Confronting White Entitlement and Microaggressions

Part of Mosaic Lifespan Curriculum

Open

You can engage this opening poem, 5 Microaggressions by Mariela Flores, in a few ways.

Begin by inviting people to arrive and settle through the chalice lighting and possibly a few moments of meditative silence.

After the reading follow up with an invitation to several deep breaths &/or a full body shake to help integrate on a somatic level.

You can ask participants if the experience of the poet felt familiar. You can also ask where in their body they felt something when listening to the poem.

Read

Death by a Thousand Cuts by Derald Wing Sue

To introduce a major scholar in the field of Microaggressions, this article by Dr. Derald Wing Sue, deconstructs the common dismissive tactic that minimizes the impact of microaggressions by labeling them as small acts. An important thing to keep in mind is that microaggressions and the responsive micro interventions we can engage to confront them can be verbal or non-verbal, intentional or non intentional, well meaning or malicious. Their impact is the center of the discussion, not the intent of the one engaging the microaggression.

Watch

MicroInterventions (YouTube, 9:28)

More on Dr. Sue’s work, Micro- interventions are the action steps that we can enact when confronting microaggressions. A few examples, and case studies are covered in Stride Pds Presentation video linked here. Check out the short video reel in the Take Home resources for another simple non verbal micro intervention example.

Do

Online Activity

After the individuals take the test come together to discuss the results

On site Activity: Strategic Planning

Have each person work individually.

Tell them they are welcome to skip any step or prompt and work with what works for them. This includes if taking a break to draw or walk or breath is the best move for them at this time.

(Perhaps using a mindmap)

  • Make a list of several collectives, institutions, or various groups of people that they interact with regularly where white entitlement and microaggressions need to be confronted.

 This is not an abstract assignment. Have participants list places where they regularly interact physically or virtually.

  • List some examples of microaggressions that happen in these places.
  • Rank the collectives/groups from most difficult to least difficult for engaging discussions which confront white entitlement.
  • Make a list of possible micro interventions
  • Make a list of allies that can support them in doing the work in those various networks.
  • Connect the dots - look for any overlaps in the systems -where problems occur, allies, micro-interventions and where they could be plugged in.
  • Next, take some time to allow individuals to share what they learned. Encourage interactive and emergent dialogue. If participants are reluctant to share, put them in smaller groups / breakout rooms.

Some possible reflection Questions for the Exercise:

  1. What have they learned from doing the exercise? Any surprises?
  2. What are their experiences?
  3. Who are their allies?
  4. Where do they find the most difficulty?
  5. Do they give themselves grace when they are confronting the especially difficult collectives?

Close

That was the week you learned that the killers of Michael Brown would go free. The men who had left his body in the street like some awesome declaration of their inviolable power would never be punished. It was not my expectation that anyone would ever be punished. But you were young and still believed. You stayed up till 11 p.m. that night, waiting for the announcement of an indictment, and when instead it was announced that there was none you said, “I’ve got to go,” and you went into your room, and I heard you crying. I came in five minutes after, and I didn’t hug you, and I didn’t comfort you, because I thought it would be wrong to comfort you. I did not tell you that it would be okay, because I have never believed it would be okay. What I told you is what your grandparents tried to tell me: that this is your country, that this is your world, that this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.
—Ta-Nehisi Coates, writing to his 15-year-old son (Between the World and Me, Spiegel & Grau, 2015)

While the session's goal is to gently assist and guide towards confrontations. An important way to do that sustainably is to consistently ask yourself where your capacity is to even have these discussions.

It is not your job to change others' minds. And you should most definitely not engage systems change at the detriment of your own mental health. That's why I’d like to ask a few simple questions to close, and feel free to take any of these questions home to further reflect.

Closing Questions:

On a scale of 1-10,

1- being easy as pie, and 10 being totally shattering to your sense of inner peace.

How heartbreaking is it to confront microaggressions and white entitlement at this time in your life?

Do you know how to tell when you have gotten too close to a level 10 or are too depleted or traumatized to do the confrontation work without getting really hurt?

Do you notice times when you feel more emotionally equipped to do this confrontation work?

What do you need to be able to do this work at a level 1, from a full cup?

Take Home

Poetry

Articles

Video

Somatic

Comedy

Comics

Books