Public Safety Advisory Board Tigard Public Safety Advisory Board
Background:
Overall,the Tigard community has been well served and protected by the members of the Tigard Police
Department for decades. As a community and a city, we all must be vigilant and continuously re-
evaluate and improve our public safety practices to ensure they reflect the always-evolving values of the
Tigard community.
In this moment of national concern,the city has received significant public input about public safety and
police services via e-mail, paper mail, phone calls, in-person, and social media since May 30, 2020. The
mayor challenged the entire Tigard community on June 3rd to accomplish the following:
• Identify and eliminate institutional racism to ensure equity within all city operations and
structures
• Eliminate institutional racism and ensure equity within the Tigard community
• Improve the lived experience of all persons of color in Tigard such that everyone enjoys the
same safety and privilege.
Definitions:
Having a shared understanding of terms is critical as we embark on this journey and move from ideas to
actions.There are organizations that have been working on dismantling injustices and are considered
subject matter experts in this field-such as Policyl-ink and RacialEquityTools. We will rely on the
glossary developed by RacialEquityTools.org for our educational purposes with an opportunity for the
Board to develop its own working definitions as well. See attachment.
Public Safety Advisory Board:
This is a draft framework for the city council, staff, and community members to review and provide
input on both what practices should be reviewed and how appropriate changes should be made. The
Public Safety Advisory Board (the "Board")will begin with reviewing public safety practices,with similar
community input and draft frameworks anticipated for all other areas of city operations. This is the first
step of an ongoing conversation that addresses inequities. This Board will be just one part of the City's
Anti-Racism Action Plan. The City anticipates future committees or groups being formed to address
other issues of structural racism, such as housing.
The Board will work closely with the City to co-design a process which will include developing and
approving bylaws to establish the conduct of its meetings, including the meeting schedule,format, and
frequency, and creating a community agreement (norms) regarding expectations. The meeting format
will include an opportunity for public comment and Board members are encouraged to seek community
input outside of meetings as well. Board members should expect a time commitment of 2-5 hours each
week. It is anticipated the Board will meet every other week, but the Board will be the ultimate decider
of the schedule.
At its first meeting,the Board will select a chair and vice-chair. The chair will preside over the meetings
and have equal voting authority as the other members.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 1
The Board will be made up of 15 people:
• Police Chief or designee (must be sworn member of department)
• Tigard Police Officers'Association designee (must be sworn member of department)
• City Attorney
• Municipal Court Judge
• President of Tigard High School Black Student Union or designee (will serve for duration of time
as student)
• Tigard Youth City Councilor(will serve for duration of time as student)
• Tigard City Councilor
• Licensed Mental Health Professional or leader of Mental Health organization with a presence in
Tigard (preference to those that regularly interact with community members in crisis or
community members that have regular contact with law enforcement as the only available
social services resource)
• One representative of the business community in Tigard (designated by Tigard Chamber of
Commerce)
• 6 Tigard residents from the community at-large, with preference to those that can best
represent the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and faith communities in Tigard.
Appointment of community members will be determined through a two-step process. The first step will
be a caucus format in which the community will select 16 candidates. Anyone interested in
membership on the Board may submit a statement of interest. The Tigard community will be able to
review the applicants' statements and a community vote will be held by social media, online, comment
cards, and other input channels. Once the community has chosen its 16 candidates, the second step is
for City Council to select 8 finalists-6 Board members and 2 alternates.
Board Training:
It is critical that the Board members understand the current systems and processes the Tigard Police
Department uses to protect and serve the community now. To do so, Board members are expected to
complete the training offered by the Tigard Police Department and at least one full-shift ride-along with
a patrol officer. Board members should work with the Chief of Police to address any barriers posed by
the proposed training. At a minimum, Board members must learn and understand current practices in
the following areas:
• Recruitment, hiring, and training
• Cultural competencies
• Basic law enforcement academy curriculum
• Mandatory reporting on bias complaints
• Statistical Transparency of Policing(STOP) data for both vehicles and pedestrian contacts
• Mandatory use of force reporting
• Complaint processes
• Deadly use of force procedures and review
• De-escalation in all force response training modules
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 2
In addition, all members of the Board will watch Race in Oregon History—A Historical Perspective and
read the book,So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo. Board members are encouraged to
make recommendations of other educational resources as well.
Board Work Plan:
A significant number of issues have already been raised and suggestions made by the community
identifying areas the Board may want to consider. The Board is empowered to review those comments,
along with its own areas of interest, and prioritize topics for its consideration.
The Board shall present to Council for approval, a work plan including prioritization of work; adding or
removing topic areas; and adding, changing, or removing questions or criteria around topics. The Board
may not discuss topic areas not approved by Council for consideration.
Decision-making will strive for consensus (defined as at least 12 of 15 votes). The Board will make
quarterly reports to City Council, including updates of the Board's progress on the workplan and
proposing recommended Council actions. When the consensus-based recommendation is within the
decision-making authority of the Chief or City Manager,the Chief or City Manager may implement such
recommendation without Council action. If the Chief or City Manager declines to implement the
recommendation, it will be forwarded to Council for review and consideration. If the recommendation
requires additional action, such as approval by Budget Committee or bargaining with the union,the
recommendation will not be effective until all approvals are received.
Potential Topics for Board Consideration:
A significant number of topics have already been raised by the community. These comments are largely
reflective of the national dialogue and include comments as well as numerous questions. The questions
make clear that the Tigard Police Department has an educational opportunity to show the positive steps
the Department has already taken and what distinguishes it from other departments nationally.
The comments the City has already received run the gamut from discrete policies that the City could
implement now to complex changes that would require Congressional action. Additionally, the Board
understands that any recommended changes that affect wages, hours, and working conditions are
subject to collective bargaining agreements. For the Board's consideration, potential topics are grouped
by decision-making authority and include the following:
City of Tigard Actions
Body cameras
- Current Status:Tigard school resource officers, K-9 handlers, and motor officers currently have
body cameras, but it is not department-wide. All marked police vehicles are equipped with dash
cameras that record officer contact outside the vehicle and officer/subject actions inside the
vehicle. Videos from body cameras are occasionally introduced by officers in traffic trials to
demonstrate their interaction with defendants and statements made following a traffic stop.
- Tigard Action:Policy consideration, recommendation to Chief of Police and City Manager.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 3
Labor arbitration re-instatement of officers terminated for misconduct/bias/excessive use of force
- Current Status:State-level House Bill 1604 passed in July,which includes arbitration reform and
disciplinary matrix.
- Tigard Action:Collective Bargaining Agreement with Tigard Police Officers'Association to
develop matrix.
Community police oversight or use of force review committee/chiefs advisory committee
- Current Status:Tigard does not currently have such a committee.
- Tigard Action:Policy consideration, recommendation to Chief of Police.
Officer clear identification in all instances, including riot control
- Current Status: Tigard Police Department has the officer's name on the front of their uniform.
