Ask yourself three tough questions.
1. How do I behave and act around students of color?
2. How do students of color perceive my behaviors and actions toward them?
3. Do I commit racial microaggressions toward students of color?
Consider the possibility that you may commit racial microaggressions. Stop and think about how those comments or actions may cause real distress and harm to them.
Four strategies that may reduce racial microaggressions
1. Acknowledge – Acknowledge you may unconsciously commit racial microaggressions. Only then can then change your subconscious attitudes and ultimately your behavior towards students of color. We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.
2. Counter – Counter your hidden bias with positive images of people of color. Distribute stories and pictures that portray stereotype-busting images – posters, newsletters, annual reports, speaker series, and podcasts throughout your classroom.
3. Engage - Engage with students of color by focusing on your similarities, yet appreciating your differences. You can achieve this by engaging with students of color in situations that involve meaningful activity.
4. Accept – Accept their racial reality by looking at situations or experiences from their vantage. Do not minimize their racial identity, or avoid the discomfort of discussing racial issues with them.
All of these strategies require work and I encourage you to keep doing them. As long as racial microaggressions remain hidden, invisible, unspoken and excused as innocent slights with minimal harm, individuals will continue to insult, demean, alienate, and oppress marginalized groups. It is incumbent upon educators to make every effort to recognize and address racial microaggressions in our schools.
Written by Gwendolyn Miller, M.S.Ed
Gwendolyn R.Y. Miller Diversity Consultant
Addressing Microaggressions in Our Schools
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