participants who don't know one another very well. The goal of this activity is to warm up participants to sharing about themselves and start revealing a bit about each participant's background.

Materials
Markers and 8-by-10-inch sheets of paper folded horizontally.

Instructions
Write out your fullest name and tell your story. On the back of the piece of paper write the top three identities you feel closest to. The facilitator encourages participants to go around the circle to share any meanings, significance, culture, significant ancestors and the top three identities they hold dearest. Everyone will have a chance to share and be heard by the group.

Suggested questions if participants need help getting started:

Facilitators should encourage students to be creative. Make it clear that it is acceptable to write poetry, list adjectives that describe them, include humor, etc.

If your group is large, break into diverse small groups of five or six to make sure everyone has an opportunity to share their story. Ask for volunteers to get the group started and tell participants they can share their stories from memory, or read them.
Facilitator Notes

Discussion
When everyone has shared, ask participants how it felt to share their stories. Why is this activity important? What did you learn?

Activity Two: Understanding Privilege and Systems of Power

Activity
"Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack"

Objective
The objective of this activity is to confront entrenched systems of power and privilege, and identify common situations when privilege is not acknowledged, to the detriment of the disadvantaged and oppressed.

Discussion
What is privilege? We all have privileges. What are yours? Were you surprised by any of the privileges you found in your invisible knapsack?

Activity Three: Gender and Sexuality

Group Definition
Have the group describe what they believe to be the definition of the terms "gender" and "sexuality."

Objective
The objective of this activity is to reconsider male-gendered nouns that we consider "generic." Generating gender-free nouns and pronouns will help participants incorporate more inclusive language in their daily speech and writing.

Instructions
Break participants into small groups and give them a printout of the chart below. Instruct participants to convert the suffixes of the nouns into gender-free, inclusive terms by changing the noun root word or substituting a non-gender-specific root word from another language. Tell participants that since male endings are so pervasive, it is OK to invent new words by replacing the endings of existing words with something non-gendered.

Discussion Questions
The facilitator should ask the following questions of the group while also encouraging them to share personal experiences that speak to their point. What are characteristics of what society believes a [woman/man/girl/boy] should be? What are the norms for appearance/behavior? What happens when someone falls outside of this norm? How do the words we use influence the way we think about certain professions?

Activity Four: Race and Ethnicity

Definition
Race is a social construction that has real consequences and effects. Race is colloquially used to refer to a person's skin color, religion or area of origin (e.g., Black, Jewish or African). Technically, however, race is based on national origin, sociocultural groups and self-identification. The U.S. government, including the Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, does not attempt to identify race according to biology, anthropology or genetics. Religious belief is not considered a race, but can be a factor in identifying one's sociocultural group. (For a full explanation of how each racial category is defined, refer to the U.S. Census About Race page). In a historical context, race has played a large part in how our society has evolved, and it shapes the way we see others and how we experience our lives. (For more on race from a historical perspective, read " A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America," by Ronald Takaki.)

Objective
The objective of this activity is to help participants take stock of the multicultural diversity in their lives. It should help participants get a clear image of how diverse or homogenous their surroundings are and identify ways to improve their exposure to multiculturalism on a daily basis.

Instructions
Fill in the appropriate boxes:

Activity Five: Intersectional Identity and Privilege

Activity
Crossing The Line

Objective
The purpose of this activity is to explore the diversity among the members of our community. How a person identifies can affect many facets of his or her life. We will use this activity to get to know one another on a deeper level. What are our values, backgrounds, and visible and invisible labels? This activity requires everyone to step outside of his or her comfort zone. Participants being vulnerable can help the group learn more about the identities they do not share.

Instructions
Have all participants line up in a straight line facing the facilitator. If the room is too small to have each participant standing shoulder to shoulder, an alternative is to have the group stand in a circle and step into the circle. The facilitator should explain that they will read a statement. If the statement describes you, then silently step across the line. Everyone should quietly notice who stepped across the line and who did not. After a moment, the facilitator will thank those who stepped forward and will then have everyone step back in line.

Discussion
Activity Six: Recap and Closing Activity

This toolkit was designed to address human issues that everyone faces and help participants recognize how they can better understand and work toward solving, or at least improving, these issues. Participants were often forced to confront socialized and entrenched notions of privilege, identity and social justice. Anything that was difficult to confront during the training will be even more difficult to confront in practice, but if these were easily solvable issues, they wouldn't be issues for long. Participants should feel better equipped with newfound knowledge and empathy, and prepared to apply the lessons they learned in their own lives and communities.

Objective
To practice giving positive feedback and to have participants leave the workshop feeling energized.

Instructions
Have participants mingle randomly in a large group and then instruct them to stop and share with the person in front of them one way in which that person "shined" during the workshop. Repeat several times so that each person gets feedback and support from different people in the group. If there are an odd number of participants, the facilitator should address the odd person out each time.

Completing this training is not the end, but merely the beginning. Hopefully, this toolkit has helped to create new understanding among your participants. Individuals should have learned about their own identity and of those around them, as well as the implications of socially constructed labels and stereotypes of an individual's experience. Those interested in this type of work may be interested in a career in social work, facilitation, advocacy or sociology. At the end of the training, facilitators should be prepared to provide additional resources for participants who want to learn more about issues of identity, power and privilege. Below we cite several resources to help you get started.

Recommended Resources

Resources for Additional Activities

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Citation for this content: The MSW@USC, the online Master of Social Work program at the University of Southern California.

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Diversity Toolkit: A Guide to Discussing Identity, Power and Privilege

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This training is meant for anyone who feels there is a lack of productive discourse around issues of diversity and the role of identity in social relationships, both on a micro (individual) and macro (communal) level.

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Ongoing cultural competency development involves having the capacity for cultural self-assessment. The following are useful tools for cultural competency self-assessment.

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In this blog on convening staff racial identity groups, Project Coordinator Kad Smith shares what he learned from facilitating CompassPoint's People of Color Caucus. Racial caucusing has been one of the steps we've been employing as an organization to process and clarify our individual and group understanding of race and jointly define a racial equity agenda that will guide CompassPoint's internal operations and work in the community. Read more about our goals in our recent blog here.

Over the last year, I've had the opportunity to help steward CompassPoint's staff commitment to explore how our racial identities influence and inform how we work together. As a part of this effort, we held a circle process in mid-2015 that spawned a commitment over the course of 2016 to meet each month in racial affinity groups, also known as race caucuses, to discuss how our individual experiences have informed our perspective on race and racial equity.

We created two staff groups - the People of Color Caucus and the White Caucus - to investigate how these lived experiences consciously and subconsciously impact our approaches to the work. This commitment is one that I am deeply grateful for and also feel is imperative for any organization that wants to do racial justice work. In this blog, I share what I've learned as a person of color staff member from racial caucusing and our deepening practice of racial identity exploration within an organizational context.

In the role of "People of Color Caucus Organizer," I was tasked with figuring out how we as staff members of color would meet, designing to what end we would meet, and ultimately incorporating the ideas of members of the caucus to make sure our time together felt constructive and useful. It was by no means a simple task, but it was one I was energized by. I was thrilled because I had quite honestly not heard of many other organizations that were willing to take on this approach. To dedicate organizational resources (i.e. money) was to me, emblematic of CompassPoint's decision to truly put racial justice at the center of work.

Why Convene Race Caucuses?

I must admit when I first heard about the idea of caucusing at CompassPoint I wasn't sure what to expect. In our early conception, we knew we wanted to provide a space for the collective exploration of race, class, power, and privilege, but I think it's fair to say that many folks had imagined various scenarios of how this might take form. What we did know was that we needed a space for people of color to convene outside of the gaze of our white colleagues. We understood that people of color needed a space to talk about how our experiences in both this work and in this world can be eerily similar and drastically different. Additionally, there was a sense within the POC Caucus that the space might help us figure out what solidarity could look like for us as people of color committed to the work of social, racial, and gender justice.