Under Policy 340.4.1, "When on duty or after identifying themselves as a Tigard Police
Department member, all members will identify themselves by name and I.D. number upon
request(I.D. numbers will be provided when citizens request a badge number). Upon demand,
I.D. will be presented in writing or through the presentation of a Department issued business
card.The only exceptions to the I.D. presentation rule are when the providing of this
information impairs the performance of the police duties or a supervisor has authorized the
withholding of information." Additionally, House Bill 4201, created the Joint Committee on
Transparent Policing and Use of Force Reform ("Joint Committee)to review, including topics
such as military equipment, police uniforms,weapons and munitions, and protests, among
others.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police.
Ban use of choke holds
- Current Status: Under Tigard Police Policy 300.3.4, carotid control holds are not authorized in
Tigard unless deadly force is necessary. House Bill 4203, passed July 2020, bans police choke
holds unless peace officer can justify deadly physical force. Tigard policy complies with state
law.
- Tigard Action:Review current policy and practices, aligned with recent state law.
Change in training and policies to allow or direct an officer to back down from an immediate arrest
when the suspect is identified and the seriousness of the situation does not warrant further escalation
of force just to effect an immediate arrest
- Current Status:Tigard Police Policy 314.2.1(d) allows disengagement from vehicle pursuit when
the identify of the suspect has been verified and there is minimal risk in allowing the suspect to
be apprehended at a later time. Policy 457.2 contains the same language for foot pursuits.
Policy 300.3.2 "Factors used to determine the reasonableness of force"state several additional
variables: "When determining whether to apply force and evaluating whether an officer has
used reasonable force, a number of factors should be taken into consideration, as time and
circumstances permit.These factors include, but are not limited to:
(a) Immediacy and severity of the threat to officers or others.
(b) The conduct of the individual being confronted, as reasonably perceived by the officer
at the time.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 4
(c) Officer/subject factors (age, size, relative strength, skill level, injuries sustained, level of
exhaustion or fatigue, the number of officers available vs. subjects).
(d) The effects of drugs or alcohol.
(e) Subject's mental state or capacity.
(f) Proximity of weapons or dangerous improvised devices.
(g) The degree to which the subject has been effectively restrained and his/her ability to
resist despite being restrained.
(h) The availability of other options and their possible effectiveness.
(i) Seriousness of the suspected offense or reason for contact with the individual.
(j) Training and experience of the officer.
(k) Potential for injury to officers, suspects and others.
(1) Whether the person appears to be resisting, attempting to evade arrest by flight or is
attacking the officer.
(m)The risk and reasonably foreseeable consequences of escape.
(n) The apparent need for immediate control of the subject or a prompt resolution of the
situation.
(o) Whether the conduct of the individual being confronted no longer reasonably appears
to pose an imminent threat to the officer or others.
(p) Prior contacts with the subject or awareness of any propensity for violence.
(q) Any other exigent circumstances.
Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices.
"No knock"warrants
- Current Status:Tigard Police Department has not used "no knock" warrants for many years, as a
matter of practice. Would require authorization from a Circuit Court Judge.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices.
Implicit bias, cultural awareness, sensitivity training, and trauma informed care
- Current Status:Tigard's current training generally incorporates these topics.
- Tigard Action:Review current certification requirements by Department of Public Safety
Standards and Training(DPSST)and current training standards.
De-escalation training
- Current Status:Tigard officers received training in the basic law enforcement academy, no state
mandate currently; de-escalation is in every force response training. Starting August 2020, all
sworn department members will receive 2 hours of focused training on De-Escalation,
Intervention, and Force Mitigation Training.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police.
Police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice training (7 hour course)
- Current Status: Provided annually along with mandated police ethics.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police.
Restorative justice training for police department leadership
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 5
- Current Status:Optional training for Tigard.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police.
Identify how biases are identified in the hiring process
- Current Status:Selection process includes psychological examination;Tigard Police Department
contracts with clinical psychologist who specializes in this field.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police and
Human Resources.
Maintain police workforce that reflects the community
- Current Status: Under review in recruitment, hiring, and retention processes.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police, Human
Resources, and City Manager.
Identify extremist or racist behaviors
- Current Status:Case law limits City's ability to access social media or consider off duty conduct
and all persons have a constitutional right of association. While association cannot be
considered, behavior can. An extremist group is a group of individuals whose values, ideals, and
beliefs fall far outside of what society considers normal. An extremist group is often associated
with violent tactics to convey their point to outsiders. Hate group is asocial group that
advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity,
nation, religion,gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other designated sector of
society.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy at state and federal level, review current policies and practices
consistent with case law.
Residency of police officers
- Current Status: Residence of Tigard officers is not public information and the City does not have
residency requirements for employees, including police officers.
- Tigard Action:Recommendation to Chief of Police.
School Resource Officers and their presence,training, behavior, and interaction in Tigard-Tualatin School
District schools
- Current Status:The District and the Cities of Tigard and Tualatin have begun together to co-
create an independently facilitated dialogue, centered with equity, to understand and discuss
these questions. A recommendation will be made from the school district to the cities in
community,to include the experiences of students and families.
- City Action:Recommendation and decision will be made by TTSD and implementation will be
City's responsibility.
Establish a non-police response for mental health, homelessness, and other non-criminal calls
- Current Status: Non-police assistance may be sought on a case-by-case basis and dependent on
available resources.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 6
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police, City
Manager, and City Council.
Pretext stops
- Current Status: Federal and State law prohibit this activity. Vehicle and pedestrian Statistical
Transparency of Policing(STOP) data reported monthly to the state database that includes
race/ethnicity and gender. Tigard court determines at trial, or by reviewing the officer's notes
on the court's own motion, whether there was a proper legal basis for a traffic stop under
Oregon law.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police.
Consider change of participation in Tri-Met Transit Police program
- Current Status:Tigard is member of the multi-agency program;the contract is set to expire
December 31, 2020.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police, City
Manager, and City Council.
Reestablish youth peer court program or delegation to the Tigard Youth Advisory Council
- Current Status: Peer court was eliminated in Tigard due to budget constraints.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, recommendation to Chief of Police, City
Manager, and City Council.
Ensure that all personnel are complying with Tigard's "Welcoming City" resolution, consistent with ORS
181A.820 and Tigard Police Policy 428
- Current Status:Compliance is currently mandatory by state law.
- Tigard Action:Review policies and practice.
City of Tigard Actions/State Level Advocacy
Public access to misconduct investigation results
- Current Status:Oregon Public Records Law and litigation strategy may prevent the release of
some types of investigatory results, while others are generally required to be disclosed.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy/Policy implementation. Largely governed by Oregon Public Records
law, which would require state legislative action, collective bargaining impacts, but minor
changes could be effectuated by City.
Re-implementing a force continuum (as requested by#8cantwait)vs. current Graham vs. Connor
standard
- Current Status: House Bill 4201 Joint Committee will review all aspects of use of force to include
force continuum. Tigard currently follows Graham v. Connor standard, consistent with DPSST
training and best practice.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices;training determined at state level.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 7
Re-evaluate deadly force assumptions(must use in the moment judgement standard, not with the
benefit of hindsight),just because deadly force is authorized, should it be used? (e.g. taser taken and
cartridge used)
- Current Status:Tigard Police Policy 300.4 says that an officer may use deadly force to protect
him/herself or others from what he/she reasonably believes would be an imminent threat of
death or serious bodily injury. House Bill 4201 Joint Committee will review at state level.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices;training determined at state level.
