Anti-Racism Protocol

Interpersonal racism occurs on the individual level between two or more people. Interactions are mediated by the personal biases and prejudices (whether conscious or unconscious) of the individuals involved, including their own internalized racism. The outcomes of interpersonal racism can be uncomfortable, negative, or even dangerous interactions. 

To Learn More: 

• Racism in the grocery store
• First experiences of racism

Organizations and institutions, including higher education, have created policies, practices, and procedures that, at best, do not consider and, at worst, harm Black people, Indigenous people and people of color. From hiring practices to promoting practices to unequal pay to underdeveloped reporting structures for discrimination, institutions are not supportive of BIPOC. Both intentional and unintentional characteristics of an institution can create unsafe and inequitable working conditions that harm BIPOC. 

To Learn More:

• In Higher Education
• Institutional Racism in School

Cultural racism normalizes racism and racial hierarchies through the creation of symbols, shared meanings and images that support White supremacy. These symbols enforce ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, and inform our beliefs about people and communities. Cultural racism results in the disproportionate production of negative and demeaning images of Black and Brown people/communities and positive images of White people/communities.

Additionally, cultural racism normalizes Whiteness, while othering non-Whiteness. This makes Whiteness seem invisible and often leads to the pathologizing of BIPOC communities, cultures, and collective expressions. In a research context, this can look like employing stereotype-based research models and methods; reproducing university-community hierarchical power dynamics; silencing counter-storytelling to maintain White supremacist ideology; and the exclusion of diverse communities from research entirely. 

To Learn More:

• Racism in Science
• Blackface
• Cultural Racism in Media

As people experience or engage in racism and are inundated with cultural racism, they internalize it. For those victimized by racism, that internalization may produce negative ideas about themselves and their communities. While, for those who engage in racist talk or behavior, internalization may reinforce notions of superiority. Both negatively impact persons and communities as they reinforce racial hierarchies and reify personal biases as truth. 

To Learn More: 

• Dee Watts-Jones explains
• Interview with Professors
• TEDx Talk

Microaggressions expressed in the way we interact with, talk about and to each other and other people. Consider the definition from Dr. Derald Wing Sue: 

"Microaggressions are everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership." 

Unequal workloads for BIPOC are common in workplaces. Research shows that regardless of title and position, Black women are often relegated to service and administrative tasks beyond their job description (Catalyst, 2004). 

Relegation to certain types of work due to your racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and/or religious identities. While White workers/students are assigned work according to their skillsets and/or interests, BIPOC workers/students are assigned work because of their identities.

Overtly racist comments and behaviors towards BIPOC.

Unequal pay for equal work can impact BIPOC. There is intersectional impact upon BIPOC women based on gender pay inequality. 

White, Catholic/Christian-Centered workplace culture (i.e. celebration of Judeo-Christian Holidays exclusively) can lead to ostracism of non-White and non-Catholic/Christian fellows and staff members. 

To prevent harm, CURL will communicate our partnership standards and expectations and look forward to learning the standards and expectations of our community partners at the start of each project as well as co-creating remedies to harm in line with those values. This includes proactively sharing our values and commitment to a culture of learning, addressing harm, sharing resources and cultural humility. Even through these proactive measures, harm may still occur at the hands of CURL staff, faculty, fellows, or the hands of community partners. Regardless of the direction, CURL is committed to seeking mutual remedies to any harm. 

Harm caused by CURL

If harm is caused by CURL staff and/or fellows that impacts our community partners, CURL is committed to co-creating space and time to remedy that harm. The appropriate remedy can be determined in conversation between CURL and the community partner in question. CURL is open to leading trainings, issuing apologies, or removing necessary participants from the project. CURL is also open to other remedies recommended by the community partners involved. 

Harm caused by Community Partners 

If harm is caused by a community partner that impacts CURL staff and/or faculty, CURL is committed to communicating with the community partner to remedy the harm. If CURL team members desire removal from the project, they will be allowed to do that.

If you experience racism or discrimination or any other harm, here’s what to do:

1. Tell someone at CURL with whom you feel most comfortable sharing the experience (we will call this person your “CURL confidant”). This can be a CURL staff/faculty member, graduate, or undergraduate fellow. 
   
   
2. After confiding in your CURL confidant and assuming the confidant is not CURL staff/faculty (for example, the confidant is a CURL fellow), you and your confidant can decide if and how to share this experience with a CURL staff/faculty member.
3. If you (and your confidant) decide to, you may report the incident to a staff/faculty member.

• • Reporting can occur via email, phone call or in-person
  • Feel free to request your confidant be present (or cc’d) during the reporting of the incident

After reporting an incident of racism or discrimination, there are a few options for resolution. The resolution depends on the extent of the harm and the desire of the person who was harmed. Possible resolutions include (but are not limited to):

• CURL-wide email addressing the harm. Staff may decide to send an email addressing the harm done, why it was inappropriate and/or issuing an apology.
  
  
• Mediated conversation between the person harmed, the confidant, a CURL staff member and the person who caused the harm. The goal of the conversation is to address the harm, receive an apology and come to an understanding of why it was harmful and how to prevent future harm. 
• Venting and processing the experience communally in a group setting where the person can freely vent to staff or fellows as a means of processing the experience and moving forward towards restoration as needed.
• Staff can address the harm among staff during a staff meeting or additional staff training. This is particularly appropriate if a staff member is involved in the incident.
• CURL-wide training for staff and/or fellows. Sometimes ignorance results in specific harms that can be addressed through trainings and workshops. This will allow CURL to engage in specific learning that helps prevent future harm.
• Time and space for the person who was harmed by the experience. This may look like a day away from CURL to process the experience and/or a mental health day to help remedy the harm of racism.
• Other. CURL is open to the specific and individual needs of people that arise as a result of harm caused by racism and discrimination. Please feel free to communicate your needs directly to a CURL staff and we will work together to remedy the harm caused.

CURL fellows, faculty, and staff will create and cultivate resources and provide trainings for internal and external purposes that center the learning of CURL team members and our community partners in order to create more equitable partnerships.