We also knew that white folks on staff had a mandate to explore whiteness and its impact on their work as practitioners at CompassPoint. As I explained this thinking to various folks across the sector, many would ask why I felt so strongly about separating the groups to discuss race. Many folks would ask, "Doesn't that take us backwards?" and "How can we come together when we are apart from each other?" These are sensible questions but they are built on the premise that we are starting from a similar analysis of how race impacts us as individuals and on the interpersonal and institutional levels.

Let me be clear, I don't think I'm alone in my assertion that it's important to convene identity-based caucuses along racial lines. My reasoning is informed by my own experiences and is admittedly strongly biased. In the process of exploring and talking about race in an organizational or professional context, I have personally seen how the vulnerability of people of color in multiracial spaces is seldom matched by white colleagues.

The social conditioning of many folks of color often imposes a hyper-awareness of how race influences our social mobility. Many working class people of color (note the intersection of class) don't have a choice in understanding how our identity shapes how the world engages and often targets us. In fact, an understanding of our racial identity is highly important for both survival and as a tool for upward social mobility. In this sense, reflecting on why race matters is generally more of a necessity to us folks of color than our white colleagues who have yet to begin that deeply introspective work. That work is often highly alarming and shocking for a great many white folks to seriously engage in. (For more on this subject, read the article "Why White People Freak Out When They're Called Out About Race".)

Furthermore, to be frank, a great many people of color are tired of having to educate white folks on how racism manifests on the interpersonal and institutional levels. We are fatigued from constantly having to "provide examples" of how racism shows up in our organizations and workplaces. We are exhausted from having to hold white folks' hands through their own exploration of what whiteness means in a white supremacist system. The work of exploring whiteness should be the prerogative of white folks who are truly committed to social and racial justice. In order to do so, white folks must explore the conditioning that exists which makes questioning and exploring their whiteness seem so unobtainable, difficult, jarring, and complicated. As a person of color, the prospect of a White Caucus at CompassPoint intrigued me for that very reason. It provides white folks with the space to explore whiteness outside of the gaze of people of color and without people of color needing to (knowingly or unknowingly) engage in the emotional labor of attending to white fragility.

What I've Learned from Our POC Caucus

As our caucusing has progressed, I've learned a few things I would recommend be taken into consideration when discussing the value and challenge of convening racial identity spaces:

What You Call It Matters: In calling our racial identity spaces Race Caucuses, there were many folks who thought of the space as one that was political in nature. While I don't think they are wrong (any time we are exploring race, it is a social and political exploration), it did cause a dynamic in our group for folks to question to what end we were caucusing. Were we caucusing for organizational change? Were we caucusing for representation on the management team? More recently, it's become clear that the racial identity spaces are less about what we are "doing" together and, instead, more about convening to discuss how we are "being" together. By focusing on "being" together, I mean that we structured the caucus to prompt reflection rather than structuring it to respond to all of the needs of CompassPoint's practice that have to do with race and racial equity. By clarifying this pivot, we opened up the space for folks to more deeply share our stories, build relationships, and ultimately be in community as people of color. We prioritized individual reflection over the need for collective reaction to organizational needs and we did so with an understanding that simply "being" as folks of color is indeed an act of challenging dominant culture. That said, our caucus has proactively worked to acquire organizational influence around appointments to roles and positions, so in some sense it has been a hybrid of "doing" and "being."

Coming Together is Important: Throughout our experience, we've been challenged by how to configure "coming-together" sessions between the POC and White Caucuses. There has been some collective trepidation, which is entirely reasonable. When folks start talking race in a POC / White space with power dynamics and organizational politics at play, you run the risk of it getting messy and of potential harm being done (even when the intention is one of healing). That said, on the other side of that messiness, I think we could arrive somewhere beautiful for our practice. I witnessed slivers of it last year at our end-of-year staff retreat. The beauty rests in the emergence of unprecedented honesty and a shared willingness to take off the professional armor and embrace the vulnerability of bringing our full selves into the work.

I think having a clear outline of how the caucuses would come together and tightly facilitating joint sessions would have enriched the experience. Going forward, I think that is what's next for our racial identity exploration at CompassPoint.

Outside Facilitation: Bringing in outside facilitation for some gatherings also could have been helpful in this collective quest. While it was tremendously enriching for me to step into the role of POC Caucus Organizer, I think being a staff member unintentionally had an impact on how I was able to shape the discourse within the caucus. I think the opportunity to challenge the caucus to go deeper in our sharing, to build more substantial relationships among us as staff, and to ultimately push us to address our own solidarity (or the absence of it) as POC could have been more accessible to an outside facilitator. As we start to think about intensifying our work of anti-oppression and liberation, I think this is something our practice will seriously mull over.

It's Worth the Time: I one-hundred-percent think that racial identity caucuses have improved our individual and collective ability to talk about race. Caucusing has in many ways helped us take off our professional armor and truly bring our full selves to work. It has allowed us to normalize difficult conversations and for individuals to feel more empowered in naming the "elephants in the room." Without the organizational commitment to this time and space, I do not think the advancement of our racial justice agenda would be where it is today. It has been time well spent and it is time that I hope CompassPoint continues to prioritize as we continue to center racial justice and racial equity in our work.

In all, I would highly encourage experimenting with racial identity caucuses or racial affinity groups within organizations looking to take their commitment to racial justice to the next level. I would also say there is room to convene these identity spaces with an intersectional lens (sexual orientation, gender, organizational power, etc.). While we have yet to do this at CompassPoint, I would not be surprised if it was an approach we took in the years to come as we deepen our practice in the work of being an anti-oppression organization.

If the goal of our organizations is truly to create a more equitable world, our organizations must decolonize the way in which we work. We must think differently about what productivity looks like, we must provide spaces for colleagues to be in community and to build more-than-collegial relationships. We must be willing to unlearn the toxicity that surrounds our racial identities and support our staff in their tumultuous ride of doing so. (The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond offers these helpful insights into the two forms of internalized racial oppression: racial inferiority and racial superiority.) Ultimately, the absence of doing this work is merely an avoidance of addressing that which inhibits us most from completely reimagining our personal purposes in the efforts to build more equitable organizations. Upon crafting these more equitable organizations, I truly believe we will be providing ourselves with the tools we need to forge a drastically different society and future.

Read other blogs by Kad: Kad Smith is an associate project director at CompassPoint. He specializes in supporting CompassPoint's Cohort Leadership Programs, teaches in our public training program, and has provided project support for various consulting contracts.

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Race Caucusing in an Organizational Context: A POC's Experience

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In this blog on convening staff racial identity groups, Project Coordinator Kad Smith shares what he learned from facilitating CompassPoint's People of Color Caucus. Racial caucusing has been one of the steps we've been employing as an organization to process and clarify our individual and group understanding of race and jointly define a racial equity agenda that will guide CompassPoint's internal operations and work in the community.

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The onslaught of news about violence against people of color seems to be endless these days. In the midst of all of this we remember the words of writer and activist Audre Lorde, who famously said that self-care is both an act of self-preservation and political warfare.

Here are a few resources that may help you during these challenging times.

1. Self Care for People of Color After Psychological Trauma by Jasmine

This article lays out the ways that witnessing repetitive acts of racism can turn into post-traumatic stress disorder. In particular, Jasmine emphasizes that engaging in online spaces themselves can contribute to this trauma:

Race-based trauma literally leaves bruised spots on your brain. By continuing to enter online conversations, as important as you warrant them to be, you are allowing the bruise to be pressed on over and over. You are harming yourself if you do not step away and heal. These conversations are impacting your emotional and psychological well-being.

