Anti-Racism Resource Guide

Trying to fix institutional and structural racism can not be done alone. It is everyone’s work and responsibility. These systems of inequity are experienced by everyone and can be perpetrated by anyone of any race. However, dismantling racism is predominantly the work of those with racial privilege and power within these institutions and structures. Not only do BIPOC individuals have to deal with racism, but they often shoulder the additional burden of being asked to prove the integrity of their experience of racism and to serve as expert educators for others on how racism works. Those with racial privilege can take responsibility for their education and cultivate racial stamina or resilience for doing the difficult work of dismantling racism. Developing racial stamina requires personal work, including active reflection on how we were taught to think about racism and race growing up, scrutiny of the power dynamics governing experiences across contexts, ongoing engagement and humility, and intentional, daily practice of these skills.

Leverage your positions of leadership and influence - no matter how big or small - to encourage others to do their work in anti-racism. Use the intellectual contributions and scholarship of BIPOC educators and thought leaders. This stage of the work will be complete with mistakes. How they are handled and the number of times they are repeated after that (as least as possible) will make the difference here. Because leading by example in your failures is one of the many ways to do this work authentically. Use the topics and resources below as a starting point to further your understanding and education.

Organizational culture is defined as a “pattern of basic behaviors, espoused values, and assumptions that navigate how each person perceives, thinks, and feels to create shared meaning.” (Ed Schein, 2004) Cultural values drive certain behaviors that ultimately transform into daily workplace practices and performance outcomes or goals.

Managers and leaders are responsible for leading programs and practices that advance a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus community. For systemic change to be sustainable, we must: systematically break down the barriers constraining BIPOC staff engagement and effectiveness, improve our prevailing structures, policies, and practices, and begin the gradual journey of cultural transformation. A cultural transformation enhances representation and inclusion, creating a workplace for a diverse and equitable workforce.

There are many suggestions on how to get started on organizational change, some of which might look different depending on the size of your organization, the number of stakeholders and allies involved in the process, etc. Below are additional resources to get you started thinking about this work.

In becoming anti-racist, you should use your power to try and work on understanding and appreciating diversity on all levels, including media representation, politics, and the workplace. However, while these efforts of representation and platforming are important, if not done with genuine intention, they risk just being tokenism. 

Tokenism is the act of doing something, such as including a person in the group, for symbolic effort and to prevent criticism, giving off the appearance that the group is diverse and inclusive. However, the person invited to the group may not have been invited to join based on merit but instead based on the marginalized social identity group for which they represent, like race, ethnicity, skin color, and gender identity.  

Other examples of tokenism can look like this:

• Increasing diversity in entry-level positions, but not the leadership level
• Hosting events that support DEI but no policies in place to support diverse students and employees
• An organization that lacks diversity but puts Black and Latinx people predominantly in their marketing materials 
• Creating a diversity council with no diversity in leadership positions
• Focusing on diversity hiring with a lack of focus on retaining diverse employees 
• Platforming diverse community members as the voice of an organization when problems relating to DEI issues arise
• Heritage months, cultural holiday branding, i.e., Black History Month,  Juneteenth branding 

Discernment is necessary to recognize when tokenism is taking place instead of genuine, intentional diversity efforts. Some helpful questions to ask include: Is the organization allowing marginalized employees to be actively involved in their business strategies? Is the institution beginning its diversity efforts, or have past initiatives to improve diversity amongst staff in the organization yet to be successful? Are there policies in place that support DEI initiatives on an infrastructural level? Again, intention beyond the surface-level optics of diversity is necessary for this distinction. 

Tokenism ultimately does not do anything to increase diversity efforts in an organization and can seriously impact the mental health of the tokenized individual. Being the only marginalized group member in a workplace setting can be rather isolating, and support from colleagues when a microaggression occurs may not be available. Additionally, being the token for diversity in an organization puts the individual in the spotlight, making them extremely visible in the space, thus creating pressure to represent an entire group of people. Individuals may also feel invisible due to being perceived as figureheads for their racial identity group. This pressure can create stress, depression, and anxiety in an individual and cause them to feel as though they may have to overperform to be a “good” representative of their identity group.