Medical training on airway management and respiratory system, including signs and symptoms,
pathophysiology, complications from pre-existing respiratory diseases, and how different physical
positions comprise the mechanics of effective respiration and work of breathing (estimate 6-8 hours) to
be taught by medical professional with advanced airway management and physiology training
(Physician, respiratory therapist, emergency registered nurse, or paramedic)
- Current Status:Training includes first aid and trauma, but not specific to airway management.
- Tigard Action:Review current policies and practices, training determined at state level.
Color and style of uniforms and color of cars are intimidating/militaristic
- Current Status:The City has local discretion on determining colors and style. Current practices
also being reviewed by HB 4201 Joint Committee.
- Tigard Action: Recommendation to Chief of Police and City Council;potential action at state
level.
Change bail/fine system within the Tigard Municipal Court so the cost of fines are equitable for all
- Current Status: Maximum, minimum, and presumptive fines for traffic offenses are set by
statute; payment agreements discretion of judge in accordance with statute; local code
violations are set by the City. Also, HB 4210 from the recent special session eliminates the
ability of courts to suspend driver licenses for failure to pay traffic fines.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy at state level for statutory fines;recommendations to the City Council
for local fines or ability of Tigard court to convert fines to community service.
State Level Advocacy
Hours of police training in Oregon
- Current Status: DPSST develops curriculum at the state level, including the number of hours
dedicated to specific topics such as crisis intervention, procedural justice, and others. Upon
graduation of the Basic Law Enforcement Academy, new officers in Tigard have 16 additional
weeks of Field Training Educational Program (FTEP)that ensures the new officer can perform as
expected.
- Tigard Action:Advisory, changes would be made at state level
Consequences for calling 911 to report normal community activity based primarily on race
- Current Status:Criminal law is set at the state level and local governments are generally
preempted in this area.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy at the state level.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 8
Review traffic violation enforcement protocols to evaluate if the community and officers could be safer
using technologically advanced methods as an alternative to initiating a traffic stop.
- Current Status:State law governs for what offenses a traffic stop may be initiated and also limits
the ability for a violation to be issued mechanically(ex. red light camera)to certain ORS and
violations; Municipal Court allows citation not issued in-person only for photo red light and
intersection speed cameras in accordance with state statute.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy at state level.
Advocate for the release of all offenders Tigard helped prosecute for activities that would not be a crime
today(e.g. marijuana possession)
- Current Status: Prosecutorial decisions made by District Attorney.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy at state level for statutory changes and to DA in discretionary cases.
Advocate for a change in the cash bail system to make it equitable for everyone
- Current Status: Determined by state law.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy at state level.
Federal Level Advocacy
Qualified immunity
- Current Status:This legal defense to claims for certain constitutional violations is currently
available, based on case law from the US Supreme Court.
- Tigard Action:Congressional action would be required to overturn US Supreme Court case law.
National databank/registry for police misconduct
- Current Status:Oregon just established a statewide system in July(House Bill 4207) and Tigard
requires background investigators to review the database during the background check of Tigard
police applicants. There is no national registry. The FBI currently maintains a nationwide
database for officer-involved shootings.
- Tigard Action:Advocacy, national registry would require Congressional action.
Adopted by Tigard City Council on September 1, 2020 9
WWW.RACIALEQUITWOOMORG
GLOSSARY
Words and their multiple uses reflect the tremendous diversity that characterizes our society. Indeed, universally agreed upon language
on issues relating to racism is nonexistent. We discovered that even the most frequently used words in any discussion on race can easily
cause confusion, which leads to controversy and hostility. It is essential to achieve some degree of shared understanding, particularly
when using the most common terms. In this way, the quality of dialogue and discourse on race can be enhanced.
Language can be used deliberately to engage and support community anti-racism coalitions and initiatives, or to inflame and divide them.
Discussing definitions can engage and support coalitions. However, it is important for groups to decide the extent to which they must have
consensus and where it is okay for people to disagree. It is also helpful to keep in mind that the words people use to discuss power,
privilege, racism and oppression hold different meanings for different people. For instance, people at different stages of developing an
analysis tend to attach different meanings to words like discrimination, privilege and institutional racism. Furthermore, when people are
talking about privilege or racism, the words they use often come with emotions and assumptions that are not spoken.
Many of the terms in this glossary have evolved over time. For example, given the changing demographic trends in the United States, the
word "minority" no longer accurately reflects the four-primary racial/ethnic groups. The terms "emerging majority" and "people of color"
have become popular substitutes. Also, the terms used to refer to members of each community of color have changed over time. Whether
to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander
or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and,
sometimes, political orientation.
Source: Project Change's"The Power of Words" Originally produced for Project Change Lessons Learned 11, also included in A Community Builder's
Toolkit—both produced by Project Change and The Center for Assessment and Policy Development with some modification Racial Equity Tools.org.
MP Associates, Center for Assessment and Policy Development and World Trust Educational Services, 2019. 1
www.Racia I Eg u itvTools.g
TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
ACCOUNTABILITY In the context of racial equity work, accountability refers to the ways in which Accountability and White Anti-
individuals and communities hold themselves to their goals and actions and Racist Organizing:Stories from
acknowledge the values and groups to which they are responsible. Our Work, Bonnie Berman
Cushing with Lila Cabbil,
To be accountable, one must be visible, with a transparent agenda and process. Margery Freeman,Jeff Hitchcock
Invisibility defies examination; it is, in fact, employed in order to avoid detection and Kimberly Richards
and examination. Accountability demands commitment. It might be defined as
"what kicks in when convenience runs out." Accountability requires some sense of
urgency and becoming a true stakeholder in the outcome. Accountability can be
externally imposed (legal or organizational requirements), or internally applied
(moral, relational, faith-based, or recognized as some combination of the two) on
a continuum from the institutional and organizational level to the individual level.
From a relational point of view, accountability is not always doing it right.
Sometimes it's really about what happens after it's done wrong.
ALLY 1) Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege 1) "The Dynamic System of
(based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and work in solidarity with Power, Privilege and
oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their Oppressions,_OpenSource
own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may Leadership Strategies."
benefit in concrete ways. 2) Center for Assessment and
2) Allies commit to reducing their own complicity or collusion in oppression of Policy Development.
those groups and invest in strengthening their own knowledge and awareness
of oppression.
ANTI-BLACK The Council for Democratizing Education defines anti-Blackness as being a two- The Movement for Black Lives
part formation that both voids Blackness of value, while systematically https://Policy.m4bl.org/glossary
marginalizing Black people and their issues. The first form of anti-Blackness is
overt racism. Beneath this anti-Black racism is the covert structural and systemic
racism which categorically predetermines the socioeconomic status of Blacks in
this country. The structure is held in place by anti-Black policies, institutions, and
ideologies.
MP Associates, Center for Assessment and Policy Development and World Trust Educational Services, 2019. 2
wwwRacialEguityTools.gn
TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
The second form of anti-Blackness is the unethical disregard for anti-Black
institutions and policies. This disregard is the product of class, race, and/or gender
privilege certain individuals experience due to anti-Black institutions and policies.
