Month 6

Levels of Racism

Month 6 Challenge

As our fifth month comes to an end, we hope you have taken the opportunity to look inside yourself and expand your mind through the different challenges offered. As we move into month six, prepare to shift your focus from the personal reflection that we have been exploring to a broader view of racial equity and social justice.

Are you seeing and addressing how racism operates at different levels? Dr. Camara Jones, Senior Fellow at the Morehouse School of Medicine, says that in order to address racism effectively, we have to understand how it operates at multiple levels. Often what people think of first and foremost is interpersonal racism. Only seeing this level means that we fail to see the full picture that keeps the system of racism in place. The graphic below illustrates all the domains in which racism operates.

Please choose two or more of the below activities to complete:

ACTIVITY 1

Watch Dr. Jones’ TED talk on the “Allegories on Race and Racism” where she shares four short stories to help us understand privilege and racism.

Select

ACTIVITY 2

Read a blog post by Cynthia Silva Parker, which gives an overview of four levels of racism and the need for a systemic approach to seeing and addressing oppression.

Select

ACTIVITY 3

Check out this short video from Race Forward about the levels and the importance of looking at systemic, not simply individual, racism.

Select

ACTIVITY 4

Review the Talking About Race Toolkit from the Center for Social Inclusion because how we talk about race matters and impacts our ability to work against systemic inequities.

Select

ACTIVITY 5

Have questions about the content you are engaging with during the Challenge? Want to connect with others and reflect on our shared experiences? Encourage your local community organizations to lead the conversation.