Anti-Racism Global Majority Orientation

Anti-Racism Self-Paced Orientation and Onboarding

Dear Anti-racist,

This site is designed to be an orientation and onboarding to key topics around the subject of Anti-racism.

Michael Bobbitt

Institutional racism is a 400 year old system and structure and impossible to fully comprehend with just the hours of material provided. Thusly, this resource is to help you gain a general understanding of the principles of Anti-racism. This is NOT a comprehensive learning, only a sampling. It is also important to note that much of this learning is centered on Anti-blackness. The history of racism in this country (which affects all racially oppressed and targeted groups) stems from this country’s history of Anti-blackness. To start to understand how to become Anti-racist, one must have an understanding of anti-blackness, as much of the system of racism is built on anti-blackness ideology.

We hope this site will inspire you to dive deeper into unpacking and relearning, so that you can support the organization in its endeavor to become more and more Anti-racist.

Learning starts where knowledge ends.

We hope this information will lead you to Anti-racist ideas and action.

The journey of this work for this organization will only move as fast the slowest absorber of this information moves. We hope that your learning will move at a pace that supports this organization and the people it desires to include.

Anti-racism is an ACT OF LOVE. We are showing love to people who have never been loved by this country.

We welcome you to do the work and be a part of the Anti-racist community and initiatives.

Michael J. Bobbitt

Please remember to certify your completion of this orientation, once you are finished, at the bottom of the page.

Unit One: Introduction to Anti-Racism

(1:50 minutes)

Engage

- Watch How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (1:50 min)

Reflect

- What does it mean to be an anti-racist? How is this different from being “not racist?”
- Is it possible to be anti-racist in one moment and racist in the next? Explain the importance of recognizing this concept.
- How would you respond to someone who says that it’s “not your place” to educate other people on issues of race and racism?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Watch 5 Tips for Being an Ally by Franchesca Ramsey (3:44 min)
- Watch What’s Wrong With Saying All Lives Matter? (2:40 min)
  - *Content Warning: This video contains brief yet graphic footage of the murder of George Floyd

Unit Two: Whiteness

(7:16 minutes)

Engage

- Watch Why Does Privilege Make People So Angry? by Franchesca Ramsey (4:51min)
- Watch Ending White Supremacy Requires White People to Realize Black Liberation Isn’t a ‘Zero Sum Game’ by “The Root” (3:12 min)

Reflect

- What privileges do you benefit from? Why is it so important to acknowledge these privileges?
- What is white fragility? How does this mentality protect the racial hierarchy in America?
- What is white supremacy? What are some of the ways we experience white supremacy in our everyday lives?
- What are microaggressions? How are they a form of racism? What effect do microaggressions have on BIPOC as they navigate their everyday lives?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Read Examples of Verbal and NonVerbal Microaggressions from the City of Cambridge (Chart, ~4 min)
- Watch the video “Starbucks and Racial Bias” (8 min)

Unit Three: Understanding Racial Trauma

(8:00 minutes)

Engage

- Read This Is What Racial Trauma Does To The Body And Brain by Jillian Wilson (5 Min.)
- Read Coping with racial trauma: How people of color can heal from racism by Brit Moorer (3 min.)

Reflect

- What is Racial Trauma?
- How has it shown up in your life? Physically? Mentally? Spiritually?
- How can you mitigate the trauma?
- What are some things you can do to heal from the trauma?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Read How to Recognize and Cope with Racial Trauma by Krystal Kavita Jagoo, MSW, RSW (5 min.)
- Listen to: Episode 202: Racial Trauma with Thema Bryant-Davis (36 min.)
- Watch Understanding Racial Trauma Understanding Racial Trauma (4:24 min.)

Unit Four: Self Care for BIPOCs

(10:41 minutes)

Engage

- Watch Emotionally Restorative Self Care: People of Color – Black People – African Americans by Brandi Jackson Wellness (9:50 min.)
- Watch/Read 7 self-care tips for BIPOC employees (:51 min.)

Reflect

- How has your self-care changed over time?
- How do you feel when you take care of yourself?
- What have you learned about yourself from your self-care journey so far?
- Is there anything that your self-care practice has helped you overcome?
- What does it look like—and how does it feel—when you feel cared for by yourself or your community?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Read How You Can Honor the Radical History of Self-Care by Martha Tesema (4 min.)
- Read Self-Care for BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color & Tips for Allies by Natalie Rice-Thorp, Ph.D. (3 min.)

Unit Five: Unpacking Internalized Racism

(19:57 minutes)

Engage

- Read The Battle to be Me: How Internalized Racism Impacts People of Color in America (8 min.)
- Watch Being Smart Does Not Mean Acting White (Cultural Background) (1:13 min.)
- Watch The Cost of Code Switching | Chandra Arthur | TEDxOrlando (10:44 min.)

Reflect

- How do you relate to these notions of internalized racial inferiority and superiority? Is either one familiar to you? If so, how do they show up in your life?
- How do they show up in your workplace, school, place of worship, or community?
- How do they interact with feelings associated with other aspects of your identity like gender, age, ethnicity, class status, etc.? Explore your answer by drawing, singing, or dancing your reactions.

