Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions



"We did not land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us"



Discrimination is a hellhound that gnaws at Negroes in every waking moment of their lives to remind them that the lie of their inferiority is accepted as truth in the society dominating them.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

     I was in my office rearranging health records when a European American man walked in and asked for an employment application.  This gentleman was applying for a maintenance position, and he was standing near my desk waiting for me to address him. 

     A European American salesman enters the office, scans the room and immediately looks at the applicant and said “I would like to speak to you” the applicant said “why do you want to speak to me” the salesman said “aren’t you the director”?  The applicant pointed to me and said “she’s the director”. The salesman looked sheepish as his face turned red “oh, oh yes how are you”  before he could finish I said “I am very busy at this time, leave your card and I will contact you when and if I find the time".

     I am African American woman in a room with a European American man, I must be a secretary or clerk and he must be in charge in his mind’s eye.  I felt disrespected and invalidated for a moment.  I have lived as an African American in these United States for sixty years, and not too many things surprise me about being black in America.

The racial microaggression; he was verbally and physically unintentionally communicating were insulting messages that reflected his view of superiority.   

    

     The observation this week opened a door to a new understanding of the effects of; discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people’s prejudgements.  I think before I speak to those of other cultures. This week’s observation has given me sensitivity to the desensitized attitude that this dominant culture has shared with me, and I allowed myself to believe that my remarks and subtleties were alright.   I have prided myself on being open minded and fair, until this week.  I have a lot to think about.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

 

Person one:

The definition of culture is:  “the family, home, my religion, my particular cultural nationality, the norms and values of my particular culture”.

Diversity:  Different types of culture, different nationalities, with different races,

Person two

The definition of culture is: what you get from your immediate family, what you see, what you hear, pictures in your home, all become apart of your culture

The definition of diversity is:   differences, diversity is going to be there no matter where you are or what culture you are involved in.  How you deal with it, is how your family presents diversity to you.

Person three

The definition of culture: Your heritage, religion, nationality, family background

The definition of diversity:  economic diversity the poor verses the wealthy, the old verses the young

Person Four: 

Culture:  trait particular people, traditions, particular ceremony

Diversity differences between people and their: culture, religion, belief, style, 

Fifth Person

Culture is:  a way of life including spirituality, mode of dress, foods, and the way a family interacts.

Diversity is:  the many differences among people.

 The people that I interviewed spoke about the culture of family, race, tradition including ceremonies.  The diversity they spoke of was differences between people; their culture, and religion.  Knowing cultural ceremonies will give you an understanding of why East Indian bride wear red dresses because white is a burial color for their culture.

Some of the aspects that have been omitted are; community connection, recreation, historic events, gender roles, housing arrangements, extended family relationships, intergenerational relationships, ideas about education, health care, showing emotions, and migration. The people that I interviewed gave surface culture, and what I learned in this course is that deep culture exposes ad explores more of who the person is.  A persons who practices a certain faith i.e. Orthodox   Judaism; men wear large black hats and curled side burns, and the women do not show their hair instead they wear wigs.  In this sect of Jews, they place the men in the front and the women in the rear.  Understanding this culture will allow you to get along with other cultures better.

As I listened to these four people speak about their understanding of culture and diversity I realized how shallow my understanding was prior to this course.  There is so much to learn about a person’s culture and how to respect the cultural diversity in our world. 

My Family Culture

 My Family Culture

The first item would be a small black cast iron frying pan.  The first time I left home after marriage, I took my grandmother’s cast iron frying pan.  That pan was in her kitchen for as long as I can remember, and every time I use this pan I think of those wonderful days of my youth and grandma.

The second item I would take would be my book of worship. I would want to be reminded of God’s Mercy, and how those before me were brought through their struggles.

The third item would be a picture of my family to bring additional comfort, and invoke the better times.

If I could only keep one item I would keep my book of worship.  This contains what I need to survive the storms of life.

The insight that I gathered about myself is that I do not have a lot of posessions that I hold dear.  I have faith and I hold on to that.  My family culture presented faith to me as a child, and I continue to hold on to it.