She offers this chart with things to do when you need to disengage.

Photo: Jasmine

Read the full article here.

2. 11 Black Queer and Trans Women Discuss Self-Care by L.G. Parker

Sometimes what we need is the wisdom of others who have survived and thrived. This article provides quotes from 11 Black Queer and Trans Women about how they take care of themselves. From Blair Ebony Smith, a student in Syracuse:

I practice self-love by creating with the intent to be present and non-judgemental. I create with the intent to honor Black [queer] ancestors and honor my own creativity. To honor my creativity, I let myself create whatever it is I may want to in the moment, whether that's a beat from a sampled record, painting, collaging or writing. I also move and breathe. I love to walk and practice yoga. Self-care is also about community. I enjoy being in community celebrating life, talking shit [or just being] with other Black queer people.

Read the rest of the insights here.

3. Everything is Awful and I'm Not Okay: Questions to Ask Before Giving Up by Eponis

Sometimes it's the most basic things that can help us through:

Are you hydrated? If not, have a glass of water.

Have you eaten in the past three hours? If not, get some food-something with protein, not just simple carbs. Perhaps some nuts or hummus?

Have you showered in the past day? If not, take a shower right now.

If daytime: are you dressed? If not, put on clean clothes that aren't pajamas. Give yourself permission to wear something special, whether it's a funny t-shirt or a pretty dress.

Read the rest of the questions to ask yourself here.

4. Self Care List: How to Take Care of Your Self While Learning About Oppression (With Unaware People) by Fabian Romero

Fabian Romero, an indigenous immigrant queer writer, also has a list of things to do regarding self care. Romero's post is focused on what to do when you're in learning spaces (such as workshops on oppression), but because these political moments also serve as real world learning environments around racism, these tips can also help you handle conversations with friends and family about the violence around us.

1. Prioritze sleep: Not getting enough sleep leads to imbalance [sic] emotions and exacerbates stress.

2. Eat breakfast/food: Not eating enough in the day can lead to mood swings which can lead to reacting on ignorant ass comments and further exacerbating stress.

3. Talk to your fucking friends: specifically friends who share the same marginal status as you (e.g. person of color, queer, disability, gender, etc) before the class or workshop to get re-centered (present/not stressing the fuck out). Also call on one or a few people after the event to debrief and make sense of the idiocy of people's subconscious and conscious remarks and actions that just irritated and or hurt you.

Read the full list here.

Have other resources to share or offer? Post them in the comments. And take care of yourselves, dear ones. We need you.

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4 Self-Care Resources for Days When the World is Terrible

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The onslaught of news about violence against people of color seems to be endless these days. In the midst of all of this we remember the words of writer and activist Audre Lorde, who famously said that self-care is both an act of self-preservation and political warfare.

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Suviving and Resisting Hate: A Toolkit for People of Color

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Suviving and Resisting Hate: A Toolkit for People of Color

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Cultural Somatics Free 5 Session Ecourse

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106 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice

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Note 1: This article was last updated on February 5, 2022.
Note 2: Our work is to fix what we broke and left broken. The work isn’t done…

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There are three ways to approach the Implicit Bias Module Series:

To obtain certification required by your Institution or Agency: Complete the 4 training modules and then go to Module 5, to test your knowledge and receive the certification via email.

Individual Module Verification: Select this option if your workplace/agency asks you to take individual or specific module(s) of this series. Go to that module, complete it and take the quiz via link provided at the end of each module. An email will be sent to verify completion of the individual module.

Anonymous Training: If you do not need any certificate or verification for going through the modules, you may still use the same quiz links provided after each quiz. No identifying information will be asked, and no email will be generated verifying the outcome.

Welcome

Welcome to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity's Implicit Bias Module Series. At the Kirwan Institute at The Ohio State University, we are committed to the creation of a just and inclusive society, where all people and communities have the opportunity to succeed. Our commitment to this mission is why we work so hard to understand and overcome barriers that prevent access to opportunity in our society, such as implicit bias and racial disparities in our education system.

This course will introduce you to insights about how our minds operate and help you understand the origins of implicit associations. You will also uncover some of your own biases and learn strategies for addressing them. Each module is divided into a short series of lessons, many taking less than 10 minutes to complete. That way, even if you're pressed for time, you can complete the lessons and modules at your convenience.

We are excited that you are starting this process to explore implicit bias and what its operation means for your decisions and actions. Thank you for joining us!

About Us

The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity is an interdisciplinary engaged research institute at The Ohio State University established in May 2003. As a racial equity research institute, our goal is to connect individuals and communities with opportunities needed for thriving by educating the public, building the capacity of allied social justice organizations, and investing in efforts that support racial equity and inclusion. Here at the Kirwan Institute, we do this through research, engagement, and communication.

The Race and Cognition team at the Kirwan Institute would like to give thanks to all of those involved in the process of creating and launching the Online Implicit Bias training. Countless hours have been dedicated to the creation of the modules and we do not take that for granted. There are several people we would like to show an additional level of gratitude to:

Frequently Asked Questions
Why focus on implicit rather than explicit bias?
Although our modules focus primarily on implicit bias, Kirwan acknowledges that inclusion and equity efforts must also address explicit bias and discrimination in order to create real change. Our explicit and implicit attitudes are related constructs, and many times peoples' implicit and explicit attitudes are in alignment.

However, even though concepts are related, they are distinct. Someone can act in a biased manner based on their implicit associations, even if they do not indicate an explicit preference for certain individuals or groups. Learning about implicit bias provides a lens to help examine the causes of racial, gender, or other social disparities, even in the absence of explicit intent to discriminate or cause harm.
How long will it take me to complete these modules?
While everyone works at a different pace, these modules should take participants roughly 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to complete, depending on the time spent on activities and supplemental exercises.
Can I embed these training videos into my website?
The Kirwan Institute carefully tracks and uses data collected from this module series. While the embedding of these videos is restricted by the Kirwan Institute, we do allow organizations to iFrame this module series. The code to accomplish this is:

<iframe src="https://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/implicit-bias-training" height="1000" width="1400" title="Implicit Bias Training"></iframe>
Are these modules supported by research?
Yes. The methods and research shared in these modules is supported by our annual flagship publication, the State of the Science Implicit Bias Review. Each year, Kirwan researchers compile studies on the subject of implicit bias into an interdisciplinary literature review in a format that is accessible and easy to understand from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds.
Does implicit bias reflect my beliefs about equity or inclusion?
We will get more into this during Module 1, but our implicit preferences do not necessarily align with our explicit beliefs. For example, one can believe in equality of all people and still hold a pro-self-identity bias. Importantly, some people possess implicit attitudes that do not align with their own held identities.
If I didn't intend to be biased in the first place, how will learning about implicit bias help?
Becoming aware of what biases you possess and the decisions that are most likely to be influenced by our unconscious processing can help you build interventions and strategies to prevent the expression of bias and unwanted outcomes. Our training also includes information about empirically based interventions to both reduce the expression of bias and alter the associations we possess.
What is the connection between implicit bias and how people act?
Implicit bias has been shown to impact decision-making across a wide array of sectors, including employment, medicine, and education. However, there are limitations to the extent to which unconscious biases can predict individual behavior. People with an implicit preference for one identity may not act on this bias or make biased decisions, much of this depends on the circumstance.
Does this training apply to me if I don't have implicit bias?
We will touch on this during the modules, but because biases can be activated across a wide-range of identities, we all hold some implicit preferences. However, even people without an implicit preference can still act in ways that produce discriminatory behavior, such as not speaking up when they see bias in their environment. This need to translate knowledge into action is why Kirwan also emphasizes the importance of being an Active Bystander.
Will these modules eliminate bias?
These modules are not designed to eliminate bias. Rather, we hope that an awareness of implicit bias and how it operates will help participants engage in more equitable decision-making practices and behaviors. These strategies to reduce the expression of bias are only one piece of the puzzle and should be complemented by policies and strategies to address institutional and explicit discrimination.
I'm not a K-12 educator, are these modules for me?
This module series includes examples and activities that are uniquely tailored to the experience of those who work in a K-12 education setting or closely-related field. However, much of the content in Modules 1, 3, and 4 are generalizable enough to apply to most audiences.

