Social Justice Resource Guide by Kaity Werner

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Social Justice Activities for Residence Hall Staffs

Kaity Werner Megan K. Fast CSP 6035 Fall 2012 Bowling Green State University

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3 Purpose & Background……………………………………………………………………………………………………4 Target Audience…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...4 How to Use this Guide Effectively………………………………………………………………………………………..5 Tips for Effective Facilitation……………………………………………………………………………………………..8 Terminology………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......10

Icebreakers……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………14 R-E-S-P-E-C-T…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..15 Sharing Stories: Names…………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 Social Membership Profile……………………………………………………………………………………………….17 Social Group Membership Profile………………………………………………………………………………………..18 Concentric Circles………………………………………………………………………………………………………..19 First Impressions………………………………………………………………………………………………………...20 Whom to Leave Behind………………………………………………………………………………………………….21

Reflection Prompts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………22 Circles of My Multicultural Self…………………………………………………………………………………………..23 Unpacking the Knapsack……………………………………………………………………………………….………..25 Cultural Identity Paper…………………………………………………………………………………………………...28 Social Identity Wheel…………………………………………………………………………………………………….29 Guided Reflection on Multiple Identities………………………………………………………………………………...32 Guided Reflection Shift into Parallel Identity Questions…………………………………………………………………33

Self-awareness & Team Building Activities………………………………………………………………………….35 Crossing the Line………………………………………………………………………………………………………...36 If You Really Knew Me………………………………………………………………………………………………….38 Boxed In…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………39 Coming Out Stars………………………………………………………………………………………………………..40 Intersections……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..43 Vari-Abilities…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….45

Assessment……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………49 Social Justice Education Individual Assessment………………………………………………………………………….50 Social Justice Education Institutional Assessment…………………………………………………………………...........51 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Competency Assessment……………………………………………………………….52

Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………………………………...........54 References & Resource Guide………………………………………………………………………………….…..........56

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Introduction to this Guide

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Purpose and Background The idea for this social justice resource guide was generated in response to an evident need the authors recognized within their internship environments to integrate multicultural theory and learning into practice. Megan Fast and Kaity Werner are second year graduate-level students in the College Student Personnel Master’s program at Bowling Green State University. As a part of their educational program, Megan and Kaity both have internships within the BGSU Office of Residence Life, where they serve as graduate hall directors for two residence halls on campus. While serving in a hall director capacity, the authors realized that the concepts of multiculturalism and social justice are not sufficiently highlighted when training the student staff members to become resident advisors within the halls. Concurrently, Megan and Kaity were enrolled in the Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs course, within which they were afforded the opportunity to design a comprehensive project to develop this resource guide. This resource guide was created with a few important purposes in mind. 

First, the authors wanted to utilize the creation of this guide as an educational opportunity to experience the process of developing and organizing resources in manner that can later be referenced during professional practice. The process utilized to create this guide proved to be highly educational because it challenged Megan and Kaity to integrate theory and course content with their professional competence and goals.

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Second, the authors envisioned the final product of this guide to be a solid framework of available resources that can be further enhanced by incorporating additional resources and activities throughout the span of their careers. Megan and Kaity often receive multiculturaland social justice-related tools and facilitation guides from colleagues and professional associations; however it is challenging to find a home for all of these resources. Such resources are often provided in a variety of formats, layouts, and media, which make it difficult to find the resources when one wants to reference them. Even if the resource is found, the content may be written in a confusing or inexplicit way. Therefore, by taking the initiative to create their own resource guide, Megan and Kaity were able to reformat and adapt existing resources and activities, as well as incorporate activities we helped develop and envision.

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Third, Megan and Kaity hoped that this guide would serve as a tool kit for other developing student affairs professionals working in Residence Life and related functional areas. The student affairs profession encourages collaboration and sharing of resources, ideas, and tools. As such, the authors envisioned that this guide could mutually benefit their work and the work of colleagues in the field. As part of their social justice mindset, Megan and Kaity hope other colleagues take an interest in developing the multicultural and social justice competence of the students with which they interact.

Target Audience As evidenced by the identified purposes of this guide, the intended audience can be examined from varying levels. On a personal level, this resource guide is intended for use by the authors and their professor as an academic assignment and toolkit for future reference. From a wider standpoint, this guide is also intended to benefit residence hall directors in general who want to incorporate multicultural and social justice training components into resident advisor training and activities. The title of this guide was specifically chosen to reflect this audience; the authors were inspired to create a guide that would address their own concerns regarding resident advisor training at their institution, as well as support similar needs that may exist on other campuses. Although primarily intended for professionals and colleagues in the residence life capacity, this guide may prove useful for student affairs professionals in general, particularly those who work with student groups and leaders on campus. For example, orientation assistants, fraternity and sorority participants, peer mentors,

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

and campus tour guides are specific groups of college students who should be encouraged by college personnel to develop multicultural competence and awareness. Since this resource guide is intended to be utilized by the authors and colleagues with similar experiences, the activities and resources selected were chosen with regard to some assumptions about the audience. The authors made the assumption that the audience of this guide would have at least a basic or intermediate understanding of multicultural competence and social justice, as well as an interest in addressing multicultural concerns and helping students develop multicultural competence. In their joint publication, American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and National Association for Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) indicated that practitioners should develop competency in an area called ‘equity, diversity, and inclusion’ (2010). Demonstrating proficiency within the ‘equity, diversity, and inclusion’ competency sets a clear expectation that student affairs practitioners should develop their personal competence relevant to social justice, diversity, and multicultural understanding and awareness. The activities included in this guide are reflective of the above assumptions. The authors intentionally selected activities that should be facilitated by an individual with at least a basic understanding of multicultural and social justice competence. Furthermore, as this guide is specifically tailored to activities with a social justice orientation, we assume facilitators utilizing this guide have an interest in increasing student awareness and understanding of social justice and multicultural issues.

How to Use this Guide Effectively This guide is comprehensive and includes several parts. To get the most out of the resources and activities

included in this guide, it is important to first understand the philosophy and framework used to organize the content. Then, it is further necessary to understand the organization of content within the guide. There were two guiding philosophies/frameworks that inspired the direction and organization of this resource guide. Firstly, this guide was developed with an understanding of the tripartite model of multicultural competence cited by Pope and Reynolds in their 2004 book. According to Pope, Reynolds, and Mueller (2004), researchers within the counseling field first delineated the competency areas necessary for effective multicultural counseling; these areas include multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Developing multicultural competence is a long-term process that requires development in all three areas. However, literature indicates that multicultural awareness and knowledge should be utilized to guide the multicultural skills and actions we take (Pope & Reynolds, 2004). This implicates that to a certain extent, one must develop skill in awareness and knowledge before taking action. Despite this understanding, the authors’ experiences demonstrate that many of the training models utilized by hall directors to increase the multicultural competence of resident advisors is focused specifically, and often solely, on the skills needed to perform in a multiculturally-competent way. We train students on effective confrontation of bias behavior, how to be inclusive when programming, and techniques for keeping neutral and leaving biases behind. However, we tend to forget that to ensure these skills are most developed, we should be taking time to first increase students’ multicultural awareness of their own beliefs, stereotypes, and assumptions, and to explore their own identities and how these identities impact their world-view. We should also engage students in experiential activities that allow them to generate knowledge of the experiences, lifestyles, and challenges that individuals of various identities may face, as well as important concepts such as privilege and oppression.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Therefore, the authors intentionally selected activities for this guide that would increase the multicultural awareness and knowledge of participants. Most activities included have a component of self-reflection and self-exploration, which fosters development of self-awareness. These activities also incorporate the sharing of experiences and reflections with the group at large or individual members of the group. We hope that through this sharing and reflection process, participants will create a web of shared, experienced knowledge they had not been privy to before. Second, this guide was developed based upon Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984), which is widelyaccepted and cited by literature in the fields of service learning, nursing, education, and many others. Kolb’s cycle illustrates that the process of reflection occurs in a cycle that exposes an individual to an experience and then utilizes methods of sharing, processing, generalizing, and applying to ensure one develops and learns from the experience. The following excerpt is taken directly from the Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (2005) website to outline Kolb’s cycle and the reflection process: Kolb illustrates the process of reflection in the Experiential Learning Cycle (Figure 1). The process begins with a defining and sharing of the “What?” of the student's experience and follows a continuous cycle towards “So What?” and “Now What?”. Answers to the what, so what and now what questions are tied together to form a comprehensive and integrated discovery and learning cycle for the student throughout the duration of a service-learning experience (Eyler, 1999).

Effective strategies for fostering reflection are based on four core elements of reflection known as “the four C's” (Eyler and Giles, 1999). These elements are described below: Continuous The reflective process is implemented and maintained continuously before, during and after the service-learning experience. Connected The service experience is directly linked, or connected, to the learning objectives of the course or activity and allows for “synthesizing action and thought.”