This form of anti-Blackness is protected by the first form of overt racism.
ANTI-RACISM Anti-Racism is defined as the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for Race Forward
changes in political, economic, and social life. Anti-racism tends to be an
individualized approach and set up in opposition to individual racist behaviors and
impacts.
ANTI-RACIST An anti-racist is someone who is supporting an antiracist policy through their Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
actions or expressing antiracist ideas. This includes the expression or ideas that Antiracist,
racial groups are equals and none needs developing, and is supporting policy that Random House, 2019
reduces racial inequity
ANTI-RACIST An antiracist idea is any idea that suggests the racial groups are equals in all of Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
IDEAS their apparent difference and that there is nothing wrong with any racial group. Antiracist, Random House, 2019
Antiracists argue that that racist policies are the cause of racial injustices.
ASSIMILATIONIST One who is expressing the racist idea that a racial group is culturally or Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
behaviorally inferior and is supporting cultural or behavioral enrichment programs Antiracist, Random House, 2019
to develop that racial group.
BIGOTRY Intolerant prejudice that glorifies one's own group and denigrates members of National Conference for
other groups. Community and Justice-St.
Louis Region. unpublished
handout used in the Dismantling
Racism Institute program.
MP Associates, Center for Assessment and Policy Development and World Trust Educational Services, 2019. 3
www.Racial E uityTools.gn
TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
BLACK LIVES A political movement to address systemic and state violence against African Black Lives Matter, "Herstory",
MATTER Americans. Per the Black Lives Matter organizers: "In 2013, three radical Black accessed 10/7/19
organizers—Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi—created a Black-
centered political will and movement building project called #BlackLivesMatter. It
was in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer, George
Zimmerman. The project is now a member-led global network of more than 40
chapters. [Black Lives Matter] members organize and build local power to
intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where
Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an
affirmation of Black folks' humanity, our contributions to this society, and our
resilience in the face of deadly oppression."
CAUCUS White people and people of color each have work to do separately and together. www.racialequitytools.org
(Affinity Groups) Caucuses provide spaces for people to work within their own racial/ethnic groups.
For white people, a caucus provides time and space to work explicitly and
intentionally on understanding white culture and white privilege, and to increase
one's critical analysis around these concepts. A white caucus also puts the onus on
white people to teach each other about these ideas, rather than relying on people
of color to teach them (as often occurs in integrated spaces). For people of color, a
caucus is a place to work with their peers on their experiences of internalized
racism, for healing and to work on liberation.
COLLUSION When people act to perpetuate oppression or prevent others from working to Teaching for Diversity and Social
eliminate oppression. Justice:ASourcebook.
Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne
Example: Able-bodied people who object to strategies for making buildings Bell, and Pat Griffin, editors.
accessible because of the expense. Routledge, 1997.
COLONIZATION Colonization can be defined as some form of invasion, dispossession and Colonization and Racism. Film
subjugation of a people. The invasion need not be military; it can begin—or Emma LaRocque, PhD
continue—as geographical intrusion in the form of agricultural, urban or industrial Aboriginal Perspective
encroachments. The result of such incursion is the dispossession of vast amounts
MP Associates, Center for Assessment and Policy Development and World Trust Educational Services, 2019. 4
wwwRacialEguityTools.gn
TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
of lands from the original inhabitants. This is often legalized after the fact. The
long-term result of such massive dispossession is institutionalized inequality. The
colonizer/colonized relationship is by nature an unequal one that benefits the
colonizer at the expense of the colonized.
Ongoing and legacy Colonialism impact power relations in most of the world See Race and Colonialism, ed.
Robert Ross
today. For example, white supremacy as a philosophy was developed largely to https:Hlink.springer.com/book/
justify European colonial exploitation of the Global South (including enslaving 10.1007/978-94-009-7544-6 and
African peoples, extracting resources from much of Asia and Latin America, and Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism,
enshrining cultural norms of whiteness as desirable both in colonizing and White Supremacy Andrea Smith
colonizer nations). See also: Decolonization.
CRITICAL RACE The Critical Race Theory movement considers many of the same issues that Critical Race Theory:An
THEORY conventional civil rights and ethnic studies take up but places them in a broader Introduction
perspective that includes economics, history, and even feelings and the By Richard Delgado,Jean
unconscious. Unlike traditional civil rights, which embraces incrementalism and Stefancic. NYU Press, 2001
step by step progress, critical race theory questions the very foundations of the
liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism
and principles of constitutional law.
CULTURAL Theft of cultural elements for one's own use, commodification, or profit — "Colors of Resistance Archive"
APPROPRIATION including symbols, art, language, customs, etc. — often without understanding, Accessed June 28 2013.
acknowledgement, or respect for its value in the original culture. Results from the
assumption of a dominant (i.e. white) culture's right to take other cultural
elements.
CULTURAL Cultural misappropriation distinguishes itself from the neutrality of cultural What'Cultural Appropriation'Is
MISAPPROPRIATI exchange, appreciation, and appropriation because of the instance of colonialism and Isn't, Devyn Springer,
ON and capitalism; cultural misappropriation occurs when a cultural fixture of a Medium.com. accessed 10/7/19
marginalized culture/community is copied, mimicked, or recreated by the
dominant culture against the will of the original community and, above all else,
commodified. One can understand the use of"misappropriation" as a
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TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
distinguishing tool because it assumes that there are 1) instances of neutral
appropriation, 2) the specifically referenced instance is non-neutral and
problematic, even if benevolent in intention, 3) some act of theft or dishonest
attribution has taken place, and 4) moral judgement of the act of appropriation is
subjective to the specific culture from which is being engaged.
CULTURAL Cultural racism refers to representations, messages and stories conveying the idea www.racialeguitytools.org
RACISM that behaviors and values associated with white people or"whiteness" are
automatically "better" or more "normal" than those associated with other racially
defined groups. Cultural racism shows up in advertising, movies, history books,
definitions of patriotism, and in policies and laws. Cultural racism is also a
powerful force in maintaining systems of internalized supremacy and internalized
racism. It does that by influencing collective beliefs about what constitutes
appropriate behavior, what is seen as beautiful, and the value placed on various
forms of expression. All of these cultural norms and values in the U.S. have
explicitly or implicitly racialized ideals and assumptions (for example, what "nude"
means as a color, which facial features and body types are considered beautiful,
which child-rearing practices are considered appropriate.)
CULTURE A social system of meaning and custom that is developed by a group of people to A Community Builder's Tool Kit.
assure its adaptation and survival. These groups are distinguished by a set of Institute for Democratic Renewal
unspoken rules that shape values, beliefs, habits, patterns of thinking, behaviors and Project Change Anti-Racism
and styles of communication. Initiative.
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DECOLONIZATION Decolonization may be defined as the active resistance against colonial powers, The Movement for Black Lives,
and a shifting of power towards political, economic, educational, cultural, psychic ttps:Hpolicy.m4bl.org/glossary/
independence and power that originate from a colonized nations' own indigenous
culture. This process occurs politically and also applies to personal and societal
psychic, cultural, political, agricultural, and educational deconstruction of colonial
oppression.