Module 1: Introduction

In this first module, you will be introduced to the basics of implicit bias:

What is meant by "implicit" or "unconscious" associations or biases?

How are implicit biases different from explicit biases?

What does it look and/or feel like when implicit associations operate?

How do our biases form?

Why does all of this matter?

You are encouraged to complete each lesson in order and at your pace. Each lesson is followed by a quick check-in question that will help us gauge your understanding thus far.

We hope you enjoy this first module!

Module 1: Recap

Implicit bias operates outside of our conscious awareness.

Implicit bias is unconscious, automatic, and relies on associations that we form over time.

We can form bias toward groups of people based on what we see in the media, our background, and experiences.

Our biases reflect how we internalize messages about our society rather than our intent. Nevertheless, we can still act on our biases in ways that can harm others.

Module 2: Recap

Implicit bias can turn even our best intentions into unwanted outcomes.

Teacher's implicit biases can impact their perceptions of the quality of students' work and the teaching strategies they choose to implement.

Implicit biases can impact perceptions of students behavior and is a contributor to racial differences in school discipline outcomes-particularly between Black and White students.

Institutional and historic patterns of inequity within the education system contribute to the manifestation of implicit bias in schools. A targeted approach to address the negative effects of implicit bias must also include strategies to address these systemic issues.

Take the IAT!

You can find out your own biases by taking an implicit association test at: https://implicit.harvard.edu/

All tests are free and take roughly 5 minutes

Try taking 2-3 tests and reflect on your results

Module 3: Recap

There are two main ways in which we measure implicit bias. We can understand our biases through examinations of our behavior and by looking at how our brain is activated through the use of imaging technology.

One of the most utilized behavioral assessments of implicit bias is the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures if there are positive or negative attitudes toward a particular concept or social group.

You can better understand your own biases by taking the IAT, available at https://implicit.harvard.edu/

It is important to reflect on your results. Consider how your background and personal experiences may have impacted your results.

Our Brains are Malleable

In this process of understanding what implicit bias is and getting to learn about our own biases, it is normal to start to feel like they are too deeply ingrained in our thoughts and actions to be able to combat their effects. However, as more research comes to light, we are able to find more and more ways to either lessen the effects of bias, or change the biases themselves. Although the latter is certainly a larger undertaking, it is very possible to do so. In the same way that our implicit biases were learned over time, we can disrupt this process with intention, attention and time.

This is because the neural connections between our associations get stronger as we take in more information that confirms our stereotypes or biases. By paying better attention to what we are exposed to and making the intentional choice to seek out experiences that go against our biases, we are able to disrupt this automatic chain of events, and those physical connection in our mind can be weakened. Two interventions we will be talking about later-mindfulness and intergroup contact, have shown the ability to not only stop the manifestation of these biases, but alter the implicit biases we possess.

Module 4: Recap

There are long term strategies and changes that we can engage in to reduce our unwanted biases, such as mindfulness and intergroup contact.

One of the best ways to prevent and intervene against bias, is by knowing when you are more susceptible to acting on it, such as moments of high ambiguity, subjectivity, or stress.

Knowledge about the operation of implicit bias can help inform the individual and institutional approaches you take to address inequitable outcomes in your classroom or school.

Learning about implicit bias provides a lens to help examine causes of racial, gender, or other social disparities, even in the absence of explicit intent to discriminate.

How long will it take me to complete this certificate process?
While everyone works at a different pace, this test should take individuals roughly 20-40 minutes to finish, depending on the time spent on the open-ended reflection questions.
How does this certificate process work?
There are roughly 30 questions in the test, including 16 graded questions, a number of open-ended reflection questions, and some demographic questions. Individuals will need to earn a minimum of 14 points out of 16 to get a certificate to verify actual completion of the Implicit Bias training modules. Participants will be asked to enter their name, email address at the beginning of the test. For those who pass the test, an email containing information verifying their completion of the Implicit Bias training modules will be sent automatically to the email address they entered.
What if I do not pass the test at 80%?
This certification process requires a minimum of 14 points out of 16 to pass. Individuals who score less than 14 points will need to retake the test if they would like to get a certificate of their actual completion of the Implicit Bias training modules. For those who do not wish to retake the test, we also offer to send an email to verify that they have at least gone through the training. All individuals will be able to indicate their choice once the score is displayed.
How many times can I take the test?
Individuals may take the test as many times as they would like. However, retaking the test too quickly without any review will be flagged in our completion report as it is indicative of false learning through simple repetition. It is recommended that individuals allow at least 30 minutes before restarting the test and take time to refresh their knowledge on implicit bias by going through the modules again.
Why can't I find the email verification of completion?
Emails sent from Kirwan Institute through Qualtrics systems can sometimes end up in your spam folder or "Other" category in your inbox, please check these locations if you are having trouble locating the email of verification for the Implicit Bias training. If you are sure that you have completed the test and earned at least 14 points but still having trouble locating the verification email, please send your name to us at kirwan-admin@osu.edu. We will try to locate your score and other information in our completion report and get back to you as soon as possible.

Additional Resources

Downloads

State of the Science Implicit Bias Review

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There are three ways to approach the Implicit Bias Module Series: To obtain certification required by your Institution or Agency: Complete the 4 training modules and then go to Module 5, to test your knowledge and receive the certification via email.

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Antiracism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

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Antiracism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists

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Black Lives Matter: Anti-Racism Resources for Social Workers and Therapists - SocialWork.Career

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Roundup of free anti-racism webinars, suggested readings, movies/TV shows, podcasts, and healing racial wounds resources specifically for POC.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources.

John Minchillo / Associated Press

Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

"I'm a White educator, where do I start?"

"How can I help?"

"What if I get it wrong?"

Recent events have shaken me to my core, and the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd suggest that people across the country are similarly shaken. These are dark times, but if there's anything that seems like a glimmer of light to me at the moment, it's the fact that so many teachers are reflecting on how to fight racism:

For me, a Black educator and mother to a Black 16-year-old who has reached the appearance if not the legal age of manhood, these questions stir hope. Folks who don't look like me are embracing the idea that the fight for equity has to be everyone's fight. But fighting racism is a big job, and when the fires of outrage cool, we teachers will be confronted with the reality of planning deadlines, testing schedules, and another hundred things that are all in a day's work. The difficult work of equity may become just another item on a desk crowded with to-do lists.

What Can Teachers Do?

The answer, an old joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course-and achieving equity is no different. Take small bites that can have big impact and don't worry about getting it wrong sometimes, as you inevitably will. If you keep going, you can do something that brings about change.

Reading: Even if you only have 10 minutes, you can learn something to help you create a more equitable classroom. Websites like Teaching Tolerance, the NEA's EdJustice, and KQED's Mindshift feature resources for lesson planning as well as lessons for you as a teacher. Teaching Tolerance is the perfect place to start, whether you want to use bias-free language to teach tolerance through reading with young learners or plan a social action campaign with high school students.

