Hedreich Nichols

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Let it Hurt

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Small Bites Friday Five 5-28-21 

Watch on YouTube or listen on Anchor, or wherever podcasts are heard.

20-30m – Review the #SmallBites episode 33 blog Words Get in The Way. Pay special attention to the linked PBS eugenics article and the healthcare in the Black community article. Healthcare is one other system that shows evidence of discrimination and systemic inequities.

15-20m – Read this 2020 Investopedia article from Jean Folger to understand the systems that prevent homeownership and wealth building in minority communities. (Hint: These are not the historical practices of a bygone era.) Be sure to scroll down to the related terms at the bottom and if you have more time, also research the articles and links in the Indian Fair Housing section. The poverty statistics are shocking.

10-15m – Read this Forbes ‘discriminatory real estate practices 101’ article from Real Estate reporter Dima Williams (@DimaVitanova) that gives context to racial disparity in home ownership.

5-10m – Read this Harvard Business Review article about the ways that AI discriminates across gender and color lines. Thanks @brittanypresten @jakesilberg and @McKinsey_MGI. Civics teachers will find an excellent ProPublica article linked there on justice system AI bias and they have included learning resources for anyone who’d like to learn more.

0-5m – https://youtu.be/6T__NKPCkJw the look #talkaboutbias P&G campaign. Finally, the strongest systemic inequities come when we get together in our groups and other people. At the core of every system is one person willing to say it’s ok or willing to topple the top down structures.

I just spent the day with my son. It was a good day. we laughed, had lunch, coffee, fresh from the oven cookies. All that while celebrating him passing his drivers test, moving (finally, thank COVID) from learners to provisional and getting that picture taken at the DPS. It was exciting, I am proud.

As the day nears its end, I am also praying and swallowing down fear. I sent him, on the rite of passage maiden voyage, to get milk. He’s driven over 100 hours while waiting on the DPS appointment. And I sent him, a Black man, in a car alone. Google it. Driving while Black. There are too many tales.

I put his paper provisional license in the glove but wanted to leave it on the seat so his hands would never have to be out of sight if he gets pulled over.

He drives a very unflashy car.

He’s a very safe driver who has had a lot of parctice.

He’s going to be less than 10 minutes from home.

We have had “the talk”. He’s polite and well mannered. He’s about a 36 regular, so not too big or too tall. He is not wearing a hoodie or even dark colors. (For the record, none of these things should matter.)

Yes, all of these things cross my mind because the systems in this country so often disadvantage those who look like my son. How do we dismantle those systems so that moms like me can breathe easier when their kids go for milk? I’ll tell you. Change the one part of the system you can change: yourself.

Your bias and the way you accept or reject the biased attitudes of others around you who teach, storekeep, educate, police, practice medicine, pastor and provide service in every sector in every building in this country will take down systems put in place long ago. Those systems still hold hostage the wealth and well-being of communities throughout our land.

I understand that it is hard to feel like the accused, that never feels good. But can it feel good to NOT be accused while standing within earshot of even the possibility of inequitable treatment of others in our communities? Imagine acting as though you believe there is deep seated racial bias in our country, even if you don’t. Where’s the harm? Will you hurt others? Or might you find yourself lending a hand, an ear, your heart to those who see life from another perspective?

One thing is true, if you have not walked a mile in the shoes of others, you cannot know whether racial inequities exist or not, and all the resources in the world will probably not change your mind. But…if you know you can make someone’s life easier by acknowledging their journey and experience, that makes you a better person, not a worse one. And if you find some truth in the experience of others, that too is a good thing that brings us one step closer to one indivisible nation.

My ask this week, as I sit and wait for my son to get home safely, is for you to be that better person.

Let it Hurt Read More »

Words Get in the Way

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Watch on YouTube or listen on Anchor, or wherever podcasts are heard.

Small Bites Friday Five 1-29-21

20-30m – Go to Project Implicit and pick a test or two. Use the insights to guide you in mitigating behaviors grounded in bias.

15-20m – Explore this PBS site on American Eugenics. The ‘biological improvement of the German people’ was not as rare as we would like to think.