What Is Decolonization and Why
Does It Matter? Eric Ritskes
Per Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang: "Decolonization doesn't have a synonym"; it is https:Hintercontinentalcry.org/
not a substitute for 'human rights' or 'social justice', though undoubtedly, they are what-is-decolonization-and-why-
connected in various ways. Decolonization demands an Indigenous framework and does-it-matter/
a centering of Indigenous land, Indigenous sovereignty, and Indigenous ways of
thinking.
DIASPORA Diaspora is "the voluntary or forcible movement of peoples from their homelands "The Culture of Diasporas in the
into new regions...a common element in all forms of diaspora; these are people Postcolonial Web"
who live outside their natal (or imagined natal) territories and recognize that Leong Yew
their traditional homelands are reflected deeply in the languages they speak,
religions they adopt, and the cultures they produce.
DISCRIMINATION 1) The unequal treatment of members of various groups based on race, gender, 1) A Community Builder's Tool
social class, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion and other categories. Kit. Institute for Democratic
Renewal and Project Change
2) [In the United States] the law makes it illegal to discriminate against Anti-Racism Initiative.
someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The
law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person 2) "Laws Enforced by EEOC"
U.S. Equal Employment
complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or Opportunity Commission
participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The Accessed June 28 2013
law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and
employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose
an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.
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DIVERSITY 1. Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, and it encompasses all 1. Glossary of Terms
the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from UC Berkeley Center for
another. It is all-inclusive and recognizes everyone and every group as part of Equity, Inclusion and
the diversity that should be valued. A broad definition includes not only race, Diversity
ethnicity, and gender — the groups that most often come to mind when the
term "diversity" is used — but also age, national origin, religion, disability,
sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language,
and physical appearance. It also involves different ideas, perspectives, and
values.
2. It is important to note that many activists and thinkers critique diversity alone 2. Baltimore Racial Justice
as a strategy. For instance, Baltimore Racial Justice Action states: "Diversity is Action
silent on the subject of equity. In an anti-oppression context, therefore, the
issue is not diversity, but rather equity. Often when people talk about
diversity, they are thinking only of the "non-dominant" groups."
ETHNICITY A social construct that divides people into smaller social groups based on Teaching for Diversity and Social
characteristics such as shared sense of group membership, values, behavioral Justice:A Sourcebook.
patterns, language, political and economic interests, history and ancestral Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne
geographical base. Bell, and Pat Griffin, editors.
Routledge, 1997.
Examples of different ethnic groups are: Cape Verdean, Haitian, African American
(Black); Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese (Asian); Cherokee, Mohawk, Navaho (Native
American); Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican (Latino); Polish, Irish, and Swedish
(White).
IMPLICIT BIAS Also known as unconscious or hidden bias, implicit biases are negative State of the Science Implicit Bias
associations that people unknowingly hold. They are expressed automatically, Review 2013, Cheryl Staats,
without conscious awareness. Many studies have indicated that implicit biases Kirwan Institute,The Ohio State
affect individuals' attitudes and actions, thus creating real-world implications, University.
even though individuals may not even be aware that those biases exist within
themselves. Notably, implicit biases have been shown to trump individuals' stated
commitments to equality and fairness, thereby producing behavior that diverges
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from the explicit attitudes that many people profess. The Implicit Association Test
(IAT) is often used to measure implicit biases with regard to race, gender, sexual
orientation, age, religion, and other topics.
INCLUSION Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into Some Working Definitions,
processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power. OpenSource Leadership
Strategies
INDIGENEITY Indigenous populations are composed of the existing descendants of the peoples United Nations Working Group
who inhabited the present territory of a country wholly or partially at the time for Indigenous Peoples
when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived there from other
parts of the world, overcame them, by conquest, settlement or other means and
reduced them to a non-dominant or colonial condition; who today live more in
conformity with their particular social, economic and cultural customs and
traditions than with the institutions of the country of which they now form part,
under a state structure which incorporates mainly national, social and cultural
characteristics of other segments of the population which are predominant.
(Example: Maori in territory now defined as New Zealand; Mexicans in territory
now defined as Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and parts
of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma; Native American tribes in territory
now defined as the United States).
INDIVIDUAL Individual racism refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that Flipping the Script: White
RACISM support or perpetuate racism. Individual racism can be deliberate, or the Privilege and Community
individual may act to perpetuate or support racism without knowing that is what Building. Maggie Potapchuk,
he or she is doing. Sally Leiderman, Donna Bivens
and Barbara Major. 2005.
Examples:
• Telling a racist joke, using a racial epithet, or believing in the inherent
superiority of whites over other groups;
• Avoiding people of color whom you do not know personally, but not whites
whom you do not know personally (e.g., white people crossing the street to
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avoid a group of Latino/a young people; locking their doors when they see
African American families sitting on their doorsteps in a city neighborhood; or
not hiring a person of color because "something doesn't feel right");
• Accepting things as they are (a form of collusion).
INSTITUTIONAL Institutional racism refers specifically to the ways in which institutional policies Flipping the Script: White
RACISM and practices create different outcomes for different racial groups. The Privilege and Community
institutional policies may never mention any racial group, but their effect is to Building. Maggie Potapchuk,
create advantages for whites and oppression and disadvantage for people from Sally Leiderman, Donna Bivens
groups classified as people of color. and Barbara Major. 2005.
Examples:
• Government policies that explicitly restricted the ability of people to get loans
to buy or improve their homes in neighborhoods with high concentrations of
African Americans (also known as "red-lining").
• City sanitation department policies that concentrate trash transfer stations
and other environmental hazards disproportionately in communities of color.
INTERNALIZED Internalized racism is the situation that occurs in a racist system when a racial Internalized Racism:A Definition,
RACISM group oppressed by racism supports the supremacy and dominance of the Donna Bivens, Women's
dominating group by maintaining or participating in the set of attitudes, Theological Center. 1995
behaviors, social structures and ideologies that undergird the dominating group's
power. It involves four essential and interconnected elements:
Decision-making - Due to racism, people of color do not have the ultimate
decision-making power over the decisions that control our lives and resources. As
a result, on a personal level, we may think white people know more about what
needs to be done for us than we do. On an interpersonal level, we may not
support each other's authority and power- especially if it is in opposition to the
dominating racial group. Structurally, there is a system in place that rewards
people of color who support white supremacy and power and coerces or punishes
those who do not.
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Resources- Resources, broadly defined (e.g. money, time, etc.), are unequally in
the hands and under the control of white people. Internalized racism is the system
in place that makes it difficult for people of color to get access to resources for our
own communities and to control the resources of our community. We learn to
believe that serving and using resources for ourselves and our particular
community is not serving "everybody."
Standards-With internalized racism, the standards for what is appropriate or
"normal" that people of color accept are white people's or Eurocentric standards.
We have difficulty naming, communicating and living up to our deepest standards
and values, and holding ourselves and each other accountable to them.
Naming the problem -There is a system in place that misnames the problem of
racism as a problem of or caused by people of color and blames the disease -
emotional, economic, political, etc. -on people of color. With internalized racism,
people of color might, for example, believe we are more violent than white people
and not consider state-sanctioned political violence or the hidden or privatized
violence of white people and the systems they put in place and support.