In addition to a rich collection of K-12 classroom resources, the website features self-guided PD, on-demand webinars, and podcasts that may enable you to earn a certificate-check with your administration first. Those can easily be broken up into small chunks of time. And note that many of the site's feature articles list recommended actions at the bottom.

If your goal is to understand the Black community better, sites designed for Black audiences like The Root, The Undefeated, and Huffington Post's Black Voices are good places to start. These non-mainstream media outlets feature content by minority and minority-supporting journalists. You'll find content on topics not covered in mainstream media, like coverage of historically Black colleges and universities, news about Black brands and influencers, and stories like this one on MIT's first Black female student body president in its 159-year history. If you're teaching Black children who are generally inundated by media that does not reflect them, these are priceless ways you can enrich your current events and show-and-tell circles.

Watching: You can improve your cultural competence and learn about Black Lives Matter by watching " 4 Black Lives Matter Myths Debunked" on YouTube, which will answer quite a few questions on social justice issues, probably including some you didn't even know you had. And if you want help in having real discussions on complex issues with young children, the YouTube show LivingRoomProtest will lead you through conversations on being Black, politics, pride, and even death and the afterlife-try the episode " Education Is a Human Right " for starters.

If you want entertainment with a cultural component, Netflix has a host of shows that cater to a Black audience, as well as original content that regularly features diverse character lineups. Hulu has not only a small curated selection of Black Stories but also six seasons of the binge-worthy, socially conscious Black-ish and its spin-off prequel Mixed-ish. While Black-ish might be a little campy, it tackles real issues surrounding racism, bias, and social justice issues that arise within the Black community.

Taking action: For the civic-minded, the Kellogg Foundation has put together a website that lets you create your own personal plan to support, donate, or volunteer in the way you find most relevant. This site can help you focus your attention on one or two civic tasks with broader impact.

Social action is also a great way to involve students, which multiplies your impact. You can teach students how to write emails or letters by asking them to write to your local government in favor of policy changes banning the eight most deadly policing strategies listed at 8 Can't Wait, which has ideas on how to call or email your government yourself-there's a script you can use or adapt.

Looking within: Finally, and perhaps most importantly, take inventory of your feelings. It's normal to be most comfortable around people who are like you. It's just not good when that makes you and those like you an "us" and those who aren't like you a "them." Use a journal to sort through your personal feelings on racism or read books that provide perspective on systemic inequities and bias. These long-haul strategies will produce change in you while you take more immediate action in other ways.

The devastating events of the last days have left me shaken. I have felt anger, fear, grief-so many emotions. But I have also felt buoyed by the great outpouring of support from my less melanated colleagues who want to listen, learn, and find out how to do better. So many of them are already doing amazing things with diverse students. This piece is dedicated to them. They give me hope that this time, we will fight racism together and bring about lasting change.

Don't stop now. How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time.

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A Guide to Equity and Antiracism for Educators

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Teachers shaken by recent events and wondering how to work for change in our society and schools can start with these lesson plans, videos, and other resources. John Minchillo / Associated Press Protesting the killing of George Floyd, a crowd gathers for a rally at Cadman Plaza Park in New York City on June 4, 2020.

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The killings of Black people in cities across America-including most recently George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery -have sparked widespread civil unrest. Protesters all over the country are taking to the streets to demand justice for them and for all Black people.

The protests and riots have also prompted a lot more non-Black folks to confront how harmful and insidious structural racism is and to consider how it has benefitted them in ways large and small. That may be you. And you might be wondering how you can be a better ally to Black and brown people in an environment where you spend a whole lot of time: work.

Here are 11 practical actions you can take to be an ally to people of color at your job.

As protests over George Floyd's killing erupted, Actress Lea Michele issued a standard celebrity tweet condemning systemic racism and police brutality, capped off with the hashtag "#BlackLivesMatter." But her former Glee co-star Samantha Marie Ware countered that her Black life didn't seem to matter when they were on set, because Michele made her life a "living hell." What followed were a few other Black Glee co-stars, including Amber Riley, chiming in and insinuating that Ware's experience was not isolated, or at least hadn't gone unnoticed. Michele later came fairly close to apologizing, but it's clear she was unaware that her previous words and actions, according to Ware, would make her appear hypocritical.

So before you start on your crusade to make your workplace a more inclusive place, it's probably a great idea to think critically about yourself. Have you benefited from your own racial identity or privilege in some way at work? Who is in your circle of trusted colleagues? When you talk to your Black colleagues or other people of color in your workplace, do you only talk to them about race stuff? Why is it that you're constantly mixing up the names of the two Black women in the office? And do you tend to "sister-girl" them into awkward oblivion whenever you talk to them? Why are you sending them articles about fried chicken and natural hair (yes, I had a colleague who did this)?

Introspection is only a preliminary step. Once you evaluate your past actions, you'll be able to think about the ones you'll need to take to move forward.

If you feel comfortable doing so, ask a colleague you can trust, regardless of their race, to give you real feedback about things they've noticed about you, or ways you can be a better coworker to colleagues of color. And if they say, "Oh you're fine," your fact-finding mission is not over-there's a possibility they're not comfortable talking to you about these things, they just haven't observed you doing something that raises a red flag, or they simply haven't paid attention to these sorts of things before.

However, I'd caution you to tread lightly if you're asking a Black person or person of color by accompanying your request with a guilt-free option not to respond. Allow for the possibility that they may say they're not comfortable doing so, or just don't have the energy. The task of educating white folks about how not to be racist should not constantly fall on their shoulders-it can be a relentless, thankless, and emotionally draining task. And to be frank, not all people of color are experts on dismantling racism.

Gathering this feedback can illuminate the things you don't know and those you might need to learn more about.

You don't have to lean on Black people or other people of color for recommendations: You can seek guidance from other white people who have done this work already. Ask about which resources they've found to be insightful and the practical ways they've expressed allyship.

You can also just start with books; tons have been published about the institutional structures that prop up inequality and racism. Victoria Alexander, a PhD student at the University of Maryland has a strong list of book recommendations for learning about Blackness and anti-racism. If you're more of a visual learner, British Vogue and Vulture recommend a few key documentaries about race, inequality, and policing.

And then spread the knowledge. Being an ally is also about helping foster allyship in other people. This could come in the form of a reading list you share with your company, a book club for colleagues focused on understanding race and bias, or a meeting with coworkers to come up with concrete tasks to dismantle bias in your workplace.

Under its former Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord, Netflix instilled the mantra across the company that people should "Always Be Recruiting," even when they're not hiring managers or actively hiring. As she told the Society for Human Resource Management in 2018, candidates can come from anywhere, and keeping an open mind about who might be great for the company can also mean seeing more people of color as good candidates for jobs.

The point being that so much of hiring is also networking-with an eye toward meeting and getting to know more people in your industry who don't look like you. When you make a concerted effort to expand your network on an ongoing basis, whether you're an entry-level assistant or a CEO, it can open up the pool of candidates who'll come to mind and who you can recommend whenever there's an opening.

Hiring a bunch of people of color is just one step in making sure your workplace is taking steps toward enhancing its racial diversity. The next step is making sure those people feel safe coming to work each day, whether it's about taking them seriously when they tell you someone on their team really doesn't know how to hold back on the microaggressions or helping them find ways to grow in their careers.

This could mean advocating for affinity groups (like an employee resource group) to meet and organize. It could mean creating or encouraging mentoring programs within the company to make sure it's clear their careers can grow while they're working there. If a formal mentoring program isn't possible, a buddy program across the ranks between employees at different levels can help employees feel welcomed and supported.

