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One conversation with a peer this week helped me realize the importance of, sometimes, reacting with patience and not anger about the behavior of other people.

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I am predisposed to act and work towards the change I see as necessary, and right. But, first, I need to listen more and act less. So, being an agent of change will look like being a better ally through being a better listener.

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Talking with my kids more about race. Talking about similarities and differences, and showing them that we can all find common things we believe.

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Reminding myself daily that the way I see the world will NOT be the way that everyone sees it. Making assumptions like "Well I did it so why can't they do it?" is unhealthy and oftentimes in poor judgement. Realizing that there is more than just MY version of the world and how things work has opened the doors for discussion, which led to growth and understanding. Just because I disagree with something OR I don't like something doesn't necessarily mean that it's wrong...

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I thought this Faculty Focus article had great suggestions for how to be an ally in Zoom and real life in responding to microaggressions.

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I plan to watch this documentary to better understand college admissions from a student's perspective.

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For many of us who have endured the grueling college admissions process, it might be hard to imagine that what we experienced is dwarfed by the rigor of today's prerequisites. At Lowell, one of San Francisco's top-rated public high schools, the competition to get into one's dream college is brutal. With an overwhelmingly Asian American student population, being brilliant is the baseline and senior year is a pressure cooker of anxiety. Director Debbie Lum's lens goes beyond the usual one-dimensional story of stressed-out seniors and stereotypical cliques. Try Harder! is a compassionate invitation to see the intricate ways that class, race, and opportunity intersect in the American education system. Along the way, the film captures the euphoria of acceptance letters and the raw disappointment of rejections. In the most diverse American generation yet, admission to a good school isn't simply about the next four years; it's an essential part of one's identity. KL
Closed Captioning available This film is only available to viewers in the United States

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Try Harder! - Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

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For many of us who have endured the grueling college admissions process, it might be hard to imagine that what we experienced is dwarfed by the rigor of today's prerequisites. At Lowell, one of San Francisco's top-rated public high schools, the competition to get into one's dream college is brutal.

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What started as a journal now a full teaching toolkit!

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The events of a troubling summer have reminded us all about the importance of affirming Black Lives Matter in schools. But acknowledging Black students and celebrating their culture isn't enough. Anti-racist educators are pushing their schools to respond not through vague statements or gestures but with actionable steps toward dismantling systems that harm Black students. As a first step, educators must examine how whiteness operates-and is weaponized-in schools.

In late May, on the day news broke of George Floyd's murder, a different video was receiving widespread national attention. In it, a white New York City woman calls 911 on a Black man as the two stand, yards apart, in a secluded section of Central Park.

The man, Christian Cooper, had insisted that she put a leash on her dog, per posted rules. The woman responded with aggression. And, understanding how minor disputes have led to Black people's deaths, the man had begun recording the interaction.

"Unfortunately, we live in an era with things like Ahmaud Arbery, where Black men are seen as targets," Cooper said in a CNN interview. "This woman thought she could exploit that to her advantage, and I wasn't having it."

He had good reason to be concerned.

"I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life," she says.

In the video, the woman's tone goes from calm to frightened in a matter of seconds. She mentions twice to the 911 dispatcher that an "African American man" is threatening her and her dog. Her voice turns panicky.

"Please send the cops immediately!"

Unpacking the Pattern

Typically, the weaponization of whiteness happens this way: There is a demonstrated sense of entitlement, anger and a need for retaliation, feigned fear and, finally, white fragility.

It's easy to recognize this pattern when it's caught on video. We can observe for ourselves racial slurs, exaggerated fear and the privilege of whiteness forcefully taking up space. But when we publicly shame white people caught on video or demand severe penalties for their transgressions, we are individualizing racism rather than seeing how it can easily manifest in any white person because of how whiteness works in our society.

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The Weaponization of Whiteness in Schools

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The events of a troubling summer have reminded us all about the importance of affirming Black Lives Matter in schools. But acknowledging Black students and celebrating their culture isn't enough. Anti-racist educators are pushing their schools to respond not through vague statements or gestures but with actionable steps toward dismantling systems that harm Black students.

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Fill your inbox with DEI related stories to keep up to date:

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Diversity Management News and Updates - DiversityInc

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Use this guide to see what workshops you can do to get deeper understanding and eventually build skills to do anti-racist work!

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 PCM Per and Prof Dev Planning Sheet_v2_051421.pdf

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#1 To Do in Positive ways to move forward

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#1 To Do in Positive ways to move forward

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Understand your own identity. Use this simple diagram to unpack the layers and dimensions of your own identity.

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Living in my truth. Never being afraid to talk but always being mindful and empathetic to others perspectives. Empathy has the ability to lower defenses in order to get closer to resolution. We all have blindspots.

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In my diverse team, we have been actively asking questions about individuals culture and asking them to share their differences in religion, experiences, etc.

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The invisibility of whiteness and its pervasiveness.

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The invisibility of whiteness and its pervasiveness.

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I want to continue to embrace being honest with myself about biases and also being honest about what I do not know. Who can I listen to to fill in these gaps and biases?

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Learn by listening to people carefully. 

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Learn by listening to people carefully. 