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Connected The service experience is directly linked, or connected, to the learning objectives of the course or activity and allows for “synthesizing action and thought.” Challenging Learners are challenged to move from surface learning to deeper, critical thinking through the use of thought provoking strategies by the instructor or community facilitator. Since learners may encounter uncomfortable feelings, it is important that the students feel they are in a safe and mutually respectful atmosphere where they can freely express their opinions, ideas and thoughts. Contextualized Reflection is contextualized when it “corresponds” to the course content, topics and experience in a meaningful way. (Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2005, para. 2-4) The reflection process is incorporated into every activity included in this guide. Specific reflection prompts and discussion questions are included as a framework for ensuring participants who complete the outlined activities gain multicultural awareness and knowledge through effective reflection. The content of this resource guide is divided into 6 main sections. An outline of these sections is as follows: Icebreakers: Low-risk activities that are done early on in a team’s development to help individuals gain awareness and understanding of the diversity within the group Reflection Prompts: Reflective exercises that can be done in an individual, small group, or whole group format to get participants to actively examine their identity, beliefs, and experiences on a deeper, challenging level Self-awareness & Team Building Activities: Team activities that have an individual component to allow for examination of one’s identities and assumption, but also have a group component to share insights and develop trust and rapport within the team Assessment: A few different assessment tools are provided to help readers examine their own multicultural competence and social justice competence levels, as well as that of the organization or group within which they work Recommendations: Suggestions, insights, and words of wisdom from the authors that depict the lessons learned from creating this guide References & Resource Guide: A compilation of literature and textbooks that the authors believe to be relevant and useful for developing multicultural and social justice competence, and that they suggest for further learning in this competency area

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Tips for Effective Facilitation Before delving into the specific activities within this manual, it is necessary to note that the activity descriptions are intended to be concise, simple, and understandable, but not inclusive of all steps necessary to ensure the activity is effectively facilitated. In general, there are several steps that can and should be utilized when conducting any of the provided activities to ensure the environment is safe and supportive of student needs and that the facilitation is done well. The following list includes the steps the authors recommend facilitators consider and implement prior to jumping into the activities within the guide. Set guidelines and ground rules for the team and participants to follow. It is a good idea to take a few moments to create a safe, inclusive, and mutually-understood environment to ensure individuals feel supported and safe to actively and openly participate. Some ground rules that may be beneficial are as follows: Respect and maintain privacy. Do not force individuals to share information they do not want to disclose, and keep what is shared confidential. Challenge by choice. Participants should be encouraged to be present and participate at their own comfort level. Push yourself outside your comfort zone. Most learning happens when we are a little bit uncomfortable, so challenge yourself to take risks. Listen respectfully, share air time, and be encouraging to others. Respect the beliefs, values, and experiences people share. Do not make judgments about others and be open to different perspectives. Assume that other participants have best intentions. Different individuals will bring different insights and levels of development to the activity; do not assume that if something stated offends you, that it was intended to be offensive. Instead, help that individual understand why the statement may be perceived as offensive. It is okay for all participants to be at different places with the content of the activity. If the activity elicits a strong or challenging response from you, reach out for support. Take necessary time to pre-plan the activity. Some of the activities in this guide may require some set-up or preparation in advance. Take time to prepare and set time limits for discussions and different parts of the activity to ensure the activity is completed and discussion time does not get sacrificed toward the end. Make sure you have full understanding of the activity. There is nothing worse than giving directions on an activity to a group and then realizing that there are lingering questions you cannot answer and were unprepared for. Take time to ensure you have complete understanding of the activity before implementing, and seek support from colleagues if you need clarity. Be flexible. Some of these activities are low-risk, and some are high-risk. Depending on the dynamic of the specific group, the activity may be received by participants very different than expected, and the discussion may elicit challenges and feelings you did not prepare for. Do not box yourself inâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;be willing to adjust the discussions or change direction mid-steam to best support the participants. Know the group you are working with. You must have knowledge of the comfort, trust, and interactions members of the group have with one another. You should also have an understanding of what exposure to multicultural and social justice reflection the group has had before. You should not be utilizing a high-risk activity with a group that is in a storming stage of group development or that that has no previous experience working together. Consider the learning outcomes you desire. Think about what outcomes you want to achieve as a Â

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

result of your training or program. Be sure to tailor the activities you utilize to help best meet those outcomes. You may add or change discussion questions or adjust the activity as you see fit. Consider assessment of learning outcomes. Assessment is very important for ensuring that the participants develop through the activity and are increasing their awareness and knowledge of multicultural and social justice concepts. You may complete assessment through a variety of tools. Some ideas for assessment are as follows: 1. The discussion questions can be utilized as a form of assessment. The discussion questions and reflection component of each activity can be asked in a way the responses shared would indicate whether or not the participants a desired degree of learning from the activity. 2. Pre and post assessment techniques can also be utilized. The facilitator can create an assessment tool that asks questions about the topic addressed or explored during the activity. The assessment can be given prior to and after completion of the activity. The facilitator can then review the pre- and post-activity responses and determine if participants gained insight, awareness, or knowledge as a result of the activity. Be willing to address conflict if it occurs. It is the facilitatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility to intervene and manage conflicts and disagreements that may arise during the activity. Be confident. As a facilitator you are asking participants to trust you and take risks to develop their competence. Exude confidence so that participants feel comfortable to put their trust in you and the activity and are willing to take risks and share openly. (Viklund, A., n.d.)

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Terminology Before delving into the activities and resources provided in this guide, it is necessary to develop a common understanding of the various terms we utilize within the activities. A common understanding and development of common definitions can ensure that we are increasing your multicultural awareness and knowledge and can prevent confusion when facilitating and exploring activities. As this is a social justice resource guide, we will start by defining the term social justice in detail, and then will provide an alphabetized list of additional terms. Please note that there are many widely-accepted and well-contemplated definitions for these terms within the field and existing literature; as such, many of these definitions will be adapted or fully taken from other sources. What is Social Justice? Of the various definitions of social justice available in literature, this is the definition that most resonated with the authors, and appears to be most demonstrative of our purposed with this guide and the activities within.

“We believe social justice is both a process and a goal. The goal of social justice is full and equal participation of all groups in society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. Social justice includes a vision of society in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure. We envision a society in which individuals are both self-determining (able to develop their full capacities) and interdependent (capable of interacting with others). Social justice involves social actors who have a sense of their own agency as well as a sense of social responsibility toward and with others, their society, and the broader world in which we live. These are conditions we wish not only for our own society but for also for every society but also for every society in our interdependent global community.

The process for attaining the goal of social justice, we believe, should also be democratic and participatory, inclusive and affirming of human agency and human capabilities for working collaboratively to create change…

…The goal of social justice education is to enable people to develop the critical analytical tools necessary to understand oppression and their socialization within oppressive systems, and to develop as sense of agency and capacity to interrupt and change oppressive patterns and behaviors in themselves and in the institutions and communities they are a part” (Bell, 2007, pp. 1-2).

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Additional Terminology Ally: A person of a dominant identity who actively supports people of the marginalized counterpart identity to eliminate marginalization. An ally is motivated by self-interest, a sense of moral obligation, or a commitment to foster social justice and does not patronize or assume to “help” people of a marginalized identity in paternalistic ways. A white ally may engage in anti-racism work both in collaboration with other white people and in coalition with people of color. A heterosexual ally may confront homophobia with other heterosexual people and in coalition with people who identify as homosexual or queer. Class: Relative social rank in terms of income, wealth, education, occupational status, and/or power. Dominant/Agent/Privileged Group Member: A member of an advantaged social group privileged by birth or acquisition, examples: Whites, men, owning class, upper middle class, heterosexuals, gentiles, Christians, nondisabled people. Ethnicity: A social construct that divides people into social groups based on characteristics such as shared sense of group membership, values, behavioral patterns, language, political and economic interests, history, and ancestral geographical location. Members of an ethnic group are often presumed to be culturally or biologically similar, although this is not in fact necessarily the case. Examples of ethnic groups identified in the U.S. are: Cape Verdean, Haitian, African American; Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese; Cherokee, Mohawk, Navajo; Jamaican, Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican; Polish, Trinidadian, Irish, and French. Gender: A social identity usually conflated with biological sex in a binary system that presumes one has either male and masculine characteristics and behavior, or female and feminine characteristics and behavior. In addition to being a major social status experienced by individuals, this is also “a social institution” that helps humans organize their lives. Internalized Racism: When people from targeted racial groups internalize racist beliefs about themselves or members of their racial group. Examples include using creams to lighten one’s skin, believing that white leaders are inherently more competent, asserting that people of color are not as intelligent as white people, believing that racial inequality is the result of people of color not raising themselves up “by their own bootstraps” (Jackson & Hardiman, 1997).

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Oppression: Conscious and unconscious attitudes and behaviors directed towards a subordinate group coupled with the power and privilege of the advantaged group and manifested at individual, cultural, and institutional levels. Prejudice: A prejudgment or preconceived opinion, feeling, or belief, usually negative, often based on stereotypes, that includes feelings such as dislike or contempt and is often enacted as discrimination or other negative behavior. OR: A set of negative personal beliefs about a social group that leads individuals to prejudge people from that group or the group in general, regardless of individual differences among members of that group.

Privilege: Unearned access to resources (social power) only readily available to some people as a result of their social group. Privileged Group Member: A member of an advantaged social group privileged by birth or acquisition, examples: Whites, men, owning class, upper middle class, heterosexuals, gentiles, Christians, non-disabled people. Race: A social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on characteristics such as physical appearance (particularly skin color), ancestral heritage, cultural affiliation or history, ethnic classification, and/ or the social, economic, and political needs of a society at a given period of time. Scientists agree that there is no biological or genetic basis for racial categories. Racism: A system of advantage based on race and supported by institutional structures, policies and practices that create and sustain advantages for the dominant white group while systematically subordinating members of targeted racial groups. This relative advantage for Whites and subordination for people of color is supported by the actions of individuals, cultural norms, and values, and the institutional structures and practices of society. Religious Oppression: refers to the systematic subordination of minority religions (in the United States) such as Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Native American spiritualties, and Sikhs, by the dominant Christian majority. This subordination is a product of the historical tradition of Christian hegemony and the unequal power relationships of minority religious groups with the Christian majority. In the United States, religious oppression is supported by the actions of individuals (religious prejudice), social institutions (religious discrimination), and cultural and societal norms and values associated with Christian hegemony. Through religious oppression, Christianity and its cultural manifestations function to marginalize, exclude, and deny the practices and institutions of religious minority groups the rights, privileges and access held out for all U.S. citizens.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Sex (Biological/Assigned): The physiological and anatomical characteristics of maleness and femaleness with which a person is born or that develop with physical maturity. These markers including internal and external reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones, and body shape. Infants are usually assigned to a sex category (usually male or female) at birth on the basis of such characteristics (primarily the appearance of the external genitals) (Bornstein, 1998). We therefore use assigned sex to refer to the sex designation that appears on birth certificates and other legal documents. Sexual Orientation: Determines the focus of our sexual/erotic drives, desires, and fantasies, and the inclination or capacity to develop intimate, emotional and sexual relationships with other people. Sexual orientation is usually quantified in terms of gender — both an individual’s own gender and the gender(s) of the people to whom that person is attracted and/or with whom they engage in intimate relationships and/or sexual behavior. Stereotype: An undifferentiated, simplistic attribution that involves a judgment of habits, traits, abilities, or expectations and is assigned as a characteristic to all members of a group regardless of individual variation and with no attention to the relation between the attributions and the social contexts in which they have arisen. Subordinate/Targeted group member: A member of a targeted group exploited by an advantaged group or groups, examples: people of color, women, poor, lower middle class, working class, lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, young people and elders. White Privilege: The concrete benefits of access to resources and social rewards and the power to shape the norms and values of society that Whites receive, tacitly or explicitly, by virtue of their position in a racist society. Examples include the luxury to be unaware of race, the ability to live and work among people of the same racial group as their own, the security of not being pulled over by the police for being a suspicious person, the expectation that they speak for themselves and not for their entire race, the ability to assume that a job hire or promotion will be attributed to their skills and background and not to affirmative action (Mclntosh, 1988).