10-15m – Continue exploring the hyperlinks from the above site.  

5-10m – Read this American Bar Association article on bias in healthcare in the Black community. This is a good example of how systems are often biased (‘systemic racism’; ‘systemic inequity’).

0-5m – Just sit. The late poet laureate Maya Angelou advocated for a national day to just be. You might not be able to take the day but surely you can give yourself just 5 minutes to do absolutely nothing

Sometimes, we get so caught up in labels that we fail to tackle the actual issues. Words like White fragility or White supremacy are inflammatory and maybe even hurtful. I can understand that. Feeling accused never feels good, and it takes a big person to to take critique and look inward to see if there is some validity, and even more, some opportunity for growth.

If we can, let’s remove, for a moment, the tendency to bristle at words and phrases like racist, institutionalized racism, collusion, microaggression, white privilege, multiperspectivity or other terms that seek to address the deep and abiding problems in our country. What if we, instead, consider that institutions in America are designed to favor Whites.

There is compelling evidence that this is truth. The fact that only White males could vote for hundreds of years after our inception is one fact that supports the assertion that the country was not designed with equity for all in mind. Slavery and Jim Crow laws additionally point to the fact that only certain populations were included in the “all men are created equal” phrase. There is also the Manifest Destiny, the widely held cultural belief from the mid 1800s that White settlers were destined by God to take over all of North America. Never mind that there were many nations already inhabiting the land.

Colonization was big then, not only in America. But was it right? Was it just for the humans it has adversely impacted? Anti-racist “buzzwords” like those mentioned above can be painful to hear. But is that pain greater than the pain of those disenfranchised for centuries by the systems our country is built on?

Consider this: The US GDP is 21.43 trillion dollars, almost 10 trillion more than China, the country coming in second. How did we get to be that rich? Was it because we took land from others? Was it because Americans enslaved and trafficked humans to build wealth? In order to cause that kind of trauma to other humans, did we convince ourselves that they were less human than us, less capable of feeling pain? Less intelligent? Could it be possible, in the same way that we esteem our families over others, that we have allowed that devaluation of people who are not in ‘our group’ to continue?

I don’t have any answers. But I am asking you to stop and consider whether or not any of the above assertions might be grounded in truth. And if they are, how might that affect your classroom, campus or community?

Words Get in the Way Read More »

Different

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Diversity is NOT Equity. Watch Episodes 1-8 at Youtube/Hedreich

Small Bites Friday Five 08-7-20:

20-30m – Watch the rest of Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise on PBS.

15-20m – Check out Burbank High School’s curated Justice in June resources.

10-15m –Reflect on Kellie Bahri’s ITEA (Inquiry-Truth-Empathy-Action) learning framework and article.

5-10m – Watch Kenyona “Sunny” Matthews talk about how she hates diversity. Funny and poignant.

0-5m – Pick a Small Bites episode or blog you missed and catch up.

While talking to Chuck Poole on a recent episode of his Teacher Summit live series, we started talking about the HUGE difference between two words that are often used interchangeably, ‘diversity’ and ‘equity’.

When talking about education in the classroom or workplace, the Big Three, diversity, equity and inclusion or, ‘DEI’, are always a part of the conversation. So often do we use the three terms together, in fact, that they have come to mean the same thing in the hearts and minds of many.

Let’s be clear, those terms are not coequal. Diversity means we all have a seat at the table. But equity means that each person at the table is being served dinner. Further, the dinner meets the unique needs of each individual. Is it equitable to serve a Philly cheesesteak to someone who is gluten and lactose intolerant? Umm, no. Is it equitable to serve turkey and dressing to a vegan? Again, no. Well meaning offerings to diverse students without understanding and considering their unique needs will never lead to equity.

Some ways to better understand the needs of diverse students:

Until we start focusing on the needs of diverse students in all the ways they are diverse, we will be able to celebrate diversity but not reap the benefits of equity.

Small Bites Episode 10!

Next week, join me for a frank conversation on equity and social justice for the new school year. Bring your questions and I’ll see you on YouTube at 8PM Central–LIVE!

Different Read More »