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Watch People of Color discuss the impact of Colorism by Good Morning America (6:38 min.)
- Watch Tyra Banks-Asian Eyelid Surgery (8:27 min.)
- Watch Black Self / White World — lessons on internalized racism by Jabari Lyles (9:12 min.)

Unit Six: Intersectionality

(4:54 minutes)

Engage

- Watch Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality? (1:54 min.)
- Read The Indispensable Work of Understanding Intersectionality by Anna Rascouët-Paz (3 min.)

Reflect

- How do you identify? Racially? Gender? Sexuality? Other?
- In what ways might your identities intersect?
- What moments in your life when experiencing discrimination did intersectionality come into play?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Watch What is Intersectionality and Why is it Important? by ADP (3:52 min.)
- Watch The urgency of intersectionality Kimberlé Crenshaw (18:49 min.)

Unit Seven: Racial Joy and Pride

(28:04 minutes)

Note: Some sections that don’t pertain to your culture can be skipped.

Engage

- Watch What is ‘black joy’ and why do we need it in our lives? (4:27 min.)
- Read What is Asian Pride? (And What Does It Mean For You?) by Will (10 min.)
- Read 14 Reasons To Be Proud To Be Latino By Tanisha Love Ramirez (4 min.)
- Watch 5 Girls on Why They’re Proud to Be Native American by Teen Vogue (1:37 min.)
- Read 10 Ways to Show Your Native Pride by Indian Country Today (4 min.)
- Read Attributes of Our Arab Culture, Making Us Proud By Shayma Amour (4 min.)

Reflect

- Describe 10 things about your culture that brings you joy.
- Name three things you can do this week to celebrate your joy.
- What new thing can you try from your culture that you haven’t ever tried?
- How can you celebrate other cultures?
- Name 5 things you admire about other cultures.

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Read Stay Proud: Being Asian American Is a Good Thing by Alicia del Prado Ph.D. (4 min.)
- Read and watch Being Asian American During This Time Has Been A Blessing In Disguise by Justin Chan (8 min.)
- Read Celebrating Black Joy as an Alternative Form of Resistance and Reclaiming of Humanity by Kim Pham (4 min.)
- Read What Black Joy Means – And Why It’s More Important Than Ever by Chante Joseph (4 min.)
- Watch Unpacking Black Joy From The Revolutionary to the Ordinary (9:22 min.)

Unit Eight: Tools for Conflict De-Escalation

(6:30 minutes)

Engage

- Read CPI’s Top 10 De-Escalation Tips by Emily Eilers (Article, 6:30 min)

Reflect

- What are some common signs of conflict escalation/agitation in an individual?
- Why is your voice such an important tool for conflict de-escalation? Give specific examples.
- What is the role of active listening in the conflict de-escalation process?
- What are some things that you should NOT do when interacting with someone in crisis?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Read The Art of De-escalation and Conflict Resolution by Jeremy Romo (5 min)
- Read Conflict De-Escalation Techniques by Vivid Learning Systems (Article, 4 min)

Unit Nine: Being an Anti-Racist Active Bystander

(4:34 minutes)

Engage

- Watch Don’t be a Bystander: 6 Tips for Responding to Racist Attacks by by Lewis Wallace and Hope Dector, Narrated by Aaryn Lang (3:52 min)
- Watch How to intervene if someone is being harassed by American Friends Service Committee (0:42 min)

Reflect

- What can you do to create a safe space for someone experiencing racist harassment?
- How can you avoid further agitating an aggressor?
- What does it mean to take cues from an individual being harassed? Give specific examples.
- Why is it extremely important to avoid calling the police in situations involving BIPOC?

Additional Learning (Optional)

- Read What To Do If You Witness a Bias Attack by Nicole Levy (6 min)
- Read the comic, What to do if you are witnessing Islamophobic Harassment by Maeril (Comic, 1 min)

Unit Ten: Jews of Color

(14:35 minutes)

Engage

- Read Jews of Color and the Policing of White Space by Rebecca Peirce (7:45 min.)
- Read What Not to Say to Jews of Color — and What to Say Instead by Allison Barnes (6:50 min)

Reflect

- Describe any deep relationships you have with Jews of Color. If you do not have any, why?
- When you meet a Jew of Color, what are your assumptions about them and their proximity to Judaism? Interracial marriage? Conversion?
- Do you hold multiple identities? How has holding multiple identities affected you?

Additional Reading (Optional)

- Read I’m a Jew of color. I won’t be quiet about anti-Semitism. By Soraya Nadia Mcdonald (10:30 min.)
- Read Be’Chol Lashon page Counting Jews (4 min.)
- Read Racism in the Jewish Community by Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Donna Cephas (4 min.)

Once you have viewed or read all the above, please be sure to complete the form at the link here (via Google Forms) to certify your completion of the orientation.

Please do not forget this step, or we will not have a record of your participation and you may be required to complete this orientation again.

As Theater J implements this orientation, your feedback would be a valuable addition to our process. To provide your feedback, please contact Managing Director David Lloyd Olson at david@theaterj.org.