Social Justice
Tim Leyson
First Year Advisor
ATH 377 Instructor
Fall 2011
Presentation modified from Hassel Morrison’s ECD 220 Spring 2009
presentation at North Carolina State University
Test your knowledge…….
• What is Social Justice?
• How does Social Justice differ from Diversity?
•
What does is mean to have cultural
competence?
• Is more important to have a social justice mind
set or focus more on diversity?
Let’s start with the basics…..
Oppression
Oppression = prejudice +
power
(control/dominance)
These dynamics occur between dominant and
subordinate groups of people, and are usually determined
by common characteristics of groups. The “dominant
group” (agent of oppression) is the historically powerful
group of people, whose norms have typically prevailed in
society. The “subordinate group” (target of oppression)
has always been the less powerful group, whose norms
and standards are typically criticized or unaccepted in our
society
Cycle of Oppression
4
Taking responsibility for ourselves
and for change in the system
2
1 Born into
•Becoming more aware of our roles in the
perpetuation of oppression
•Taking stands in our lives; personal,
interpersonal, and organizational/institutional
structures
•Unlearning misinformation
•Learning correct information
•Consciously working toward change
•Relative status
•Group membership within dominant and
subcultures
•History
Maintains the status quo
Internalized oppression
Inaccurate/hurtful information we receive
from others about ourselves (our groups),
which we take responsibility for
(internalize). (e.g. we assume it to be true
against our better judgement) This affects
our attitudes and feelings about ourselves
and other groups, as well as our
behaviors.
•Interpretations of history
•Explanations for injustice
•Misinformation
•Myths and stereotypes
•Norms
By significant people in our lives
Protecting and justifying privileges
•Justifying inequities and unjust treatment
•Do not make waves; be thankful for what one has
•Not questioning structures, norms, messages, ideologies, etc.
People “Act Out” Prescribed Roles
Taught
3
•Parents
•Teachers
•Brothers, sisters, and other relatives
•Role models
•Religious authorities
•Political leaders
•Reinforced by peers
Externalized oppression
A subordination, exploitation, and/or mistreatment of a
person by an attitude, action, or institutional structure
because of her/his membership in a ‘target’ group
(women, blacks, Asians, Latino/as, native people,
lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people,
children, working class and poor, differently abled, etc.)
Examples include: dominant/subordinate behaviors, violence, acting as if more
were “normal”, collusion with the oppressive system, intragroup hostility, etc.
Reinforced and sanctioned by
•Culture, traditions, family
•Institutions (media, legal system,
government, health care, banks,
economy, language, religious
institutions, etc.)
Internalized vs. Externalized Oppression
Internalized Oppression
(subordinate group
members)
Inaccurate/hurtful
information we receive
from others about
ourselves (our
groups), which we
take responsibility for
(internalize), e.g. we
assume it to be true
against our better
judgment. This affects
our attitudes and
feelings about other
groups, as well as our
behaviors.
Externalized
Oppression
(dominant group
members)
A subordination,
exploitation,
and/or mistreatment of
a person by an
attitude, action, or
institutional structure
because of his/her
membership in a
target group.
• Advocating for social justice
(the student leader’s role in
identifying and responding to
oppressive behaviors and
attitudes in the residence
hall/campus community)
• Techniques to responding to
oppressive behaviors
• What is social justice?
– Adams, Bell and Griffin (1997) define
social justice as both a process and a
goal………….
"The goal of social justice education is full
and equal participation of all groups in
a society that is mutually shaped to
meet their needs. Social justice
includes a vision of society that is
equitable and all members are
physically and psychologically safe and
secure."
“Social justice includes a version of society in
which the distribution of resources is
equitable and all members are physically and
psychologically safe and secure. We envision
a society in which individuals are both self
determining (able to develop their full
capacities), and interdependent (capable of
interacting democratically with others).
Social justice involves social actors who have
a sense of their own agency as well as a
sense of social responsibility toward and with
others and the society as a whole.”
(Bell, p. 1, Theoretical Foundations for Social Justice education,
Teaching for diversity and social justice, 1997)
• Key Components of the
Definition:
– equitable distribution of
resources
– self-determining and
interdependent society
– actors who understand
themselves, their agencies, and
their responsibility to others and
society
• Being a true advocate
means…..