As your organization/institution improves its anti-racist efforts, it also moves along an action continuum with the hopeful goal of becoming an anti-racist, multicultural institution. See below for the Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization created by the Crossroads Ministry (Adapted from the original concept by Bailey Jackson and Rita Hardiman and further developed by Andrea Avazian and Ronice Branding; further adapted by Melia LaCour, PSESD).

Just as the individual action continuum, your institution can be in multiple places on the spectrum at the same time depending on which community it is practicing anti-racism efforts towards. Consider the following questions: What work is my institution currently doing, and where would I place it along the continuum? Which communities are we supporting, and which communities could we show improved efforts on? Have I consulted said communities to ask them how we can offer support?

MONOCULTURAL ==> MULTICULTURAL ==> ANTI-RACIST ==> ANTI-RACIST MULTICULTURAL

Racial and Cultural Differences Seen as Deficits ==> Tolerant of Racial and Cultural Differences ==> Racial and Cultural Differences Seen as Assets

1. Exclusive: An Exclusionary Institution
   •  Intentionally and publicly excludes or segregates racially marginalized groups.
   • Intentionally and publicly enforces the racist status quo throughout the institution.
   • Institutionalization of racism includes formal policies and practices, teachings, and decision-making on all levels.
   • Usually has similar intentional policies and practices toward other socially oppressed groups such as women, the LGBTQ+ community, international populations, etc.
   • Openly maintains the dominant group’s power and privilege
2. Passive: A "Club" Institution
   • Tolerant of a limited number of “token” People of Color and members from other social identity groups allowed in with "proper" perspectives and credentials
   • May still secretly limit or exclude People of Color in contradiction to public policies
   • Continues to intentionally maintain white power and privilege through its formal policies and practices, teachings, and decision-making on all levels of institutional life
   • Often declares, "We don't have a problem."
   • The dominant culture's norms, policies, and procedures are viewed as the “right way” or “business as usual.”
   • Engages diversity and social justice issues only on club members’ terms and within their comfort zone
3. Symbolic Change: A Compliance Organization
   • Makes official policy pronouncements regarding multicultural diversity
   • Sees itself as a "non-racist" institution with open doors to People of Color
   • Carries out intentional inclusiveness efforts, recruiting People of Color on committees or office staff
   • Expanding view of diversity includes other socially oppressed groups
   • Little or no contextual change in culture, policies, and decision-making
   • Is still relatively unaware of continuing patterns of privilege, paternalism, and control
   • Token placements in staff positions; must assimilate into organizational culture
4. Identity Change: An Affirming Institution
   • Growing understanding of racism as a barrier to effective diversity
   • Develops an analysis of systemic racism
   • Sponsors programs of anti-racism training
   • A new consciousness of institutionalized white power and privilege
   • Creates intentional identity as an "anti-racist" institution
   • Begins to build accountability to racially oppressed communities
   • Increasing commitment to dismantle racism and eliminate the inherent white advantage
   • Actively recruits and promotes members of groups that have been historically denied access and opportunity
   • Institutional structures and cultures that maintain white power and privilege remain  intact and relatively untouched
5. Structural Change: A Transforming Institution
   • Commits to the process of intentional institutional restructuring based upon anti-racist analysis and identity
   • Audits and restructures all aspects of institutional life to ensure full participation of People of Color, including their worldview, culture, and lifestyles
   • Implements structures, policies, and practices with inclusive decision-making and other forms of power-sharing on all levels of the institution's life and work
   • Commits to struggle to dismantle racism in the wider community and builds clear lines of accountability to racially oppressed communities
   • Anti-racist multicultural diversity becomes an institutionalized asset
   • Redefines and rebuilds all social relationships and activities based on anti-racist commitments
6. Fully Inclusive Anti-Racist Multicultural Organization in a Transformed Society
   • A future vision of an institution and broader community that has overcome systemic racism and all other forms of oppression
   • An institution's life reflects full participation and shared power with diverse racial, cultural, and economic groups in determining its mission, structure, constituency, policies, and practices
   • Members across all identity groups are full participants in decisions that shape the institution and inclusion of diverse cultures, lifestyles, and interests
   • A sense of restored community and mutual caring
   • Allies with others in combating all forms of social oppression
   • Actively works in larger communities (regional, national, global) to eliminate all forms of oppression and to create multicultural organizations.