Note: All terminology definitions are direct quotes from the following source: Adams, M. A., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (2007). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (2nd Ed.), NY: Routledge.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Ice Breakers The following activities are to be done earlier on in a teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship to break the ice and facilitate development of relationships. They are helpful in getting to know one another and understanding the diversity that is present within the group. Because these activities are intended to begin developing relationships amongst team members, these activities are relatively low-risk, yet allow for individuals to learn about the differences and unique identities represented on the team. Â

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find Out What it Means to Me (Gorski, 2012) Description: This activity touches many bases. First, it starts the crucial path toward building a community of respect. This is the first step in maintaining a constructive exchange regarding issues related to equity and social justice. At the most basic level, participants meet someone they did not know and exchange ideas with that person. Second, the community is built through an understanding of how the group perceives respect and how we negotiate its meaning. Third, the similarities and differences in participants' ideas about respect begin to show the first signs of similarities and differences within the group on a larger level, often in ways that reflect power and privilege. Suggested Time: 25-30 minutes Materials: None Directions: 

Ask everyone to find someone in the room who they do not know.

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Instruct them to introduce themselves to that person, and spend five to ten minutes talking about respect. 

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What does it mean for you to show respect, and what does it mean for you to be shown respect?

After the allotted time, ask the participants to return to their seats, and open the discussion. 

What ideas did people discuss?

Common responses include the "Golden Rule," looking somebody in the eyes, being honest, and appreciating somebody's ideas even when you do not agree with them. Each of these responses offers interesting points of reflection. They each are informed culturally and hegemonically. So once people have returned to the big group for processing the activity, be sure to inquire where people's notions of "respect" come from and who those notions serve and protect. 

Does everybody really want to be treated the way you want to be treated?

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Is it respectful in every culture to make eye contact with whomever is speaking?

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What if somebody's ideas are oppressive--should we still respect them?

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And to whose benefit?

It is important to mention that respect is a crucial ingredient in any discussion, but especially in a discussion of often-controversial issues such as racism, sexism, and economic injustice. The point is to learn from our differences--to understand each other's understanding. The point is not to agree. But the point, as well, is to reflect critically on our assumptions and socializations around the concept of respect.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Sharing Stories: Names (Gorski, 2012a) Description: This is designed for participants to get to know one another and learn about their family history. Suggested Time: 20 minutes + pre-time for essay Materials: Paper, writing utensil Preparing and Assigning: Ask participants to write short (one or two page) stories about their names. (You may have to assign this prior to the activity in which you want to use it.) Leave the assignment open to individual interpretation as much as possible, but if asked for more specific instructions, suggest some or all of the following possibilities for inclusion in their stories:    

Who gave you your name? Why? What is the ethnic origin of your name? What are your nicknames, if any? What do you prefer to be called?

Encourage students to be creative. In the past, some have written poetry, included humor, listed adjectives that described them, and so on. Also be sure to let them know that they will be sharing their stories with the rest of the class. Facilitator Notes: In order to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to share her or his story, break into diverse small groups of five or six if necessary. Give participants the option either to read their stories or to share their stories from memory. Ask for volunteers to share their stories. Points to remember: 1. Because some individuals will include very personal information in their stories, some may be hesitant to read them, even in the small groups. It is sometimes effective in such situations for facilitators to share their stories first. If you make yourself vulnerable, others will be more comfortable doing the same. 2. Be sure to allow time for everyone to share, whether reading their stories or sharing them from memory. When everyone has shared, ask participants how it felt to share their stories. Why is this activity important? What did you learn? Sample--My Personal Name Story: According to my mother, "Paul" means "small". When I say that to other folks, they tell me it doesn't mean "small," though no one seems to know what it means. My parents wanted to name me "Cameron." "Paul" goes back three or four generations, I'm not sure which. My father and his father and his father are all named "Paul." But my mother liked "Cameron," so "Cameron" it was. But then I was born...five weeks prematurely. I was a tiny baby. I was the itsy-bitsiest baby in the new baby room at the hospital. According to my mother, that was a sign. Remember, "Paul" means "small". So I am Paul Cameron Gorski. My father is Paul Peter Gorski. The exception, of course, is when someone calls my parents' home for one of us. At that point we become Big Paul and Little Paul, the father Paul and the son Paul, or the older one and the younger one (my Dad doesn't appreciate that one too much). Sometimes people call and I'm too exhausted to explain to them the whole idea that there are two Pauls living in one house, so I just pretend to be Paul Peter, and give my Dad the message later. He doesn't seem to mind that, especially when the caller is trying to sell us something. Still, I hope he doesn't do the same thing. Paul lends itself well to rhyming nicknames. Bill, a good friend of mine, calls me "Tall Paul". He does so sarcastically, usually after blocking one of my shots in a basketball game. I often have to remind him that the whole irony of that nickname is that, according to my mother, "Paul" means "small," which is very nearly the opposite of "tall." In high school, I was often called "Paul Mall" in reference to a brand of cigarettes, because, as they said, my ball handling skills were smokin'. And again, the irony is that generally the small players have better ball handling skills. The truth of the matter is that I really don't know whether or not "Paul" means "small". Perhaps it means "Jedi warrior" or "sunflower" or "career student". No matter. I've never looked it up, and never will. According to my Mom, "Paul" means "small." That sounds good to me.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Social Membership Profile (Barrera, 2010) Description: This activity gets students to examine the ways they identify socially and deepen their appreciation for the variety of perspectives each brings into the classroom. It has been adapted from Pat Griffin’s “Introductory Module for the Single-Issue Course” in Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (New York: Routledge, 1997: 69 – 72). Suggested Time: 25-30 minutes Materials: White board/poster paper, markers, paper, writing utensil Directions: In this exercise, spend 5 – 10 minutes listing different “memberships,” or social identities and categories, on the board. Sample memberships may include: 

Gender: Female, Male, Transgender

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Race: Black, White, Latino, Asian, Native American, Biracial

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Ethnicity: Mexican American, African American, English, Sioux

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Sexual Orientation: Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Heterosexual

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Religion: Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist

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Class: Working Class, Middle Class, Owning Class

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Age: Young Adults, Middle-Aged, Older Person

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Education Level: High School Education, Bachelors Degree, Graduate Degree

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Others:

Ask students to create their own identity profile by describing their membership in each category. Remind them that the lists above (both categories and examples) are not meant to be exhaustive; they can add any category or description they feel is important to them. In fact, you might pause to ask them for suggestions for further categories that have yet to be listed. Next, ask them to discuss their choices with one other student of their choosing. Each pair will have 10 minutes to share their writing and to reflect together on the following questions: 1. Which of your social group memberships were easiest to identify? 2. Which memberships were most difficult to identify? 3. What questions are raised for you in trying to reflect on your social group memberships? 4. How do your memberships influence the unique perspective you can bring to our class discussions? For the final 10 minutes of the activity, reassemble the group and ask volunteers to share their thoughts from the discussion questions.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Social Group Membership Profile (Barrera, 2010) Description: This activity challenges participants to think about how they identify and recognize which of those identities are considered dominant and which are subordinate and how salient those identities are to them. Suggested Time: 20-25 minutes Materials: writing utensil, handout (bottom half of this paper) Directions: Indicate your social membership for each identity category. Then mark an “X” either in the Dominant/Agent or Subordinate/Target column based on your “Identity.” For the purpose of this activity, “Dominate/Agent” refers to groups that have power and access, whereas “Subordinate/Target” refer to groups that do not have power or access. IDENTITIES

YOUR IDENTITY

DOMINANT/AGENT

SUBORDINATE/TARGET

Gender Ethnicity Sexual Orientation Age Class Religion Ableness; Disability Use of English Other Add the number of “X”s in each column: From the list above, write down the one identity that best fits each statement. 1. The identity that you think of the most often. 2. The identity that you think about least. 3. The identity that gives you the most privileges/benefits. 4. The identity that most hurts your options, access, and reward 5. The identity that you know least about BUT want to know more. 6. The identity that has the strongest effect on how you see yourself. 7. The identity that has the greatest effect, positively or negatively, on how others see you

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Concentric Circles Description: Students discuss their understanding of defections or thoughts on various social justice topics with a partner. Suggested Time: 10-15 minutes Materials: None Directions: Make two circles with an equal number of people in each so that one is surrounding the other. The people in the outwards circle should face inwards towards the people in the inwards circle, who should face back outwards. Students introduce themselves to each other. Then set a topic (like “equality” or “gender”) and give everyone a set amount of time to discuss that topic with the person they are facing in the other circle. Once the time is up, everyone in the inner circle moves one place to the right, and another discussion begins. Before the activity starts, make sure to specify that the inner circle will be doing the moving, so that people can choose which circle (once again, if any) accordingly.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

First Impressions (Casse, 1981) Description: Participants will discover that their first impressions of people are not always true. Suggested Time: 10–20 minutes, depending on discussion. Materials: Enough copies of “The Hermann Grid” for each participant. Directions: Pass out copies of “The Hermann Grid.” Ask participants to share their first impression of this image. Ask if they see gray dots in the white spaces. 