INTERPERSONAL Interpersonal racism occurs between individuals. Once we bring our private beliefs Tools and Concepts for
RACISM into our interaction with others, racism is now in the interpersonal realm. Strengthening Racial Equity,
Presentation to School District U-
Examples: public expressions of racial prejudice, hate, bias and bigotry between 46,Terry Keleher,Applied
individuals Research Center, 2011.
INTERSECTIONALITY 1. Exposing [one's] multiple identities can help clarify they ways in which a 1. Intergroup Resources, 2012
person can simultaneously experience privilege and oppression. For example,
a Black woman in America does not experience gender inequalities in exactly
the same way as a white woman, nor racial oppression identical to that
experienced by a Black man. Each race and gender intersection produce a
2. Kimberle Williams Crenshaw
qualitatively distinct life.
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2. Intersectionality is simply a prism to see the interactive effects of various https://www.them.us/story/kim
forms of discrimination and disempowerment. It looks at the way that racism, berle-crenshaw-lady-phyll-
many times, interacts with patriarchy, heterosexism, classism, xenophobia — intersectionalily
seeing that the overlapping vulnerabilities created by these systems actually
create specific kinds of challenges. "Intersectionality 102," then, is to say that
these distinct problems create challenges for movements that are only
organized around these problems as separate and individual. So when racial
justice doesn't have a critique of patriarchy and homophobia, the particular
way that racism is experienced and exacerbated by heterosexism, classism
etc., falls outside of our political organizing. It means that significant numbers
of people in our communities aren't being served by social justice frames
because they don't address the particular ways that they're experiencing
discrimination.
MICROAGGRESSION The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, "Microaggressions: More than
whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or Just Race," Derald Wing Sue,
negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group Psychology Today, November 17,
membership. 2010.
MODEL MINORITY A term created by sociologist William Peterson to describe the Japanese Asian American Activism:The
community, whom he saw as being able to overcome oppression because of their Continuing Struggle
cultural values.
While individuals employing the Model Minority trope may think they are being
complimentary, in fact the term is related to colorism and its root, anti-Blackness.
The model minority myth creates an understanding of ethnic groups, including
Asian Americans, as a monolith, or as a mass whose parts cannot be distinguished
from each other. The model minority myth can be understood as a tool that white
supremacy uses to pit people of color against each other in order to protect its
status.
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MOVEMENT Movement building is the effort of social change agents to engage power holders Roots:Building the Power of
BUILDING and the broader society in addressing a systemic problem or injustice while Communities of Color to
promoting an alternative vision or solution. Movement building requires a range Challenge Structural Racism.
of intersecting approaches through a set of distinct stages over a long-term Akonadi Foundation, 2010.
period of time. Through movement building, organizers can (Definition from the Movement
• Propose solutions to the root causes of social problems; Strategy Center.)
• Enable people to exercise their collective power;
Humanize groups that have been denied basic human rights and improve
conditions for the groups affected;
• Create structural change by building something larger than a particular
organization or campaign; and
Promote visions and values for society based on fairness,justice and
democracy
MULTICULTURAL A process of learning about and becoming allies with people from other cultures, Multicultural Competence, Paul
COMPETENCY thereby broadening our own understanding and ability to participate in a Kivel, 2007.
multicultural process. The key element to becoming more culturally competent is
respect for the ways that others live in and organize the world and an openness to
learn from them.
OPPRESSION The systematic subjugation of one social group by a more powerful social group Dismantling Racism Wor
for the social, economic, and political benefit of the more powerful social ks web workbook
group. Rita Hardiman and Bailey Jackson state that oppression exists when the
following 4 conditions are found:
• the oppressor group has the power to define reality for themselves and
others,
• the target groups take in and internalize the negative messages about
them and end up cooperating with the oppressors (thinking and acting like
them),
• genocide, harassment, and discrimination are systematic and
institutionalized, so that individuals are not necessary to keep it going, and,
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• members of both the oppressor and target groups are socialized to play
their roles as normal and correct.
Oppression = Power+ Prejudice
PEOPLE OF COLOR Often the preferred collective term for referring to non-White racial groups. Racial Race Forward, "Race
justice advocates have been using the term "people of color" (not to be confused Reporting Guide"
with the pejorative "colored people") since the late 1970s as an inclusive and
unifying frame across different racial groups that are not White, to address racial
inequities. While "people of color' can be a politically useful term, and describes
people with their own attributes (as opposed to what they are not, e.g., "non-
White"), it is also important whenever possible to identify people through their
own racial/ethnic group, as each has its own distinct experience and meaning and
may be more appropriate.
POWER Power is unequally distributed globally and in U.S. society; some individuals or Intergroup Resources, 2012
groups wield greater power than others, thereby allowing them greater access
and control over resources. Wealth, whiteness, citizenship, patriarchy,
heterosexism, and education are a few key social mechanisms through which
power operates. Although power is often conceptualized as power over other
individuals or groups, other variations are power with (used in the context of
building collective strength) and power within (which references an individual's
internal strength). Learning to "see" and understand relations of power is vital to
organizing for progressive social change.
Alberta Civil Liberties Research
Power may also be understood as the ability to influence others and impose one's Center
beliefs. All power is relational, and the different relationships either reinforce or http://www.aclrc.com/racism-
disrupt one another. The importance of the concept of power to anti-racism is and-power
clear: racism cannot be understood without understanding that power is not only
an individual relationship but a cultural one, and that power relationships are
shifting constantly. Power can be used malignantly and intentionally, but need not
be, and individuals within a culture may benefit from power of which they are
unaware.
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PREJUDICE A pre-judgment or unjustifiable, and usually negative, attitude of one type of A Community Builder's Tool Kit.
individual or groups toward another group and its members. Such negative Institute for Democratic Renewal
attitudes are typically based on unsupported generalizations (or stereotypes) that and Project Change Anti-Racism
deny the right of individual members of certain groups to be recognized and Initiative.
treated as individuals with individual characteristics.
PRIVILEGE Unearned social power accorded by the formal and informal institutions of society Colors of Resistance Archive
to ALL members of a dominant group (e.g. white privilege, male privilege, etc.). Accessed June 28, 2013.
Privilege is usually invisible to those who have it because we're taught not to see
it, but nevertheless it puts them at an advantage over those who do not have it.
RACE • For many people, it comes as a surprise that racial categorization schemes PBS, Race: Power of an
were invented by scientists to support worldviews that viewed some Illusion
groups of people as superior and some as inferior. There are three
important concepts linked to this fact:
• Race is a made-up social construct, and not an actual biological fact Paul Kivel, Uprooting Racism:
• Race designations have changed over time. Some groups that are How White People Can Work
considered "white" in the United States today were considered "non- for Racial Justice (Gabriola
white" in previous eras, in U.S. Census data and in mass media and popular Island, British Columbia: New
culture (for example, Irish, Italian and Jewish people). Society Publishers, 2002),
• The way in which racial categorizations are enforced (the shape of racism) p.141.
has also changed over time. For example, the racial designation of Asian
American and Pacific Islander changed four times in the 19th century. That
is, they were defined at times as white and at other times as not white.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as designated groups, have been
used by whites at different times in history to compete with African
American labor.
