I practice racial justice & inclusive leadership by understanding them as both goals & on-going processes that are rooted in continual learning & authentic relationships.
A name tag - simple enough, right? This name tag is a bit difference from normal name tags one sees. Normally a name tag would say "Hi! My name is: Jen" or merely just "Jen". This name tag has my pronouns. The concept seems pretty simple enough, right? My name is Jen, which is short for Jennifer, which is a girl's name, so of course I would go by the pronouns "she/her/hers". This isn't the case for everyone, however.
You learn the most when you mess up, right? I kept referring to a friend by feminine pronouns, when the right pronouns were gender neutral like "they, them, theirs". My face grew red as it was about the third time that I had called they by the wrong pronoun. I felt awful for sounding inconsiderate. They told me that its something new. I am thankful for having such an understanding friend help me understand the difference in pronouns. You should ask a new friend that you make, "what pronoun do you like to be called?" in order to avoid causing anyone insecurities. Not everyone is as understanding as my friend!
You learn the most when you mess up, right? I kept referring to a friend by feminine pronouns, when the right pronouns were gender neutral like "they, them, theirs". My face grew red as it was about the third time that I had called they by the wrong pronoun. I felt awful for sounding inconsiderate. They told me that its something new. I am thankful for having such an understanding friend help me understand the difference in pronouns. You should ask a new friend that you make, "what pronoun do you like to be called?" in order to avoid causing anyone insecurities. Not everyone is as understanding as my friend!
We were asked to write a sentence or two that identifies ourselves. I chose to write that "I am a product of 2 people who put their race aside for love. I am an individual." I believe that I am who I am because I have parents of two different cultures and backgrounds. I sometimes see myself as not being able to fit in because of this. I find it hard to identify with one culture or one certain identity. I find myself being a mixture of two lives coming together.
Others identified with being from another country. Some identified as being a minority. I see myself as being more than a minority, but a major minority. I sometimes don't even fit in a minority group alone!
We were asked to find our own identities in order to help discover the identities of others. In order to better understand others, I needed to understand myself. Because my life is changing so fast, I will need to constantly re-evaluate my own identity in order to understand those around me.
Others identified with being from another country. Some identified as being a minority. I see myself as being more than a minority, but a major minority. I sometimes don't even fit in a minority group alone!
We were asked to find our own identities in order to help discover the identities of others. In order to better understand others, I needed to understand myself. Because my life is changing so fast, I will need to constantly re-evaluate my own identity in order to understand those around me.
This is such a beautiful statement. We each had a quote on our name tags. Our facilitators said that somehow, the quote that a participant needed ended up finding them. This quote found me. I always thought that if someone did not love another, then they hated them. This is wrong. There is something much greater than hate, which is indifference. Indifference is a tempting path for many to take, because it does not take passion like hatred. Instead, one merely looks away at a situation to be indifferent.
This can be applied to how I felt before ARJ about how there is racism between Blacks and Whites. I did not think that my small self could really change the racism between the two cultures, so I would chose to not make a stance. Instead, I should use my stance of not really identifying with either side to help think up unbiased solutions to today's problems.
This can be applied to how I felt before ARJ about how there is racism between Blacks and Whites. I did not think that my small self could really change the racism between the two cultures, so I would chose to not make a stance. Instead, I should use my stance of not really identifying with either side to help think up unbiased solutions to today's problems.
Before ARJ
Define Racial Justice & Inclusive Leadership Racial Justice is a transformation of practices, attitudes, and actions to have equal power, opportunities, and treatment of people. An inclusive leader sees the value that lies in a group of people; different thoughts, views, and goals. An inclusive leader understands the uniqueness and talents that all people bring to the table. |
After ARJ
Define Racial Justice & Inclusive Leadership Racial Justice is the on-going process of choosing love over indifference, and equity over equality. An inclusive leader sees the differences that a group possesses, and instead of using it to hinder the group, uses it to make the group one that is filled with cohesive, authentic, productive work. |
"Pat on the Back"
It was hard to say good-bye to this group. After spending a whole week of tears, happiness, and revelations, I did not want to leave the group and go back into the world. With their help and encouragement, I will be able to practice inclusive leadership and continual learning on social justice!