Are the gray dots really there?



This is an example of how we sometimes see things that do not exist. Sometimes this happens when we see people, too. Ask participants to think about the following questions:



Have you ever had a wrong first impression of someone who had a different background or came from another culture?



Has someone from a different background or another culture ever had the wrong first impression of you?



Ask participants to share and discuss their examples in the large group or in small groups.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Whom to Leave Behind (“Diversity Activities Resource Guide”, n.d.) Description: Participants work together and learn to listen to each other’s opinion and through this better understand their values and assumptions. Suggested Time: 10-15 minutes Materials: Printed list of passengers, writing utensil Facilitator Directions: Explain the following scenario: the twelve persons listed below have been selected as passengers on a space ship for a flight to another planet because tomorrow the planet Earth is doomed for destruction. Due to changes in space limitations, it has now been determined that only eight persons may go. Any eight qualify. Then ask the following questions: 

How did you make your decision?



Was everyone in the group heard?



What assumptions were made about these passengers?



How does it feel after making this decision?



What did you learn?

Your task is to select the Eight (8) passengers who will make the trip. On your own, take approximately 5 minutes and rank order of the passengers from one to twelve based on those who you feel are most deserving to make the trip with one being most deserving and twelve being least deserving. Next, the entire group will come together and decides as a group the eight (8) passengers who will make the trip. PLEASE NOTE: When you make your decision as a group EVERYONE must agree on the final eight passengers and come to a consensus. You are NOT allowed to vote or take a ‘majority rules’ decision.

Original passenger list: ____an accountant with a substance abuse problem ____a militant African-American medical student ____a 33 year old female Native American manager who does not speak English ____the accountant’s pregnant wife ____a famous novelist with a physical disability ____a 21-year old, female, Muslim international student ____a Hispanic clergyman who is against homosexuality ____a female move star who was recently the victim of a sexual assault ____a racist armed police officer who has been accused of using excessive force ____a homosexual male, professional athlete ____an Asian, orphaned 12-year old boy ____60-year old Jewish university administrator

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Reflection Prompts

Reflection prompts are sets of questions that allow participants to look deeper into their own background or at their own beliefs. These can be done completely individually, or to allow for further reflection, these reflections can be shared between partners of in a larger group if there is a strong sense of trust between group members. Some of these activities may elicit strong emotions and may necessitate that individuals take time to process afterward wit a facilitator, trusted friend, or through continued personal contemplation. Â

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Circles of My Multicultural Self (Gorski, 2012b; “Community Building Ice Breakers”, n.d.) Description: The circles activity engages participants in a process of identifying what they consider to be the most important dimensions of their own identity. Stereotypes are examined as participants share stories about when they were proud to be part of a particular group and when it was especially hurtful to be associated with a particular group. Suggested Time: 20-30 minutes Materials: Circle Handout (see next page), Writing utensil Directions: 

Ask participants to pair up with someone they do not know very well. Invite them to introduce each other



Ask participants to write their names in the center circle. They should then fill in each satellite circle with a dimension of their identity they consider to be among the most important in defining themselves. Give them several examples of dimension that might fit into the satellite circles: female, athlete, Jewish, brother, educator, Asian American, middle class, etc.



In their pairs, have participants share two stories with each other. First, they should share stories about when they felt especially proud to be associated with one of the identifiers they selected. Next, they should share a story about a time it was particularly painful to be associated with one of the identity dimensions they choose.



The third step will be for participants to share a stereotype they have heard about one dimension of their identity that fails to describe them accurately. Ask them to complete the sentence at the bottom of the handout by filling in the blanks: “I am (a/an) _________ but I am NOT (a/an) ______.” Provide your own example, such as “I am a Christian, but I am NOT a radical right Republican.” Instruction for steps 1,2, and 2 should be given at once. Allow 8-10 minutes for participants to complete all three steps, but remind them with 2 minutes remaining that they must fill in the stereotype sentence.



Probe the group for reactions to each other’s stories. Ask whether anyone heard a story she or he would like to share with the group. (Make sure the person who originally told the story has granted permission to share it with the entire group.)



Advise participants that the next step will involve individuals standing up and reading their stereotype statement. You can either simply go around the room in some order or have people randomly stand up and read their statements. Make sure that that participants are respectful and listening actively for this step, as individuals are making themselves vulnerable by participating. Start by reading your own statement. This part of the activity can be extremely powerful if you introduce it energetically. It may take a few moments to start the flow of sharing; so allow for silent moments.



Several questions can be used to process this activity:  How do the dimensions of your identity that you chose as important differ from the dimensions other

people use to make judgments about you?  Did anybody hear somebody challenge a stereotype that you once bought into? If so, what?  How did it feel to be able to stand up and challenge your stereotype?  (There is usually some laughter when somebody shares a common stereotype such as “I may be Arab,

but I am not a terrorist” or “I may be a teacher, but I do have a social life.”) I heard several moments of laughter. What was that about?  Where do stereotypes come from?  How can we eliminate them?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Worksheet: Circles of My Multicultural Self This activity highlights the multiple dimensions of our identities. It addresses the importance of individuals self-defining their identities and challenging stereotypes. Place your name in the center circle of the structure below. Write an important aspect of your identity in each of the satellite circles -- an identifier or descriptor that you feel is important in defining you. This can include anything: Asian American, female, mother, athlete, educator, Taoist, scientist, or any descriptor with which you identify.

Share a story about a time you were especially proud to identify yourself with one of the descriptors you used above. Share a story about a time it was especially painful to be identified with one of your identifiers or descriptors. Name a stereotype associated with one of the groups with which you identify that is not consistent with who you are. Fill in the following sentence: I am (a/an) _____________________ but I am NOT (a/an)_____________________. (So if one of my identifiers was "Christian," and I thought a stereotype was that all Christians are radical right Republicans, my sentence would be: I am a Christian, but I am NOT a radical right Republican.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Unpacking the Knapsack (Barrera, 2010) Description: This activity is designed for participants who may not have thought about white privilege to begin thinking about how that privilege affects society and individuals. Suggested Time: 15-20 Minutes + homework Materials: article (on the next two pages) Directions: In her well-known essay, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," feminist scholar Peggy McIntosh uses the concept of male privilege as a springboard for delving into issues of white privilege. She explains how whites benefit from an “invisible package” of assets even while they are taught not to recognize it, and creates a list of fifty statements detailing the daily benefits membership in the white community has afforded her. For example, the statements include the following: 

“I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.”



“I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.”



“When I am told about our national heritage or about ‘civilization,’ I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.”



“I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.”



“I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.”



“My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.”



“I will feel welcomed and ‘normal’ in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.”

Assign the brief essay as a take-home reading. Then, at the next meeting, divide the participants into five groups and assign each group to examine a different set of ten of McIntosh’s statements (for example, Group 1 will focus on statements 1 through 10, Group 2 on 11 through 30, and so on). The students will then have 15 minutes to discuss their general reaction to their set of statements, as well as following questions: 

Did you find any of these privileges surprising? Why or why not?



Do you feel that you ever share in any of these privileges? If so, how and when?



How do you think such privileges are expressed on a university campus?

Reconvene the class and lead a whole-group discussing in which each group shares its findings with the rest of the class. Wrap up with one final discussion question: “What are ways you think we can become more aware of such unspoken benefits here in this classroom, in our time together?”

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Reflection Question Worksheet: Unpacking the Knapsack By: Peggy McIntosh “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group” DAILY EFFECTS OF WHITE PRIVILEGE I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions. 1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. 2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability. 14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children’s teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fi t school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed. 6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. 7. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is. 8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race. 9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege. 10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race. 11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person’s voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race. 12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color. 18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race. 19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial. 20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race. 21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. 22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion. 23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider. 24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in charge”, I will be facing a person of my race.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in charge”, I will be facing a person of my race.

36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.

37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.

26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.

38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.

27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared. 28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine. 29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me. 30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have. 31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices. 32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races. 33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race. 34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking. 35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race. 40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen. 41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me. 42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race. 43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem. 44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race. 45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race. 46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin. 47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us. 48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household. 49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership. 50. I will feel welcomed and “normal” in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

Peggy McIntosh is associate director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. This essay is excerpted from Working Paper 189. “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming To See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies” (1988), by Peggy McIntosh; available for $4.00 from the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, Wellesley MA 02181. The working paper contains a longer list of privileges. This excerpted essay is reprinted from the Winter 1990 issue of Independent School.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Cultural Identity Paper (Barrera, 2010) Description: This activity is designed to allow participants to think about their backgrounds and how their experiences have influenced how they think about their own culture and identity. Suggested Time: homework (can add group/pair discussion if desired) Materials: paper, writing utensil Directions: This paper will examine the various elements of your cultural identity as well as your values, belief systems, stereotypes. What are the impacts of these identities on your self-esteem, your views about the world, and your personal and professional future? How has internalized oppression affected your sense of identity? Spend a considerable amount of time thinking about your identity before you start writing, and take it seriously. If you do, you may find that you have started the process of learning more about yourself. To get you started, use the handout, “Social Group Membership Profile”, this will serve as a foundation and guide to your paper. Your 5-page paper should include the following: 1. What type of community were you raised in? Was it homogeneous or heterogeneous? Were you the majority or minority in your community? 2. What aspects of your identity are you most proud of and why. Select two of the identities from the “Social Group Membership Profile” handout. 3. What aspects of your identity are you least proud of, ashamed, or believe that it has negatively affected how you see yourself. Choose one from the “Social Group Membership Profile” handout. 4. Name a time when you felt different or noticed that you were different. 5. What are some of the privileges you have and how have they shaped your life? 6. What people, experiences, and/or institutions had the most influence on how you view yourself today? For example, do you think your family had the most influence on you or society such as the media, your peers, etc. 7. What kinds of messages did you hear growing up about your culture? What were some of the positives and what were the most hurtful/negative messages you learned about your culture. How did you react or internalize them? 8. Remember that you are NOT writing about identities that are of a personal choice like a sport or a favorite hobby. While these might define how you like to spend your time, they do not have the same social consequences as the identities you were born with or born into

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Social Identity Wheel (Treviño , 1998) Description: Allows participants to think about their own personal identities and reflect on some identities that may not be as salient for them as others. Suggested Time: 20-30 minutes Materials: Worksheets (next two pages), writing instrument Directions: Utilize the following worksheet. Allow participants to have 10 minutes to complete the front and the back of the worksheet. Then have each person turn to someone else and discuss with them what it felt like to do that activity. The worksheet includes the following questions: 

What did it feel like to do this activity?



