Ignoring issues won’t make them go away and silence sends the message that you are in agreement with such attitudes and behaviors. Make it clear that you will not tolerate racist, ethnic, religious or cultural jokes or slurs, or any actions that demean any person or group.
2. Expect tension and conflict and learn to manage it.
Understand the sensitive and deep-rooted issues are unlikely to change without some struggle and in some situations, conflict is unavoidable. Tension and conflict, if harnessed correctly, can be positive forces that foster growth.
3. Be aware of your own attitudes, stereotypes and expectations.
Be open to the limitations your own attitudes and expectations can place on your perspective. Be honest about your own prejudices and biases. It is important not to get defensive when discriminatory attitudes or behaviors are brought to your attention.
4. Actively listen to and learn from others’ experiences.
Don’t minimize, trivialize or deny other people’s concerns and feelings.
5.Use language and behavior that is non-biased and inclusive.
Modeling an inclusive way of being is important when educating young people, and the words we choose to use, even in a light-hearted manner, give loud messages to what we feel is acceptable or otherwise.
6. Provide accurate information to challenge stereotypes and biases.
Take responsibility for educating yourself about your own and other people’s cultures. Don’t expect people from different backgrounds to always educate you about their culture or history, or to explain racism to you. You will then be able to confront prejudice with more confidence and with the view to re-educating others
7. Acknowledge diversity and avoid stereotypical thinking.
Don’t ignore or pretend not to see our rich differences. Acknowledging obvious differences is not the problem, but placing negative value judgments on those differences is! Stereotypes about those differences are hurtful because they generalize, limit and deny people’s full potential.
8. Be aware of your own hesitancies.
Acknowledge that it is not always easy to intervene, but if you can confront your own fears it will become easier.
9. Project a feeling of understanding, respect and support.
When confronting individuals, firmly address the behavior or attitude while supporting the dignity of the person.
10. Establish standards of responsibility and behavior working collectively with others.
Hold yourself and others accountable. Demonstrate your personal and organizational commitment in practice, both formally and informally. Maintain high expectations of all people and be a role model.
Show Racism the Red Card. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://www.srtrc.org.