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On pages 64 - 73, the book talked a lot about a push for no emotion or anger and instead an "academic" and analytical approach preference in the US.  I have noticed this so often since reading that - how it shapes conversations, perspectives, and reactions in the media, articles, and personal conversations.  It seems to make it so difficult for those who have been impacted or experienced racism to express themselves without being discounted for showing emotion.

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I better understand the importance of engaging in conversation and dialogue with people of color and o to better understand their experiences and to hopefully learn and grow from those conversations. Not dodging difficult, but important conversations is something I want to improve upon.

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Learning about the caution of objective thinking has helped me understand the dangers that can come with defaulting to objective thinking. One example of this was the story of the school children explaining what happens to the remaining birds in the tree.

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We have so many opportunities to do this in our university!

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There is this dichotomy between cultural differences and stereotypes. I found it particularly interesting to think about how different cultures shape our behaviors, but found myself wondering, "aren't these stereotypes?"

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I am hoping that my journey, though not complete, will allow others (friends, family, colleagues) to see that all of us individually can be a part of making a change.

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Speaking out in a way to challenge family and friends but doing it in a way to encourage dialog and not arguing.

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What can I read or expose myself to that will help me hear from another group? Who can I listen to about their experiences and feelings to better understand what I do not understand and cannot relate to as a white woman? What situations can I experience to help me see how other groups express their feelings and experiences?

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Have the spine to challenge the common excuses for denying the reality of extreme inequality.

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Have the spine to challenge the common excuses for denying the reality of extreme inequality.

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I am reminded daily that I am a work in progress, there is always more to do, more to learn, more to understand.   I have to be patient with myself and the process and there will be times when I mess up and hopefully more times that I get it right.   I need to remain open and committed!

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Using this to shape parenting decisions and conversations re: perspective & differing experiences

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Using this to shape parenting decisions and conversations re: perspective & differing experiences

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To be more willing to bring in others' perspectives in conversations that may be less open to diversity and inclusion. To be willing to engage my students in important conversation about DEI challenges.

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People of good will have to act in concert to change the culture

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People of good will have to act in concert to change the culture

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Guideline 3 is the one the resonated with me the most. Therefore, for me, being an "agent of change" looks like taking advantage of opportunities to engage with individuals from different racial groups.

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never becoming complacent that I have achieved a state where I no longer have to be introspective and attentive to how the environment is changing

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never becoming complacent that I have achieved a state where I no longer have to be introspective and attentive to how the environment is changing

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I want to seek out opportunities to be in other settings on an ongoing basis where I can better get to know (in depth) people of color and those from other ethnicities and cultures.

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I often feel unsure in how to best be an ally. I need to keep expanding myself to enable myself to speak up in situations that warrant action instead of inaction.

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To more fully understand the day-to-day experiences that people of color face and how I can help be a source of empathy for those challenges and experiences.

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To be more directly outspoken about the unfairness and injustices I see in my workplace and more actively try to play a role in changing them

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I have let remarks go unchallenged because I was reluctant to create a situation

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I have let remarks go unchallenged because I was reluctant to create a situation

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Become more political because changing social reality is a political process.  Changing me is not enough unless institutions are changed.  

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Become more political because changing social reality is a political process.  Changing me is not enough unless institutions are changed.  

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Got called out privately on a minor thing. After a couple days, I replied with a simple "thanks!" but I agonized over it for a week internally. It's amazing how even getting called out for even a minor thing can make me (a white person) so defensive.

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I have been defensive when a colleague spoke to me about instances where I was making assumptions about others based on stereotypes, and instead of reflecting and learning I tried to explain away why I wasn't being racist.  Months later when I began these reading books, I realized my error, and went back to the colleague to thank them for pointing it out to me.  Still makes me embarrassed that I was making stereotypes AND was defensive when it was pointed out.

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... I find it hard to speak up.  It is something I will need to work on for my whole life.  I appreciate the readings, which have helped me see how important it is to speak up.

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Plan to participate and encourage people to discuss their feeling.

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Plan to participate and encourage people to discuss their feeling.

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this really resonated, especially, "I feel guilty" and "I feel helpless". Taking the emotions and pulling them apart so that I'm able to act more.

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I want to do an honest self-reflection of my racial (and other cultural) biases and be willing to hear from others when I don't see them as part of my self-reflection.

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Validating.  The community has to send a message to everyone that certain beliefs are unacceptable.  That is how cultures are created.  A culture of equality (which we Americans presumably founded a country for) will not come into being unless each of us reinforces to each other that equality is our culture.  Example: before the playoff game last night the NHL emphasized that equality is a value we should all share.  An organization showed some moral courage even though it likely offended many of its "customers."

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Validating.  The community has to send a message to everyone that certain beliefs are unacceptable.  That is how cultures are created.  A culture of equality (which we Americans presumably founded a country for) will not come into being unless each of us reinforces to each other that equality is our culture.  Example: before the playoff game last night the NHL emphasized that equality is a value we should all share.  An organization showed some moral courage even though it likely offended many of its "customers."

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Yes, that one, the un-nesting of emotions!

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Yes, that one, the un-nesting of emotions!

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The Chronicle of Higher Education has frequent articles germane to race and higher education

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The Chronicle of Higher Education has frequent articles germane to race and higher education