Were there identities that were easier for you to describe than others? If so why do you this this is?



Are there identities that you think about more than others?



What identity on this worksheet would you like to learn more about?

Once everyone has shared with a partner, suggest that a few people who are comfortable share out to the group.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Worksheet: Social Identity Wheel Ethnicity

So cio -E co no m

ic St atu s

Gender

Please identify the Ability

memberships you claim or those ascribed to you. Sex u a lO rie nt a t ion

Age

Fi rs t La

N a t i o n al O r i g

ng u ag

Physical/Emotional/ Developmental/Psychological

Re Sp i ri lig tu io al n or Af fil iat io n

Race

in Reformatted from:

Treviño, J. (1998). Personal Identity and Social Identity Wheels. [handout]. The Intergroup Relationship Center at Arizona State University, Arizona.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Reflection Question Worksheet: Social Identity Wheel What did it feel like to do this activity?

Were there identities that were easier for you to describe than others? If so, why do you think this is?

Are there identities that you think about more than others?

What identity on this worksheet would you like to learn more about?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Guided Reflection on Multiple Identities – Writing Optional Description: Used for participants to think about their own identity and how their identity was formed. This activity then allows participants to make connections between their identity and their sense of belonging on campus. Suggested Time: 20-30 minutes Materials: paper, writing instrument Directions: Facilitator reads out loud the reflection questions and allows participants a few minutes to reflect or write their responses. Can be completely an individual activity or can end with pairs or individuals sharing with the group. As I note the following aspects of identity, please take a few minutes to reflect upon each one as it relates to yourself. Think about what each aspect of your identity… Means to you personally How you came to awareness about that part of your identity (did you grow up with that awareness or did it come to you later in life? Has the centrality of that identity shifted over time?) How do you identify racially and what does it mean to you? What is your gender identity? How does that align with the gender ascribed to you? What is your sexual orientation? Your class identity? Disability identity? What about religion and spirituality? National or ethnic identity? Are there significant aspects of your identity that are important to you? How does it feel that they were not named in this workshop? Where and when do they get named and brought into the dialogue? Which aspects of your identity hold the most meaning for you? Why? What kinds of messages (both spoken and unspoken) did you get about those aspects as a child? Now? Where on campus do you feel the greatest sense of place? How do you see yourself reflected in the space? What specifically makes you feel welcome/whole/validated/nurtured? If your don’t have such a place, imagine what would be different if you did. How would it be if most of your learning/working/living environments gave you this sense of place? Where on campus do you feel most guarded? Are there key aspects of your identity that you feel that you have to “tone down” or hide when you enter those spaces? What specifically makes you feel guarded/unwelcomed/ silenced/disempowered? If you don’t have such a space, imagine what would be different if you did. How would it be if most of your living/working environments were ones where you felt guarded? Reformatted from: Rosabal, G. (2008). Guided reflection on multiple identities. [handout]. Mills College, California.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Guided Reflection Shift into Parallel Identity Questions Description: Used for participants to think about their own target and non-target identities. All three prompts can be used together, but is also effective when used in three separate sessions. Suggested Time: 15-45 minutes (depending if one or three reelection activities are used) Materials: paper, writing instrument Directions: Facilitator reads out loud the reflection questions and allows participants a few minutes to reflect and write their responses. Can be completely an individual activity or can end with pairs or individuals sharing with the group. First Reflection: Think about one aspect of your identity where you are a member of a “target” or marginalized group. Stay with that same target identity throughout this section of the exercise. (If you choose a “boarderland” identity – one where you experience both oppression in some settings or circumstances and privilege in others – please explore the target aspects though these questions). Jotting down the first feeling/thought that comes up for you, how do you generally feel about being in a large gathering with members of that target group? What are some things that annoy/anger/embarrass you about other members of your target group? What causes you self-doubt/insecurity, around other members of your target group? Where have you internalized shame, disempowerment, fear, anxiety, anger? How did you get those messages? How do you identify/check/shift/reject those? Where do you find strength, pride, joy, beauty, wisdom in that identity/community/culture/language/ heritage? How did you get those messages? How do you keep them present? Second Reflection: Now choose an aspect of your own identity where you are a member of a “non-target” or privileged group. Stay with that same non-target identity throughout this section of the exercise. (If you choose a “boarderland” identity – one where you experience both oppression in some settings or circumstances and privilege in others – please explore the non-target aspects though these questions). Jotting down the first feeling/thought that comes up for you, how do you generally feel about being in a large gathering with members of that non-target group? What are some things that annoy/anger/embarrass you about other members of that non-target group? As a member of that non-target group, what do you see as your role in the struggle against oppression faced by target group members? Where have you internalized dominance in relation to target group members? How did you get those messages? How do you identify/check/shift/reject those? Do you find yourself more often comfortable and accepting of your membership in that non-target group, or finding ways to distance/minimize/deny your membership in that group? How does this affect your sense of self and your sense as an ally?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Third Reflection: If you have a target identity with multiple subgroups (ie, race, disability, sexual orientation) reflect for a few minutes on your level of comfort/awareness/activism/around people from other subgroups. (For example, if you are Latina, think of the question in terms of people of color from another racial or ethnic identities; if you have a non-apparent disability, think of the question in terms of people whish various apparent disabilities, etc.) What insecurities/self-doubts do you have around members of these various subgroups? Are you more comfortable with some subgroups than others? What triggers these feelings, and how do you generally react? Do you find yourself using a “hierarchy of oppression” within these subgroups? Where have you internalized oppression in relation to other subgroups? Where have you internalized dominance? What attitudes and behaviors in relation to the other subgroups would you like to change? How will you begin that process? Where do you feel the greatest sense of solidarity with other subgroups? What triggered that? How have members of the other subgroups generally treated you? What would you like to say to members of these subgroups about how they perceive and/or treat you? Reformatted from: Rosabal, G. (2008). Guided reflection on multiple identities. [handout]. Mills College, California.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Self-awareness & Team Building Activities These activities are more complex and have a dual-purpose. First, these activities help individuals develop an increased self-awareness of their own identities, subordination, privilege, and natural assumptions and biases. Second, these activities also incorporate a group discussion/reflection component and some allow team members to share trusted and personal insights in an intimate, safe space to develop trusting interpersonal relationships, a sense of support and acceptance by peers, a team mentality, and awareness of the diversity and uniqueness demonstrated by each team member. Â

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Crossing the Line Description: Increases the participants' awareness of “invisible diversities” and unique diversity amongst members of the team. Allows individuals to share their marginalized and privileged identities to open the door for further discussion with the group. Increases the participants' appreciation for the unique differences and similarities of others, an to embrace their own diversities. Suggested Time: 30-40 minutes Materials: None. Directions: Before beginning, briefly explain to the participants the concept of “invisible diversity”. (See the invisible diversity definition in the beginning of this guide).  Set-up rules for the activity, such as:  Participation is not required, but encouraged.  Do not judge others for the invisible diversities they share with you.  Be respectful of others at all times.  The students standing in the line should remain silent through the activity.  Have the students stand in a line all facing the same direction.  Explain the purpose of the activity. The facilitator will read off a list of different characteristics. If the characteristic is something the student identifies with, he/she should step forward. Then, everyone will do one clap of their hands in sync to recognize the students who stepped forward. The students who stepped forward will step back and the next characteristic will be read off. At the end there will be a discussion.  Conduct the activity. Read the following statements one at a time. After each statement is read, individuals who identify with the description step forward, wait a second, and then step back. Please step forward if...  you grew up in a single-parent home.  your parents are divorced.  you grew up in a township.  you consider your family to earn an income at or below the poverty level.  you consider your family to earn an income that is upper-class.  you are a first-generation college student.  you have close friends or family members who did not finish high school.  you attended a private elementary school or high school.  you have had to (or currently) work while attending university to afford being here.  one or both of your guardians are unemployed.  you or one of your close friends or family members has a learning disability.  you or one of your close friends or family members has a mental health condition.  you or one of your close friends or family members has a physical disability.  you or one of your close friends or family members has a long-standing illness or disorder.  you or one of your close friends or family members has HIV/AIDS. 

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES             

you have dealt with the death(s) of a close friend or family member. you have lost someone close to you as a result of suicide. you have had to (or currently) work more than one job at the same time. English is not your first language. you or one of your close friends or family members identify as a sexuality other than straight. you consider yourself to be religious and attend church regularly. you or one of your close friends or family members has been the victim of theft. you or one of your close friends or family members has been the victim of a violent crime. you or one of your close friends or family members has been sexually assaulted. you or one of your close friends or family members has been convicted of a crime. you or one of your close friends or family members has been or is currently in prison. you or one of your close friends or family members is an alcoholic or addicted to drugs.

