Recognizing Racialized Bullying

Part of Mosaic Lifespan Curriculum

Chalice Lighting (1 min): Read the poem as you light the chalice

Check In (10 min): Give each person a chance to share:

Describe a recent time when you felt totally seen, heard, and/or appreciated?

Read

Read Captain Compassion Comic (PDF) and briefly review the resource from Racial Bullying from Bullies Out

Discuss:

  1. Why was Kid Kinder upset?

  2. Have you ever been a target of something similar? Or have you witnessed something like this happening to somebody else?

  3. When does bullying become racialized bullying?

Watch

What is Bullying? (YouTube, 0:55)

“Because I’m Latino, I can’t have money?” Kids on Race” from Being 12 (YouTube, 4:17)

Discuss (10 min):

  • What are you feeling after watching these?

  • What is the difference between intent and impact?

  • If the students making the comments didn’t mean to be hurtful, can it still have a painful impact?

  • When do comments or actions become bullying?

  • Have you ever witnessed or experienced racialized bullying? Is there anything you want to share about that experience?

Do

Draw an Ally

Give students blank paper and markers, and ask them to draw a picture of an ally. Encourage students to think of a particular situation where this ally would be needed. It could be based on their own experiences, or one of the situations in the cartoon or video.

The artistic details aren’t important (it could be a stick figure), but encourage them to label at least 3 features that make someone a good ally. For example, an ally might have observant eyes to watch out for hurtful comments. Each ally should have a speech bubble in which they are saying something to help in a situation.

After students have a chance to draw, give them a chance to share with each other. If it’s a small group, they can share aloud in a circle, but for bigger groups, you can break them up into pairs or groups.

Close

Prayer for Accompaniment By Elizabeth Nguyen

Extinguishing the Chalice (2 min): Read the prayer as you put out the chalice.

Final Reflections (3 min.): Invite everyone to share one word to describe what it feels like to have someone accompany you through a hard time.

Take Home

Be an Ally!

This week, encourage students to:

  • Notice if anyone around them is the target of racial bullying.

  • Take one action to try to be an ally or intervene. (Remember that sometimes the best action is just asking for help!)