RACIAL AND An individual's awareness and experience of being a member of a racial and ethnic Teaching for Diversity and Social
ETHNIC IDENTITY group; the racial and ethnic categories that an individual chooses to describe him Justice:ASourcebook.
or herself based on such factors as biological heritage, physical appearance, Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne
cultural affiliation, early socialization, and personal experience. Bell, and Pat Griffin, editors.
Routledge, 1997.
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RACIAL EQUITY Racial equity is the condition that would be achieved if one's racial identity no Center for Assessment and
longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how one fares. When we use the term, we Policy Development
are thinking about racial equity as one part of racial justice, and thus we also
include work to address root causes of inequities not just their manifestation. This
includes elimination of policies, practices, attitudes and cultural messages that
reinforce differential outcomes by race or fail to eliminate them.
RACIAL HEALING To restore to health or soundness; to repair or set right; to restore to spiritual Racial Equity Resource Guide, W.
wholeness K. Kellogg Foundation, Michael
R. Wenger, 2012
RACIAL IDENTITY Racial Identity Development Theory discusses how people in various racial groups New Perspective on Racial
DEVELOPMENT and with multiracial identities form their particular self-concept. It also describes Identity Development:
THEORY some typical phases in remaking that identity based on learning and awareness of Integrating Emerging
systems of privilege and structural racism, cultural and historical meanings Frameworks, Charmaine L.
attached to racial categories, and factors operating in the larger socio-historical Wijeyesinghe and Bailey W.
level (e.g. globalization, technology, immigration, and increasing multiracial Jackson, editors. NYU Press,
population). 2012.
RACIAL INEQUITY Racial inequity is wen two or more racial groups are not standing on Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
approximately equal footing, such as percentages of each ethnic group in terms of Antiracist,
dropout rates, single family home ownership, access to healthcare, etc. Random House, 2019
RACIALIZATION Racialization is the very complex and contradictory process through which groups Calgary Anti-Racism Resources
come to be designated as being of a particular "race" and on that basis subjected http://www.aclrc.com/racializati
to differential and/or unequal treatment. Put simply, "racialization [is] the process on
of manufacturing and utilizing the notion of race in any capacity" (Dalai, 2002, p.
27). While white people are also racialized, this process is often rendered invisible
or normative to those designated as white. As a result, white people may not see
themselves as part of a race but still maintain the authority to name and racialize
"others."
RACIAL JUSTICE 1. The systematic fair treatment of people of all races, resulting in equitable 1. Race Forward
opportunities and outcomes for all. Racial justice—or racial equity—goes
beyond "anti-racism." It is not just the absence of discrimination and
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TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
inequities, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to 2. Catalytic Change: Lessons
achieve and sustain racial equity through proactive and preventative Learned from the Racial
measures. Justice Grantmaking
Assessment Report,
2. Racial Justice [is defined] as the proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, Philanthropic Initiative for
attitudes and actions that produce equitable power, access, opportunities, Racial Equity and Applied
treatment, impacts and outcomes for all. Research Center, 2009.
RACIAL Reconciliation involves three ideas. First, it recognizes that racism in America is Position Statement on
RECONCILIATION both systemic and institutionalized, with far—reaching effects on both political Reconciliation,The William
engagement and economic opportunities for minorities. Second, reconciliation is Winters Institute for Racial
engendered by empowering local communities through relationship- building and Reconciliation, 2007.
truth—telling. Lastly,justice is the essential component of the conciliatory
process—justice that is best termed as restorative rather than retributive, while
still maintaining its vital punitive character.
RACISM 0 Racism = race prejudice + social and institutional power Dismantling Racism Works Web
• Racism = a system of advantage based on race Workbook
• Racism = a system of oppression based on race
• Racism = a white supremacy system
Racism is different from racial prejudice, hatred, or discrimination. Racism
involves one group having the power to carry out systematic discrimination
through the institutional policies and practices of the society and by
shaping the cultural beliefs and values that support those racist policies
and practices.
RACIST One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or interaction or Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
expressing a racist idea. Antiracist, Random House, 2019
RACIST IDEAS A racist idea is any idea that suggests one racial group is inferior or superior to Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
another racial group in any way. Antiracist, Random House, 2019
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RACIST POLICIES A racist policy is any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between or Ibram X Kendi, How to be an
among racial groups. Policies are written and unwritten laws, rules, procedures, Antiracist, Random House, 2019
processes, regulations and guidelines that govern people. There is no such thing as
a nonracist or race-neutral policy. Every policy in every institution in every
community in every nation is producing or sustaining either racial inequity or
equity between racial groups. Racist policies are also express through other terms
such as "structural racism" or "systemic racism". Racism itself is institutional,
structural, and systemic
REPARATIONS States have a legal duty to acknowledge and address widespread or systematic International Center for
human rights violations, in cases where the state caused the violations or did not Transitional Justice
seriously try to prevent them. Reparations initiatives seek to address the harms
caused by these violations. They can take the form of compensating for the losses
suffered, which helps overcome some of the consequences of abuse. They can
also be future oriented—providing rehabilitation and a better life to victims—and
help to change the underlying causes of abuse. Reparations publicly affirm that
victims are rights-holders entitled to redress.
RESTORATIVE Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm The Movement for Black Lives
JUSTICE caused by crime and conflict. It places decisions in the hands of those who have https:Hpolicy.m4bl.org/glossary
been most affected by a wrongdoing, and gives equal concern to the victim, the /
offender, and the surrounding community. Restorative responses are meant to
repair harm, heal broken relationships, and address the underlying reasons for the
offense. Restorative Justice emphasizes individual and collective accountability.
Crime and conflict generate opportunities to build community and increase
grassroots power when restorative practices are employed.
SETTLER Settler colonialism refers to colonization in which colonizing powers create Settler Fragility: Why Settler
COLONIALISM permanent or long-term settlement on land owned and/or occupied by other Privilege Is So Hard to Talk
peoples, often by force. This contrasts with colonialism where colonizer's focus About, Dina Gilio-Whitaker
only on extracting resources back to their countries of origin, for example. Settler https://www.beaconbroadside.c
Colonialism typically includes oppressive governance, dismantling of indigenous om/broadside/2018/11/settler-
cultural forms, and enforcement of codes of superiority (such as white fragility-why-settler-privilege-is-
supremacy). Examples include white European occupations of land in what is now so-ha rd-to-ta I k-about.htm I
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the United States, Spain's settlements throughout Latin America, and the
Apartheid government established by White Europeans in South Africa.
Per Dino Gillio-Whitaker, "Settler Colonialism may be said to be a structure, not an
historic event, whose endgame is always the elimination of the Natives in order to
acquire their land, which it does in countless seen and unseen ways. These
techniques are woven throughout the US's national discourse at all levels of
society. Manifest Destiny—that is, the US's divinely sanctioned inevitability—is
like a computer program always operating unnoticeably in the background. In this
program, genocide and land dispossession are continually both justified and
denied."