Conduct a follow-up discussing using the following questions as a guide:  How did it make you feel to step forward in front of the group?  How did it feel when others stepped forward and you did not?  Is it difficult to share with others some of these characteristics? Why or why not?  Was there anything during this activity that surprised you?  Was there a time when you stepped forward and expected to be the only one, but there were others?  Was there a time when you did not step forward and was surprised by how many people or who did?  What does this activity show us about our community?  Describe invisible diversity. Why is it important to understand and appreciate invisible differences?  What is the relevance of this for us as leaders?

Note: For some teams, this activity is low-medium risk because the students have a trusting, supportive relationship. However, with other teams, this may be a heavy and challenging opportunity. As a facilitator, take note of the attitude and apparent comfort the participants are displaying with the activity. For groups or individuals who display significant discomfort, consider allowing the opportunity for individuals to journal about their reflection.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

If You Really Knew Me… (Challenge Day, 2012) Description: This activity is based on the MTV television series, “If You Really Knew Me”, where students and adults connect with one another beyond their surface image to build powerful, genuine connections. The premise of this television show is that individuals in social settings are so afraid of being judged or hurt by peers that they suffer silently in their “comfort zone”, which is the image individuals allow others to see. The cost of such internalization is that much of who we are and what we have experienced throughout our lives is suppressed and hidden. Therefore, many people feel that they are alone facing their challenges and that none of their peers often have similar or comparable struggles. Suggested Time: 45 minutes Materials: None Directions: 

This activity can be done in one of two formats. 

The first format is for the entire group to participate as a whole, with one person sharing their story to the whole group at a time. This format would work well for smaller groups, and particularly in groups that there is some semblance of trust already developed.

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The second format is for the group to be divided into dyads. Each dyad will have the opportunity to share their stories with one another, and then participants will be asked to find a new partner to share again. This sharing can continue for as many rounds of dyads as necessary for the group, or for which time allows.

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Once the format of the activity is chosen and organized, the facilitator throws out the activity prompt. Participants get a minimum of 2 minutes and maximum of 5 minutes to finish the sentence “If you really knew me, you would know…”. Participants can complete this sentence as many times as they feel comfortable during the allotted time frame. Encourage participants to be “real” with their responses, and to share truthful and deep pieces of their life that reflect a level of challenge the individual can reconcile sharing. Share with participants the importance of respectful and careful listening throughout the activity.

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If you choose to use the dyad format, you may want to ask variations of the “If you really knew me…” prompt so each dyad challenges participants to share new insights. If you would like to add variation, you can utilize alterations of this prompt, such as:

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If you really knew me, you would know I am proud of…

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If you really knew me, you would know that the hardest thing I have ever done is…

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If you really knew me, you would know that one piece of good news from my life this week is…

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If you really knew me, you would know that what I find most difficult about coming to school is…

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If you really knew me, you would know that my biggest dream is…

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If you really knew me, you would know that my biggest fear is…

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If you really knew me, you would know that the person I feel closest to is…

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If you really knew me, you would know that most people label me as ______, and it makes me feel…

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If you really knew me, you would know that I regret…

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If you really knew me, you would know that I worry about…

After completing the activity, allow for the group to come together as a whole and debrief their feelings. What was challenging about the activity? What was easy about the activity? What surprised you? What do you think are the big take-aways from this activity?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Boxed In (A. Brown, personal communication, October 22, 2012) Description: This activity helps individuals gain awareness of the stereotypes they have internalized as part of their own identity. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect individually on the stereotypes of an identity they have, and then share these with the group to create a larger discussion and awareness of what it feels like to acknowledge and hear the stereotypes aloud. Suggested Time: 30-40 minutes Materials: one sheet of paper and writing utensil(s) for each participant Directions: 

Give each participant a sheet of paper and writing utensil(s)

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Explain to participants the difference between marginalized/subordinate identities and dominant identities.

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Ask each individual to think about their different identities. Have each participant choose one marginalized identity that plays an important role in his/her life. Examples of identities participants can choose are lesbian, gay, Muslim, African American, international, obese, deaf, autistic, transgender, low-socioeconomic status, etc. If an individual reflects on his/her identity and truly does not identify as having any subordinate identities, instruct that individual to choose a marginalized identity that a close friend or family member identifies with.

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Have each participant write the chosen subordinate identity on the top of the paper.

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Next, have each participant take time to reflect on their selected identity. Have them write on their sheet of paper words, phrases, and stereotypes that are often associated by society and peers about this identity, as well as those the individual has heard or experienced. Give the group about 10 minutes to complete this portion of the activity.

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Explain to the group that their sheets of paper represent a variety of the stereotypes and views each individual perceives others think about his/her identity, and potentially reflect those views that individuals may have internalized as a form of oppression. Therefore, the items on each paper represents the terms and stereotypes used to box people into their identity, or create boundaries about an identity to better understand it.

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One at a time, ask each individual to stand up, share their selected subordinated identity, and read off the list of words and stereotypes the individual came up with. As each individual reports out to the group, ask individuals to remain quiet and listen carefully to the speaker.

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After all participants are given the opportunity to share with the group, bring the group together for a discussion utilizing the following questions:

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How did it feel to share your identity and selected words and stereotypes of that identity with the group? Why did it feel this way?

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How did it feel to hear the words and stereotypes your peers were reporting out about their identities? Why did it feel this way?

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How does this activity relate to internalized oppression?

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What does this activity show about our society and interactions with peers?

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Why do you think these stereotypes exist?

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How do you think we can advocate for others to eliminate these stereotypes?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Coming Out Stars (M. Misseri, personal communication, September 2012) Description: Used for participants to think about the challenges individuals in the LGBT community may face during the communing out process. This activity allows participants to visualize what the coming out experience could be like and gain an awareness and appreciation for this challenge and how to be a supportive ally. Suggested Time: 30-40 minutes Materials: Cut-out paper stars in mixed colors of blue, pink, red, & yellow (enough for one star per participant), writing utensils Directions: Each participant can choose one star and a writing utensil (different colored stars should be mixed throughout group). Facilitator reads out loud the below facilitation guide. During the first portion, the facilitator is guiding the participants to reflect on their values and life, and to draw on their star. During the second portion, the facilitator reads a guided, interactive scenario. After the guided facilitation, discussion questions are provided for de-briefing. Facilitation Guide: Let each person pick either a BLUE, PINK, RED, or YELLOW star and read the following to them: Imagine that this star represents your world, with you in the center and those things or people most important to you at each point of the star. So we’ll begin by writing your name in the center of the star, making it your very own! Then, pick a side of the star to begin with. Choose a friend who is very close to you. Someone that you care about very much. A best friend or a close friend, it doesn’t matter. Write their name on a point of the star. Next, think of a community that you belong to. It could be a religious community, your neighborhood, organization, student group or just a group of friends. Take the name of that group that you are a part of and write it on the next point of the star, going clockwise. Now, think of a specific family member. Someone that you have always turned to for advice or maybe who knows how to cheer you up when you’re sad. A mother, father, aunt or grandparent…any family member who has made a large impact in your life. Please write their name on the next point of the star. What job would you most like to have? It could be anything from president to dentist to actor. Whatever your career aspiration is, please write it on the next point. Lastly, what are some of your hopes and dreams? Maybe you want to be a millionaire, start a family, travel the world, and give time to charitable causes. Think of a few hopes and dreams and write them on the last point of the star. Once complete, have everyone stand up in a circle. Explain that each person is now gay, lesbian, bi, trans or queer and are about to begin their coming out process. Tell participants that they are asked to remain silent for the rest of the activity.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

You decide that it will be easiest for you to come out to your friends first, since they have always been there for you in the past and you feel that they need to know. If you have a BLUE star, your friend has no problem with it. They have suspected it for some time now and thank you for being honest with them. Luckily, they act no different toward you and accept you for who you are. If you have a PINK or a YELLOW star, your friends are kind of hesitant. They are a little irritated that you have waited so long to tell them, but you are confident that soon they will understand that being GLBTQ is just a part of who you are…you just need to give them some time. Please fold back the point of this star. If you have a RED star, you are met with anger and disgust. This friend who has been by your side in the past tells you that being GLBTQ is wrong and they can’t associate with anyone like that. If you have a red star, please tear off this point and drop it on the ground. This friend is no longer a part of your life. With most of you having such good luck with your friends, you decide that your family probably deserves to know. So, you turn to your closest family member first so that it will be a little easier. If you have a YELLOW star, the conversation doesn’t go exactly how you planned. Several questions are asked as to how this could have happened, but after some lengthy discussion, this person who is close to you seems a little more at ease with it. Fold this point of your star back, as they will be an ally, but only with time. If you have a BLUE star, you are embraced by this family member. They are proud that you have decided to come out and let you know that they will always be there to support you. If you have a PINK or RED star, your family member rejects the thought of being related to a person who is GLBTQ. Much like some of your friends, they are disgusted and some of you are thrown out of your house or even disowned. You are now part of the 42% of the homeless youth who identify as GLBTQ. If you have a PINK or RED star, please tear off this point and drop it on the ground. Having told your friends and family, the wheels have started to turn and soon members of your community begin to become aware of your sexual orientation. If you have a YELLOW or BLUE star, your sexual orientation is accepted by your community. They continue to embrace you like anyone else and together you celebrate the growing diversity in your community. If you have a PINK star, you are met with a mixed response. Some accept you and some don’t know what to think. You remain a part of the community, and with time, will fit in as you once did. If you have a PINK star, please fold back this point. If you have a RED star, your community reacts with hatred. They tell you that someone like you doesn’t belong in their community. Those who had supported you in your times of need no longer speak to you or acknowledge you. If you have a RED star, tear this point off and drop it on the ground. You have heard that rumors have started circulating at work regarding your sexual orientation. In the past, you have made it a point to confront these rumors as soon as they began, but now you’re not sure if that will do more harm than good. But, unfortunately, you don’t have the chance. If you have a BLUE star, your co-workers begin to approach you and let you know that they have heard the rumors and that they don’t care, they will support you. Your bosses react the same way letting you know that you do good work and that is all that matters.