– Constant evaluation of self and
value system
– Breadth of Awareness, ability to
see multiple perspectives
simultaneously
– Depth of Insight, utilizing one’s
experience as basis of insight
into social justice
– Be comfortable demonstrating
advocacy
• Student Leaders…as Social
Justice Advocates
– Know and understand frame of
reference for members in the
community, and act according to
the previously stated principles
– Demonstrate understanding
through programmatic efforts
and by role-modeling sincere
interest in diverse activities
.
• Dr. Cullen’s Characters
– Blind
– Mr. Fix-it
– Gag
– Invisible
– Quiz-Quiz
• Blind
– This person does “not see
color”; sees the world as a
utopian place for all.
– Common perceptions of this
character
• Clueless, ingenuine, PC,
cheerleader, well-intended; blind to
impact of oppression on others
• Mr. Fix-It
– This person attempts to make
everything okay for everyone in the
group, and will do and say almost
anything to avoid conflict.
– Common perceptions of this character
• failing to acknowledge and avoids
impact of statements; interferes
with learning process; hard to know
because most of their energy is
spent making everything okay,
rather than sharing their own ideas
• Gag
– This person is most likely to
remain silent throughout any
discussion on diversity issues.
– Common perceptions of this
character
• fearful; presence is imposing but
also internalized; attention getter;
hiding in silence to remain safe;
potentially distracting and can
jeopardize trust of group by lack of
willingness to open up and share
• Invisible
– This person tends to be of a
social group that is often
marginalized, and not
typically active in conflict.
– Common perceptions of this
character
•overlooked; self-pitying;
aloof; disinterested; can
sometimes be confused
with gag
• Quiz-Quiz
– This person emerges as the
person in the group who offers a
lot of challenge to others in the
group, and questions their
sincerity.
– Common perceptions of this
character
• holier than thou; judgmental;
knows it all; intimidating;
doesn’t take part in the
learning
• Facilitation & Response
Techniques
– Identifying Self Triggers
– Detecting Traps
– Making Joining Statements
– Allying Behavior
• Identifying Self Triggers
– A trigger event is any stimulus (external or
internal) through which one personally
experiences an emotional reaction. Triggers
commonly elicit the following responses for
facilitators (and other participants):
 Unexpectedness (surprising arousal of
feelings)
 Strong intense feelings disproportionate to
original stimulus
 Disorientation or speechlessness; “stopped in
their tracks”
 Feeling out of control or overwhelmed
 Feeling “de-skilled”, therefore reacting less
effectively…think later of “what I should have
said or did”
 Feeling the need to make an extra effort to
effectively manage the situation
• Detecting Traps
– Traps are verbal or behavioral stimuli
that do any of the following to validate
or support oppressive behavior:
• Replicate oppressive behavior
(validate the behavior)
• Inhibit, interrupt, or re-direct
“teachable moment” conversations
• Rescuing (often used by a third
party of a conversation to clarify the
intent of the person who’s behavior
or statements may intentionally or
unintentionally hurt another group
member’s feelings)
• Limit dialog on discussions relating
to oppression
• Making Joining Statements
– Verbal expression of
demonstrating empathy and
support others as they share
perspectives and insights into
oppression.
• Examples of Joining Statements:
 Instead of “that happens to me
too…” try “How did it make you
feel?”
 Instead of “I don’t feel/see that…”
try “Why do you feel that way?
• Allying Behavior
– Taking in anger or
demonstration of
frustration, setting aside
how it impacts you, and
asking/ acknowledging the
person’s feelings, asking
them what has happened.
An example of allying
behavior is the use of
joining statements.
Becoming an Ally
Someone from the agent/dominant group who will stand in the way of
oppression when it is aimed at a target/subordinate group. Someone
who will recognize her/his privilege as a member of the dominant group
and will question oppression.
Four basic levels of becoming an Ally:
1.
Awareness (who am I and how am I different)
2.
Knowledge/Education (learn about a groups history,
culture, norms, experiences, contributions; how do laws,
policies, stereotypes impact individuals and the group as a
whole)
3.
Skills (develop skills in communicating what you have
learned)
4.
Action (speaking/acting out against injustice; can be most
frightening; if you choose not to act, pay attention to the
impact your inactivity has on you and the target group)
• Group Discussion
– How do you motivate
yourself and others to reach
beyond your/their comfort
zone to learn about
diversity?