STRUCTURAL Structural racialization connotes the dynamic process that creates cumulative and Systems Thinking and Race
RACIALIZATION durable inequalities based on race. Interactions between individuals are shaped Workshop Summary.john a.
by and reflect underlying and often hidden structures that shape biases and create Powell, Connie Cagampang
disparate outcomes even in the absence of racist actors or racist intentions. The Heller, and Fayza Bundalli.The
presence of structural racialization is evidenced by consistent differences in California
outcomes in education attainment, family wealth and even life span. Endowment, 2011.
STRUCTURAL 1) The normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics — historical, 1) Racial Justice Action
RACISM cultural, institutional and interpersonal —that routinely advantage Whites Education Manual.Applied
while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. Research Center, 2003.
Structural racism encompasses the entire system of White domination,
diffused and infused in all aspects of society including its history, culture, 2) Flipping the Script: White
politics, economics and entire social fabric. Structural racism is more difficult Privilege and Community
Building. Maggie Potapchuk,
to locate in a particular institution because it involves the reinforcing effects of Sally Leiderman, Donna
multiple institutions and cultural norms, past and present, continually Bivens and Barbara
reproducing old and producing new forms of racism. Structural racism is the Major. 2005.
most profound and pervasive form of racism —all other forms of racism
emerge from structural racism.
2) For example, we can see structural racism in the many institutional, cultural
and structural factors that contribute to lower life expectancy for African
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American and Native American men, compared to white men. These include
higher exposure to environmental toxins, dangerous jobs and unhealthy
housing stock, higher exposure to and more lethal consequences for reacting
to violence, stress and racism, lower rates of health care coverage, access and
quality of care and systematic refusal by the nation to fix these things.
TARGETED Targeted universalism means setting universal goals pursued by targeted Targeted Universalism: Policy&
UNIVERSALISM processes to achieve those goals. Within a targeted universalism framework, Practice A Primer,john a.
universal goals are established for all groups concerned. The strategies developed Powell, Stephen Menendian,
to achieve those goals are targeted, based upon how different groups are situated Wendy Ake
within structures, culture, and across geographies to obtain the universal goal.
Targeted universalism is goal oriented, and the processes are directed in service of
the explicit, universal goal.
WHITE FRAGILITY "A state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
[for white people], triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include
the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such
as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These
behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium" 30 31
WHITE PRIVILEGE 1) Refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, 1. White Privilege and Male
benefits and choices bestowed on people solely because they are white. Privilege:A Personal Account
Generally white people who experience such privilege do so without being of Coming to See
conscious of it. Correspondences Through
Work in Women Studies.
2) Structural White Privilege:A system of white domination that creates and Peggy McIntosh. 1988.
maintains belief systems that make current racial advantages and
disadvantages seem normal. The system includes powerful incentives for 2. Transforming White
maintaining white privilege and its consequences, and powerful negative Privilege:A 21st Century
consequences for trying to interrupt white privilege or reduce its Leadership Capacity, CAPD,
consequences in meaningful ways. The system includes internal and external MP Associates, World Trust
manifestations at the individual, interpersonal, cultural and institutional levels. Educational Services, 2012.
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TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
The accumulated and interrelated advantages and disadvantages of white
privilege that are reflected in racial/ethnic inequities in life-expectancy and
other health outcomes, income and wealth and other outcomes, in part
through different access to opportunities and resources. These differences are
maintained in part by denying that these advantages and disadvantages exist
at the structural, institutional, cultural, interpersonal and individual levels and
by refusing to redress them or eliminate the systems, policies, practices,
cultural norms and other behaviors and assumptions that maintain them.
Interpersonal White Privilege: Behavior between people that consciously or
unconsciously reflects white superiority or entitlement.
Cultural White Privilege:A set of dominant cultural assumptions about what is
good, normal or appropriate that reflects Western European white world
views and dismisses or demonizes other world views.
Institutional White Privilege: Policies, practices and behaviors of institutions --
such as schools, banks, non-profits or the Supreme Court --that have the
effect of maintaining or increasing accumulated advantages for those groups
currently defined as white, and maintaining or increasing disadvantages for
those racial or ethnic groups not defined as white. The ability of institutions to
survive and thrive even when their policies, practices and behaviors maintain,
expand or fail to redress accumulated disadvantages and/or inequitable
outcomes for people of color.
WHITE White supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of Challenging White Supremacy
SUPREMACY exploitation and oppression of continents, nations and peoples of color by white Workshop, Sharon Martinas
peoples and nations of the European continent; for the purpose of maintaining Fourth Revision. 1995.
and defending a system of wealth, power and privilege.
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TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
WHITE 1. White Supremacy Culture refers to the dominant, unquestioned standards of 1. Paying Attention to White
SUPREMACY behavior and ways of functioning embodied by the vast majority of institutions Culture and Privilege:A
CULTURE in the United States. These standards may be seen as mainstream, dominant Missing Link to Advancing
cultural practices; they have evolved from the United States' history of white Racial Eguity, by Gita Gulati-
supremacy. Because it is so normalized it can be hard to see, which only adds Partee and Maggie
to its powerful hold. In many ways, it is indistinguishable from what we might Potapchuk, The Foundation
call U.S. culture or norms—a focus on individuals over groups, for example, or Review, Vol. 6: Issue 1
an emphasis on the written word as a form of professional communication. 2. (2014).ChallenWhite
But it operates in even more subtle ways, by actually defining what "normal" is Supremacy Workshop,
—and likewise, what "professional," "effective," or even "good" is. In turn,
p g Sharon Martinas
white culture also defines what is not good, "at risk," or "unsustainable." Fourth Revision. 1995.
White culture values some ways—ways that are more familiar and come more
naturally to those from a white, western tradition —of thinking, behaving,
deciding, and knowing, while devaluing or rendering invisible other ways. And
it does this without ever having to explicitly say so...
2. White supremacy culture is an artificial, historically constructed culture which
expresses,justifies and binds together the United States white supremacy
system. It is the glue that binds together white-controlled institutions into
systems and white-controlled systems into the global white supremacy
system.
WHITENESS 1. The term white, referring to people, was created by Virginia slave owners 1. Race:The Power of an
and colonial rules in the 171h century. It replaced terms like Christian and Illusion, PBS
Englishman to distinguish European colonists from Africans and indigenous
peoples. European colonial powers established whiteness as a legal 2. White Fragility, Robin
concept after Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, during which indentured servants DiAngelo
of European and African descent had united against the colonial elite. The
legal distinction of white separated the servant class on the basis of skin
color and continental origin. The creation of'whiteness' meant giving
privileges to some, while denying them to others with the justification of
biological and social inferiority.
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TERM DEFINITION SOURCE
2. Whiteness itself refers to the specific dimensions of racism that serve to
elevate white people over people of color. This definition counters the
dominant representation of racism in mainstream education as isolated in
discrete behaviors that some individuals may or may not demonstrate, and
goes beyond naming specific privileges (McIntosh, 1988). Whites are
theorized as actively shaped, affected, defined, and elevated through their
racialization and the individual and collective consciousness' formed with it
(Whiteness is thus conceptualized as a constellation of processes and
practices rather than as a discrete entity (i.e. skin color alone). Whiteness
is dynamic, relational, and operating at all times and my myriad levels.
These processes and practices include basic rights, values, beliefs,
perspectives and experiences purported to be commonly shared by all, but
which are actually only consistently afforded to white people.
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