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

If you have a YELLOW star, your workplace has become quite interesting. Everyone seems to think that you are GLBTQ, even though you haven’t mentioned it to anyone or confirmed any of the rumors. Some people speak to you less, but the environment has not seemed to change too drastically. If you have a YELLOW star, please fold back this point. If you have a RED or a PINK star, you continue to work as though nothing is happening, ignoring the rumors that have spread throughout your workplace. One day, you come in and find that your office has been packed up. You are called into your boss’ office and they explain to you that you are being fired. When you ask why, they tell you that lately your work has been less than satisfactory and that they had to make some cutbacks in your area. If you have a RED or PINK star, please tear off this point and let it drop to the ground. Now…Your future lies ahead of you as a gay man, lesbian, bisexual, trans person or queer. Your hopes and dreams, your wishes for the perfect life…for some of you these are all that remain. If you have a YELLOW, BLUE, or PINK star, these hopes and dreams are what keep you going. Most of you have been met with some sort of rejection since beginning your coming out process, but you have managed to continue to live a happy and healthy life. Your personal homes and dreams become a reality. If you have a RED star, you fall into despair. You have been met with rejection after rejection and you find it impossible to accomplish your lifelong goals without the support and love of your friends and family. You become depressed and with nowhere else to turn, many of you begin to abuse drugs or alcohol. You have thoughts where you feel that your life is no longer worth living. If you have a red star, please tear it up and drop the pieces to the ground. You are now aware that 40% of all suicide victims identify are lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or trans. Follow-up Discussion Questions What are your reactions right now to this exercise? What are you feeling? How did your ability to decorate and own your star make you feel? How did it make you feel to rip off points of your star? Was this a fair activity? How accurate are the situations and scenarios? For people with red stars, how did it feel to be rejected time and time again? How might that relate to those in the LGBTQ community? How did you feel to have blue stars? Pink or yellow? What can we do to make sure our peers have fewer “red star” moments? How does being an ally help that? What is our ethical obligation?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Intersections (T. Spears, personal communication, 2012) Description: After individuals develop awareness of their different identities and the identities of peers on a team, it is important for the team to explore the intersections of varying types of identities. In this activity, participants have the opportunity to take on a variety of identities that include both dominant and subordinate layers. Individuals can then reflect on how different identities interact—how they support, challenges, conflict, and exacerbate other layers of one’s identity and sense of self. Suggested Time: 20-30 minutes Materials: a 4-color pack of index cards Directions: 

Prep for before the activity: 

In this activity, participants will randomly select different layers of their simulated identity. Therefore, before conducting the activity, the facilitator needs to create identity cards for different layers of identities.

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Take the pack of colored index cards and use each color as a different layer of identity. For example, the pink cards will represent race, the yellow cards will represent gender, the orange cards will represent sexual orientation, the green cards will represent socio-economic status, and the white cards will represent an assortment of other identities as a “wild” catergory.

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On each card, write one identity that fits the category indicated by the card’s color. For example, on a pink card you might write “Caucasion”, and on a yellow card, you might write “female”. Suggestions for what identities you could include on the cards are as follows:

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For pink (racial identity) cards: African American, Caucasian, multi-racial, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and European

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For yellow (gender) cards: male, female, male-to-female transgender, and female-to-male transgender

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For orange (sexual orientation) cards: heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, and queer

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For green (socio-economic status) cards: below poverty, middle-class, working class, upperclass, and millionaire

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For white (wild) cards: obese, anorexic, undocumented citizen, first-generation college student, autistic, wheelchair-bound, deaf, alcoholic, Catholic, Jewish, and chronically ill

There should be enough cards created that each participant can each select one card of every color. You can choose to include some identities in the stock of cards more than one, not at all, or include ones not suggested above.

Explain the activity: 

The activity will proceed in 4 rounds.

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Round 1: Participants will select a pink and a yellow card. Participants will get about 3 minutes to reflect on how the selected racial and gender identities intersect and may be congruent or pose challenges for the individual.

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Round 2: Participants will then select an orange card. They will get about 3minutes to reflect on how the selected racial, gender, and sexual orientation identities intersect and may be congruent or pose challenges for the individual.

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Round 3: Participants will then select a green card. They will get about 3 minutes to reflect on

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

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Round 4: Participants will then select a white card. They will get about 3 minutes to reflect on how the selected racial, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and “wild card” identities intersect and may be congruent or pose challenges for the individual.

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Now that each participant has one card from each color category, allow participants to share (on a volunteer basis) their unique reflections on their layers of identity and the impact created when their specific identities intersect. Ask those who share to elaborate on how the interactions between and expression of one’s identities could change as each layer was added.

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After the interested volunteers have shared their reflections, allow time for a reflective group discussion as a whole. The following discussion questions can be utilized as a guide for this discussion: 

Explain the concept of intersecting identities. What different impacts can various intersections have on an individual’s identity expression, self-concept, and interactions with others?

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Why is it important to navigate the intersections of our identity layers? What insight can this process help us gain about ourselves?

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Is it okay to ignore or suppress one of your identities? What kind of impacts do you think this suppression would have on an individual?

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How can we use our increased knowledge from this activity to help ourselves and our peers reflect on and understand their own identities and intersections?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Vari-Abilities (S. Syoen & J. Minard, personal communication, 2011) Description: What happens when you lose one of your senses or abilities? This activity helps students who do not identify as having a disability to experience the challenges that those with differing abilities may experience when completing everyday and job-related tasks. Suggested Time: 15-20 minutes per activity utilized Materials: Activity #1: lollipops Activity #2: various change (nickels, dimes, pennies, quarters, small bills) sorted in 3plastic baggies to have the same denominations and same total amount, 3 blindfolds, prize (optional) Activity #3: 4 plastic cones, one blindfold for every two participants, and 50-80 soft, baseball-sized balls Directions: Choose to utilize one, two, or all three of the following activities to get your students thinking about the experiences and challenges of students with varying abilities. After completing the activities you selected, utilize the final discussion questions to guide a discussion on the experience and learning of these activities. Activity #1: Laudable Lollipops

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Ask the participants to get into pairs. Give one participant in each pair a lollipop.

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Instruct the students that the partner with the lollipop will be role-playing an excited graduate who is interviewing for their dream job, and the other partner will be role-playing the interviewer.

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The students are asked to simulate the beginning of the job interview. Throughout the entire interview, the prospective employee will suck on a lollipop that is continually in their mouth. At no point can this individual use his/her hands to adjust or remove the lollipop from the mouth.

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The first question the interviewer should ask is, “___Name___, tell me about yourself and why you are interested in this position”.

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Give the students a few minutes to role play this interview. The prospective employees will be likely to feel awkward and self conscious due to the communication barrier created by the lollipop.

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Briefly ask the following discussion questions: 

What was it like to be the interviewer during this conversation? What was your reaction to the challenges the interviewer faced?

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What was it like to be the prospective employee during this conversation? Was interviewing with the lollipop in your mouth difficult? Why or why not?

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After this brief follow-up, tell the partners that their roles have be switched; the interviewer will now be the prospective employee and vice versa. This time, the lollipop is not asked to be kept in the prospective employee’s mouth. Instead, the interviewer is restricted to asking the questions with a maximum of 3 words at a time, and the prospective employee use the space filler “um” between each word in his/her responses. Again, the interviewer should start the role-play by asking why the candidate is interested in the position, but he/she needs to figure out how to ask this in 3 words or less.

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Again, give the students a few minutes to role play this interview. Hopefully, this time there will be communication challenges for both participants.

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Ask the following discussion questions to follow-up: 

What was different about this second conversation? Was it more challenging? Why or why not?

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What was it like to be the interviewer during this conversation?

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What was it like to be the prospective employee during this conversation?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES

Activity #2: Short-changed 

Prep for before the activity: 

Before the activity begins, create 3 plastic baggies of change. In each bag, there should be the exact same denomination of coins and small bills, and the total of the change added together should equal the same total.

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Create 3 index cards of roles to be provided to actors in this activity. Write the following on the index cards: 

On the first one: You are a disgruntled and impatient customer waiting in line behind participant 1. Get up and stand behind participant 1 and sigh, make annoyed sounds, and loudly complain stating things like “hurry up!” and “can’t you add?!”

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On the second one: You notice that participant 2 is having trouble counting the change and you want to help. Get up and approach participant 2 and offer to sort the change into denominations to make their task easier. If the participant accepts, sort the change into piles for the participant; but if the participant denies your help, go sit back down.

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On the third one: You are judgmental of people with varying abilities. You see participant 3 counting change and want to take advantage of this person and confuse him/her. Get up and stand in front of participant 3. Without letting participant 3 know you are there, try to steal some of the change without him/her noticing or push some of the change away so that it is more difficult to count the change.

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Ask for 3 volunteers to participate in the activity. Ask them to identify to the group as participant 1, 2, and 3.

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Ask each participant to come to the front of the room. Provide the participants with a blindfold and ask them to place the blindfold over their eyes and tie it so they cannot see during the activity.

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Explain the scenario and rules: Each participant is at the grocery store. As the facilitator, you are the cashier and the 3 participants are customers. Explain that you have just finished ringing up their purchases, and because they paid in cash, you have change for them. You (the cashier) will be giving the participants (customers) each a handful of change. Each participant is asked to count the change while blindfolded and determine the total amount of change received to the best of their ability. Tell the participants that they each received the same exact change denominations and amounts, so they want to be quiet when counting and wait to share the total figure until all participants have finished adding. If you would like, the individual with the closest total can win a prize

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After explaining the scenario and rules, hand each of the 3 participants the handful of change and instruct them to start counting at the same time. You can set these participants up at a table or desk to place the change on if you would like.