Companies can't improve in all the ways they need to without feedback. Implementing tools to evaluate how workers experience their work lives, directly or through a survey, can help businesses delve into underlying issues that managers may not be able to see. Culture Amp, for example, is a surveying tool for employers to gather data from employees. With it, workers can agree or disagree with statements like, "My company believes that people can greatly improve their talents and abilities," and, "I feel like I belong at [company]."

If you work on the people team or in the HR department at your company, you might be able to spearhead an effort to adopt one of these tools. But even if not, you could bring the suggestion to HR or leadership. Once a survey or other feedback is collected, managers can and should examine that data, broken down by demographics, to pick up on any worrisome patterns across different groups, and then seek solutions.

As Steven Huang, formerly the head of diversity and inclusion at Culture Amp said, "Simply counting women and underrepresented minorities does not ensure you have an inclusive experience." Asking those groups about their experiences at work and with their colleagues can explain why those employees may not feel welcome in their jobs and why they're potentially eyeing the door.

Admittedly, this step is difficult. Who enjoys dealing with conflict? But if you want to be an ally to your colleagues of color, it's crucial.

Outright racial discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. In most cases, you should report anything truly racist or biased (like a hiring manager passing over a candidate specifically because they're Black, or someone using slurs about people of color) to your HR department, if your company has one. You can also help by acting as a witness if someone else is making a complaint, to reiterate what happened. In either case, you may want to talk to someone with a legal background about what you witnessed or experienced to understand the possible courses of action and what the process might look like.

Then there are the more common microaggressions, which are brief "indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial, gender, sexual orientation, and religious slights and insults to the target person or group." They are, for example, comments like, "You speak so well for a Black person," or see above re: fried chicken.

These aren't instances, necessarily, for someone to be fired, canceled, and shot out of a cannon, but over time these not-so-small acts add up to create a terrible working environment for your colleagues of color. In a 2019 Deloitte survey of employees at large companies, 64% said they experienced bias at work in the previous year-and 83% of those people said the bias was subtle, versus 32% who said it was blatant or obvious. When you consider that these subtle behaviors are more insidious and can be at least as harmful -and damaging for employee morale and retention-there's a lot of room for change.

Professors Shamika Dalton and Michele Villagran have a helpful checklist to guide both employees and managers through addressing a microaggression you hear or see, if you feel equipped and safe enough to do so. Overall, they advise you to avoid acting with anger, and to focus on the event, not the person. It's important, however, not to pretend the incident didn't happen, because it will only make things worse. (And it probably makes sense to document the incident and share it with a manager, HR, or keep it in your own records.)

If someone says you used a microaggression, listen to them, and avoid immediately jumping to defend yourself or downplay what you said, as instinctual as it may be. Apologize but also recognize you can't demand forgiveness. This is less about your hurt feelings and more about adjusting your behavior to do better next time.

Sheree Atcheson, a computer scientist and head of diversity and inclusion at Monzo, wrote for Forbes that one small act of allyship that can go a long way is using your privilege to boost the voices of marginalized people. Similarly, Meg Cramer, an audio producer, formerly of the beloved Black-women-hosted podcast Another Round (RIP), documented how she displays her allyship as a white woman as a guide for others to use. Part of it was to listen to Black coworkers and boost what they have to say, either internally or externally.

This can be as straightforward as sharing the work of your Black colleagues on social media, echoing and boosting their ideas in meetings (with credit, of course), or helping them get face time with leaders in your company or industry that they may not have access to.

Perhaps the most exhausting thing about structural racism is knowing that it is so persistent, and so invasive. It's everywhere, so it will take a lot of work to dismantle. This work is a marathon, not a sprint, so you have to train accordingly. It means constantly keeping your mind open to learning more and acknowledging you'll do the wrong thing every once in a while. There's no singular way to be an ally, either; that's why it takes a critical eye inward and outward to figure out the best ways to rise to each occasion.

Not everyone can be perfect all the time, so give yourself some grace. As long as you know this, and make a concerted effort to help and understand others, your actions will speak volumes to your Black and brown colleagues.

Michelle Garcia is a writer and editor. She was, most recently, a deputy editor at Vice.com, and previously worked at Out, Vox, Mic, and The Advocate. She's based in Brooklyn.

More from Michelle Garcia

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11 Anti-Racist Actions You Can Take at Work

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The killings of Black people in cities across America-including most recently George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery -have sparked widespread civil unrest. Protesters all over the country are taking to the streets to demand justice for them and for all Black people.

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A Chinese manicurist in Miami attempts to describe feelings she doesn't have the words for.

Written, Directed and Animated by Alexa Lim Haas

Voice by Mengda Zhang

Recipient of the Time Warner 1st Generation Filmmaker Grant from OneFifty. Also supported by LOU, The Knight Foundation, Art Center South Florida and Rooftop Films.

World Premiere : Sundance Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
International Premiere: Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018 Official Selection
GLAS Film Festival
Brooklyn Museum
MoMa
BAM
New York Film Festival Artist Academy
Allies In Arts
Happy Family Night Market
Future of Film is Female
Los Angeles Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
London International Animation Festival
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
Festival International du Court Métrage de Lille

Awards:
SXSW 2018 Animated Shorts Jury Prize 
Dallas Film Festival 2018 Animated Shorts Jury Prize
Vidlings and Tapeheads 2018 Winner Best Animation
Miami New Times: Best of Miami 2018 Best Film Director
Florida Film Critics: Golden Orange for Outstanding Contribution to Film in Florida
NoBudge 2018 Annual Awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Animated Film
Indie Street 2018 Jury Award Best Animated Short Film 


https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/alexa-lim-haas-agua-viva-animation-040119

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248 : White Supremacy Culture at Work (w/ Tema Okun)

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During this COVID-19 public health crisis, the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes' work continues unabated. The office is coordinating with fellow City agencies to provide support and resources to communities impacted by an increase in hate and bias attacks.

Hate and Bias Incidents Related to COVID-19

OPHC, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), and the NYPD are monitoring and responding to reported hate and bias incidents related to COVID-19 and coronavirus.

Call 911 if you are the victim of a hate crime or witness what you believe to be a hate crime. NYPD officers will not ask about the immigration status of anyone seeking help. Language assistance is available.

Call 311 and say "human rights" to reportharassment or discrimination in housing, at work, or in public places based on your race, national origin, age, immigration status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected classes under the NYC Human Rights Law.

Report discrimination to CCHR online
Read the "Fact Sheet on Hate and Bias Incidents Related to COVID-19"
Educational Resources

The New York City Department of Education and OPHC have developed for educators across the City a resource guide to materials to prevent anti-Asian and anti-COVID related discrimination that can be incorporated into lesson plans.
Read the NYC DOE's "COVID-19-Related Anti-Bias Education Resource Guide"
Stay up to date about New York City's response to COVID-19. Text "COVID" to 692-692 or visit the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) website at NYC.gov/coronavirus for more information about the virus, City and State regulations, available community resources, and more.

Heroes Against Hate

The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) in partnership with OPHC, the Comic Book Project, and NYC-based comic book artist Michael O'Shea today announced the release of the DYCD Heroes Project digital comic book "Heroes Against Hate."

The final comic book tells the story of young New Yorkers joining forces with "Nurse Healthy" to battle the villain "Mr. No Mask" and to bring New Yorkers together against hate, discrimination, and harassment.

View the "Heroes Against Hate" comic book

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During this COVID-19 public health crisis, the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes' work continues unabated. The office is coordinating with fellow City agencies to provide support and resources to communities impacted by an increase in hate and bias attacks.

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Advancing Racial Equity Discussion Guide

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Advancing Racial Equity Discussion Guide

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Heart of Dinner addresses food insecurity, social isolation, and loneliness among Asian American seniors who live in under-resourced and underinvested communities. We do this by delivering care packages of nutritious prepared lunchboxes and fresh produce every Wednesday, lovingly paired with a handwritten and illustrated letter in their native language to bring warmth and comfort.

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Delivering love to Asian elders throughout NYC, one meal at a time.

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Volunteer or request company on walks to and from the subway around NYC by visiting their instagram page @safewalksNYC

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#StopAsianHate Day of Action Toolkit - PUBLIC

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Join us every Wednesday for our weekly check-in from 6-7:30pm PT/ 9-10:30 ET. If you would like to collaborate and host a check-in, please contact us at asianmentalhealthproject@gmail.com Download and view resource (PDF) https://www.instagram.com/asianmentalhealthproject/

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Hate Crime Bureau of Brooklyn DA's Office 

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Hate Crime Bureau of Brooklyn DA's Office 

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Report hate crimes to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office by calling: 718-250-4949

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What are our experts recommending you do to keep safe in hateful and threatening situations? DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE STAY SAFE FROM HATE BOOKLET TO FIND OUT! Build on your knowledge of how to defend and protect yourself and your loved ones with these proven and effective methods recommended by experts at the Center for Anti-Violence Education.

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Hate Crimes Resources - National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

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Watch full episodes of your favorite PBS shows, explore music and the arts, find in-depth news analysis, and more. Home to Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, NOVA, PBS Newshour, Masterpiece and many others.

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Commission staff works with organizations to provide free workshops to educate community members about their rights and obligations under the law.

In light of the current pandemic, the Commission has added new events in communities facing heightened levels of discrimination and harassment as a result of COVID-19 stigma.

Events related to COVID-19 and human rights are listed below. For a schedule of recurring workshops and events we host, visit our events/workshops page. To request a workshop for your organization, please complete our request form.

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Mandarin Language Bystander Intervention Training
Xincon community
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
2:00 PM

#FIGHTCOVID19 Youth Webinar
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
4:30pm
NYC Commission on Human Rights, NYC's Test & Trace Corps, and community partners hosted a youth and families focused webinar. Young people, parents, and youth service providers were encouraged to attend as this webinar spoke to the City's efforts on tracing and testing for COVID, back to school monitoring, combating COVID related stigma, and other related issues impacting families with children at this time.

Community Forum (Foro Comunitario)
Thursday, June 18, 2020 (Jueves, 18 de Junio, 2020)
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Use this link to attend Foro Comunitario

Japanese Language Bias Incidents & Hate Crimes Reporting Town Hall
Thursday, June 18, 2020
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Use this link to attend the Japanese town hall

Mandarin Language Bystander Intervention Training
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 3:00pm
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 - 7:00pm
To register for any of the above three events, please email gyang@cchr.nyc.gov.

Mandarin Language Bystander Intervention Training
Saturday, May 16, 2020 - 10:00am

Staten Island COVID-19 Know Your Rights Interagency Virtual Town Hall
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - 5:00pm

Mandarin Language Bias Incidents & Hate Crimes Reporting Town Hall
Thursday, May 14, 2020 - 3:00pm

Mandarin Language Bystander Intervention Training
Friday, April 24, 2020 - 3:00pm

African Diaspora Responding to Discrimination During COVID-19 Outbreak Town Hall
Tuesday, April 21, 2020 - 3:00pm - 5:00pm

March 11,2020
4101 8th Avenue, 5th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11232

Bystander Intervention Training: Responding to COVID-19 Scapegoating and Hate
March 30, 2020
Online: 12 noon and 4 PM
Eventbrite Link: https://covid19nycbystandertraining.eventbrite.com

Bystander Intervention Training: Responding to COVID-19 Scapegoating and Hate
March 31, 2020
Online: 12 noon and 4 PM
Eventbrite Link: https://covid19nycbystandertraining.eventbrite.com

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Commission staff works with organizations to provide free workshops to educate community members about their rights and obligations under the law. In light of the current pandemic, the Commission has added new events in communities facing heightened levels of discrimination and harassment as a result of COVID-19 stigma.

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Check out our book, written by the Right To Be team, for you.

Order a copy of our first book, I've Got Your Back: The Indispensable Guide to Stopping Harassment When You See It by Emily May and Jorge Arteaga. I've Got Your Back will take you through the 5Ds of bystander intervention: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct, with each chapter diving deeply into how to put these 5Ds in action - whether you witness harassment in public, online, or at work.

I've Got Your Back is an invaluable resource in creating a new vision for our communities - one where we stand up for our neighbors, and our neighbors stand up for us.

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harassment training requirements by state

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Check out our book, written by the Right To Be team, for you. Order a copy of our first book, I've Got Your Back: The Indispensable Guide to Stopping Harassment When You See It by Emily May and Jorge Arteaga.

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Please complete this form to make a report of discrimination. You can make this report whether or not you wish to be involved in an official complaint.

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A Toolkit for Addressing Anti-Asian Bias, Discrimination, and Hate

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City saw a sharp increase in harassment and violence against Asian people and communities, especially Asian elders. Discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, national origin, age, and disability (including having or being perceived to be exposed to COVID-19) is illegal under the New York City Human Rights Law. Since the start of COVID-19, we have seen a sharp increase in instances of hostility and harassment directed at Chinese and other Asian communities related to COVID-19 stigma and misinformation. The NYC Commission on Human Rights, the Mayor's Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit (CAU), and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs are coordinating closely to educate the public about their rights and protections in light of COVID-19-related stigma and hate crimes.

There has been a significant, troubling increase in anti-Asian hate crimes and bias incidents since the start of the pandemic. Beginning in February of 2020, the Commission received a sevenfold increase in reports of anti-Asian harassment, discrimination, and violence. It is crucial to note that hate crimes and bias incidents have been found to be vastly under-reported so these numbers only reflect reported incidents.

If you have faced harassment or discrimination in housing, at work, or in any public place, contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights by filling out our online form or by calling 212-416-0197. If you are a victim of or witness a hate crime, call 911. There is language support if you need interpretation services.
See tweet from Mayor's Community Affairs Unit.
In this toolkit you can find the following

Campaigns

Additional Resources

Remarks from Mayor Eric Adams

Campaigns

I Still Believe in Our City

"I Still Believe in Our City" is a public awareness campaign by multidisciplinary artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya. The public awareness campaign was developed with the NYC Commission on Human Rights to combat anti-Asian discrimination, harassment, and bias as a result of COVID-19, and launched with the support of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. The art featured here is from an upcoming Art Display Case exhibition presented in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation's Temporary Art Program.

The "I Still Believe in Our City" campaign has graphics available to address anti-Asian racism and harassment.

Suggested posting text

As #COVID19 hit NYC, Asian and Pacific Islanders faced an added threat: racism and hate.
You have a right to live free of discrimination. If you have seen anti-Asian harassment, speak up and report it to us by calling 212-416-0197.

Since the beginning of the #COVID-19 pandemic, NYC has seen a startling increase in harassment and discrimination against Asian communities.
Know this: Our city is unified in its fight against stigma and hate. Learn more at http://nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

Asian New Yorkers: You have the right to be free from harassment and discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law. If you have been discriminated against or harassed, report it here: http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination

Foreign language graphics and posting text available in Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Download printable posters
13" x 19" (with bleed) 13" x 19" (no bleed) 8-1/2" x 11" (with bleed) 8-1/2" x 11" (no bleed) Download posters in Korean, Traditional Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Japanese
We Are More

"We Are More" is an art series that celebrates the resilience and range of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. The series seeks to break down tired worn out cliches and stereotypes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and forge in its stead a brilliant, multidimensional identity that encompasses the resilience and range of the communities.

Featuring dynamic visuals, bold typography, and human stories, "We Are More" is on view in Times Square in partnership with Times Square Arts, with subsequent installations appearing in Boston and other cities around the United States.

Learn more and download all the images at morethan.art.

We Are One New York
Download the graphics
Suggested posting text

Coronavirus-related discrimination and harassment is not acceptable. You deserve to be treated with dignity and respect no matter what. If you have been discriminated against or harassed, report it here: http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination

There is a lot of anxiety and fear around COVID-19, but one thing is clear: people and places shouldn't be stigmatized for the spread of viruses. If you have been discriminated against or harassed because of COVID-19 fears, report it here: http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination

Fight Fear with Facts

Download the graphics
View translated posting text available

Suggested posting text

Discrimination for having a serious illness like #COVID19, or facing harassment because of the belief that you have been exposed to it, is illegal under the NYC Human Rights Law. Report discrimination and harassment to @NYCCHR at 212-416-0197 or online at http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination.

No matter who you are, your city will fight for you. Report bias, discrimination, or harassment to @NYCCHR at 212-416-0197 or report it online at http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination.

If you or someone you know has faced discrimination or harassment because of your race, religion, immigration status, or disability, contact the @NYCCHR at 212-416-0197 or report is online at http://nyc.gov/reportdiscrimination.

Graphic Available in 21 Languages

Are you or someone you know the victim of harassment? Call 311. If you are the victim of a crime or witness a crime, call 911. NYPD officers are not allowed to ask about your immigration status. Learn more at nyc.gov/stopcovidhate.

Arabic: Square
‫يجهل تقع أنت أو أي شخص تعرفه ضحية للمضايقة؟ اتصل بالرقم 311 .إذا كنت ضحية جريمة أو شاهدت وقوع جريمة، فاتصل بالرقم 911 .ال يسمح لضباط إدارة شرطة مدينة نيويورك بالسؤال عن حالة الهجرة الخاصة بك. تع رف على المزيد من خالل الموقع اإللكتروني nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

Farsi: Square
آیا شما قربانی آزار و اذیت هستید، یا از آشنایان کسی را می شناسید که باشد؟ با 311 تماس بگیرید. اگر قربانی جرم یا شاهد وقوع جرم هستید، با 911 تماس بگیرید. مأموران اداره پلیس نیویورک اجازه ندارند در مورد وضعیت مهاجرتی شما سؤال کنند .
nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

האם אתם או מישהו שאתם מכירים קרבנות של הטרדה? התקשרו אל 311 .אם אתם קרבנות פשע או צופים בפשע , התקשרו אל 911 .קציני משטרת ניו יורק אינם מורשים לשאול אתכם אודות סטטוס ההגירה שלכם. מידע נוסף בכתובת Hebrew: Square

nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

Japanese: Square
あなた、またはあなたの知っている人がハラスメントの被害に遭ってはいません か。311 にご連絡ください。犯罪の被害者、または目撃者の場合は、911 にご連 絡ください。ニューヨーク市警察の職員があなたの滞在資格を尋ねることはあり ません。詳細は nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

Korean: Square
본인이나 아는 사람이 괴롭힘을 받고 있습니까? 311 에 전화하세요. 범죄의 피해자이거나 목격자인 경우, 911 로 전화하세요. NYPD 경찰은 이민 신분에 대해 질문할 수 없습니다. nyc.gov/stopcovidhate 에서 자세히 알아보세요.

Portuguese: Square
Você ou alguém que você conhece é vítima de assédio? Ligue para 311. Se você for vítima de um crime ou testemunhar um crime, ligue para 911. A Polícia de Nova York não pode fazer perguntas sobre seu status de imigração. Saiba mais em nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

Russian: Square
Вы или ваши знакомые стали жертвой притеснения? Позвоните по номеру 311. Если вы стали жертвой или свидетелем преступления, позвоните по телефону 911. Сотрудники Департамента полиции Нью-Йорка (NYPD) не имеют права задавать вопросы о вашем иммиграционном статусе.

‫‫کیا آپ یا آپ کے جاننے والوں میں سے کوئی ہراساں کیے جانے کا شکار ہے؟ 311 پر کال کریں۔ اگر آپسے کوئی فرق کسی جرم کا شکار ہوئے ہیں یا کسی جرم کے گواہ ہیں، تو 911 پر کال کریں ۔ NYPD افسران کو آپ کیتر ک وطن کی حیثیت کے متعلق سوال پوچھنے کی اجازت نہیں ہے ۔ Urdu: Square

nyc.gov/stopcovidhate

Resources for Victims of Hate Crimes

Download the resource graphics series, available in multiple sizes.

Additional Resources

Bystander Intervention Trainings

Bystander intervention is built on the idea that we all play a role in creating safe public spaces for each other when we see our neighbors and community members facing bias, discrimination, or harassment. The NYC Commission on Human Rights and community partners regularly co-host bystander intervention trainings to provide New Yorkers with the tools and strategies to safely respond when they witness bias incidents and discrimination.

Hate and Bias Incidents Related to COVID-19 Fact Sheet

Fact Sheet on Hate and Bias Incidents Related to COVID 19 | Español (Spanish) | عربى (Arabic) | اردو (Urdu) | Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole) | 한국어 (Korean) | বাংলা (Bengali) | русский (Russian) | Français (French) | Polskie (Polish) | יידיש (Yiddish) | Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) | 日本語 (Japanese) | 简体中文 (Chinese -Simplified) | 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)

What is a Hate Crime Fact Sheet

What is a Hate Crime Fact Sheet | Español (Spanish) | عربى (Arabic) | اردو (Urdu) | Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole) | 한국어 (Korean) | বাংলা (Bengali) | русский (Russian) | Français (French) | Polskie (Polish) | 简体中文 (Chinese -Simplified) | 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)

Guide for Victims of Hate Crimes

Download the guide to share about resources & services available to victims of hate crimes

Educational Resources

The New York City Department of Education and OPHC have developed for educators across the City a resource guide to materials to prevent anti-Asian and anti-COVID related discrimination that can be incorporated into lesson plans.
COVID-19-Related Anti-Bias Education Resource Guide
Community Resources

Asian American Federation (AAF)

"Stay Safe from Hate: How to Protect Yourself in Threatening Situations" booklet is available in five Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese) and includes verbal de-escalation strategies, bystander techniques, non-violent communication strategies, and physical defense techniques.
Download for free and check it out
Stop AAPI Hate

Do you have a hate incident to report? Help document the recent rise in hate crimes against Asian American elders by going to https://stopaapihate.org/.

Stop AAPI Hate is the nation's leading coalition documenting and addressing anti-Asian hate and discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other

If you would like to connect with other community-based organizations in your area, please visit the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice's Victim Services Finder, which is currently available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.

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During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City saw a sharp increase in harassment and violence against Asian people and communities, especially Asian elders. Discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, national origin, age, and disability (including having or being perceived to be exposed to COVID-19) is illegal under the New York City Human Rights Law.

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Jernigan, M. M., Green, C. E., Perez-Gualdron, Liu, M. M, Henze, K. T., Chen, C….Helms, J. E. (2015).#racialtraumaisreal. Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture, Chestnut Hill, MA.  Retrieved from: www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/Lynch School_sites/isprc/pdf/racialtraumaisrealManuscript.pdf

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Stand Against Asian American Discrimination

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Stand Against Asian American Discrimination

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Stand Against Asian American Racism - EAP

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New York Public Library Community Resource Guide

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New York Public Library Community Resource Guide