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As the participants are counting change, quickly select 3 additional participants. Hand each of the participants one of the index cards with acting roles. Quietly instruct these new actor to complete the tasks on the card.

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Allow the students to complete all of their assigned tasks. If you chose to give a prize to the participant that most accurately counted the money, do so.

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After the activity, ask all participants to return to the group and utilize the following discussion questions: 

What was it like to count the money with the blindfold on? How did it make you feel? Was it challenging? Why or why not?

SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOURCE ACTIVITIES 

What was it like to take on the roles identified on the index cards provided? How did you feel taking on that role? How do you think this impacted the customer? As the customer, how did the actions of these individuals make you feel?

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In what ways does this activity relate to the experiences of individuals with varying abilities?

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What does this activity show you about how you interact with others who may face challenges similar to this activity?

Activity #3: Battleships 

Setting up the activity: 

This activity will need to be held in a room or outdoor location that has a floor or empty space to make up the battlefield. Use 4 plastic cones or other identifying objects to represent the 4 corners of a playing field. Scatter the 50-80 soft balls inside the perimeter of this playing field.

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Tell participants that this is a game that requires good team work. Ask participants to find a partner. One partner in each pair is given a blindfold.

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Explain the directions of the activity:

This game is called Battleship. Each pair is it’s own battleship, with the blindfolded partner as the ship and the other partner as the driver. This game will require communication, reflexes, and attention to surroundings. The balls in the center of the playing field are ammo. As a pair, each ship and driver work as a tem to have the driver scoop up balls and toss them at other drivers. Once a driver is hit by a ball 3 times, that pair is out of the game. The ships must stay within the perimeter of the battlefield at all times. The ship can walk, crawl, and touch the balls at any time. The driver can walk inside the perimeter, or also stand on the edge of the field. When a ship throws the balls at driver opponents, the throws need to be limited. The ship should hold the ball upright in his/her dominant hand and place the palm of his non-dominant hand on the elbow of the dominant arm. By placing the non-dominant hand on the opposite elbow, this limits the strength of the ship’s throwing ability to keep participants safe and out of harm. The driver cannot touch any balls and cannot touch their ship (their partner). If a driver steps on a ball accidentally, this counts as one of the driver’s 3 hits before getting out. If a driver touches his ship partner, this also counts as one of the 3 hits. Since the ship is blindfolded and the driver is not, the driver should provide directions to the ship to find balls, scoop them up, and aim throws at the drivers of other ships to get opponents out. The object of the game is to be the last ship-driver battleship pair to be “alive”. 

After explaining the directions, have each battleship pair line up around the perimeter of the battlefield. Have the ship place the blindfold securely over his/her eyes so s/he cannot see.

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Provide the cue for the game to begin, and allow participants to start the action.

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The game is over when there is only one battleship pair left.

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After the game, utilize the following discussion questions to reflect: 

What was it like to be the ship? What was it like to be blindfolded and take

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directions from your driver? How did it make you feel to be blindfolded during the activity? 

What was it like to be the driver? How did it feel trying to direct the ship to find and aim the balls? What helped you successfully communicate with your ship?

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What were the challenges the ship, driver, and battleship teams faced throughout this activity?

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Do you think you would have been more comfortable if you were in the opposite role (driver or ship) during this activity? Why or why not?

Final Discussion Questions

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How do you think these activities related to one another? What do you think was the overall purpose of conducting these activities?

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What feelings and experiences resonated with you after participation in these activities? Why?

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How do you think these feelings and experiences relate to the feelings and experiences of individuals with varying abilities?

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How can you work to be a supportive ally and peer to individuals facing similar challenges to those simulated in this activity?

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Why does this matter? What is the big take-away?

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Assessment

We believe that to develop one’s competence, one must first understand his current competency level, areas of great knowledge and awareness, and areas that need further development and exploration. Therefore, this section includes a few samples of assessment tools that can be utilized to assess one’s self-competency or the competency of his organization/team. We encourage readers to utilize these assessment tools to determine their competence level as a facilitator; a facilitator should not try conduct an activity he is not at a developmental level to effectively facilitate.

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Social Justice Education Individual Assessment Reformatted from: Griffin, P. (1987a). Social Justice Education Insdividual Assessment. [handout]. Questions (P. Griffin, 1987) 1. How might you articulate a clear rationale to yourself and others for why social justice issues need to be addressed? 2. What work have you done on your own beliefs and feelings about issues of social justice? Are you aware of your own privileges and prejudice? 3. How can you deepen your awareness of how systems of oppression manifest on your campus without putting the burden of education on people from subordinated groups? 4. What information do you have about different systems of oppression (racism, heterosexism, sexism, gender oppression, classism, ableism, religious oppression, etc.)? 5. How prepared do you feel to provide information about various systems of oppression? What would help you feel more prepared? 6. What access to resources do you have to increase your knowledge?

7. What leadership skills do you have for leading discussions? What skills do you think you’ll need to develop? 8. How confident do you feel about your ability to listen to prejudiced comments without becoming emotionally “triggered” or expressing anger? 9. How comfortable are you with working through conflict? What do you need to feel more comfortable with this important process?

Your Assessment

Action

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Social Justice Education Institutional Assessment Reformatted from: Griffin, P. (1987a). Social Justice Education Institutional Assessment. [handout]. Questions 1. What is your institution’s history regarding taking stances against or supporting inequality in access, resources, and student success? 2. How is this history continuing to play today? 3. What is your campus climate like around issues of race, class, class, gender, identity, and expression, sexual orientation, ability, nationality, religion, and age? 4. What are some common experiences, frustrations, or concerns of students, staff, and faculty from subordinated and marginalized people? 5. What are your institution’s goals and values around diversity and social justice? How are these articulated to the campus community? 6. How does your institution live up to these goals/values? What are the institution’s achievements? How are these recognized? 7. How does your institution fail to live up to these goals/values? What work is being done or needs to be done to learn from this failure and make progress? 8. What financial resources are available for diversity or social justice initiatives at your school? 9. How are these resources allocated? Who makes decisions about these resources? 10. What are the attitudes of these decision-makers regarding diversity and social justice? How might you approach these decision-makers to initiate discussion?

Your Assessment

Action

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Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Competency Assessment (NASPA & ACPA, 2005, pp. 10-11)

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Recommendations The following list contains recommendations from the authors based upon their learning and experience developing this resource guide. By no means is this list of recommendations exhaustive, but the recommendations provided are intended to support those who choose to use this guide. We encourage readers to use this guide as a reference but also as a starting point for developing their own recommendation list or guide of tips and tricks for successful implementation of these suggestions. Â

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Recommendations

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This guide is just a beginning. Continue to collect resources and add them to this guide.

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Modify any of these activities as needed. There is no “right or wrong” way to do these activities.

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If you see or participate in an activity, think about how it could be modified for use on your own staff and hold on to any resources provides for future use.

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Don’t be afraid to ask for outside help or co-facilitators. Not everyone is equipped to do every activity and that is just fine!

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Get to know your staff before trying these activities. They could be higher or lower risk depending on the trust level, developmental level, etc. of the group.

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Do your own self work and know your areas of growth. This will help you make decisions about if you are the right person to be facilitating a given activity.

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If there is an identity you know less about that is not covered in this guide, do some research and find other activities that will help you in your development.

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Another opportunity to develop your multicultural competence is to attend conference sessions and professional trainings on multicultural and social justice topics.

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Speak up! If you notice that your peers or your organization are not utilizing techniques to encourage multicultural development of the staff and students, help develop a process to make this happen.

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References & Resource Guide

As promised in the introduction of this guide, this final section includes a list of the references cited in the content as well as additional resources the authors find valuable for addressing topics for multicultural and social justice competence. As with the recommendations, we hope this list of resources can be a useful guide for readers and encourage individuals to seek out additional resources and knowledge to continuously develop their multicultural competence. Â

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References & Resource Guide References Adams, M. A., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (2007). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (2nd Ed.), NY: Routledge. American College Personnel Association & National Association for Student Personnel Administrators. (2010). Professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners. Barrera, M. L. (2010). Introduction: Faculty toolkit for engaging campus diversity. Retrieved from: http://www.sjsu.edu/cfd/teaching-learning/student-success/index.html Bell, L. A. (2007). Theoretical Foundations for Social Justice Education. In Adams, M. A., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). Teaching for Diversity and Social Jus ce (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Casse, P. (1981). Training for the cross-cultural mind: A handbook for cross-cultural trainers and consultants. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: The Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research Challenge Day. (2012). An introductory guide to using the “if you really knew me” activity created by challenge day. Retrieved from: http://www.challengeday.org/mtv/downloads/IYRKM _IntroGuide.pdf Community Building Icebreakers. Retrieved from: http://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/ artsci/undergrad/servicelearning/community/instructors_facilitators/resources/_jcr_cont nt/pagecontent/download_4/file.res/Ice%20Breakers.pdf Diversity Activities Resource Guide. Retrieved from: http://lir.bgsu.wikispaces.net/file/view/ Diversity+Activities+Resource+Guide.pdf Gorski, P. (2012). Getting started: Respect activity (introductory level). Awaremess Activities. Retrieved from: http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/activity1.html

Gorski, P. (2012a).

Exchanging stories—Names. Awareness Activities. Retrieved from: http:/

www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/name.html

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Gorski, P. (2012b). Circles of My Multicultural Self. Awareness Activities. Retrieved from: http:/ www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/circlesofself_handout.html Griffin, P. (1987). Social Justice Education Individual Assessment. [handout]. Griffin, P. (1987a). Social Justice Education Institutional Assessment. [handout].

Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. (2005). Reflection in higher education service-learning. Retrieved from: http://www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/ fact_sheets/he_facts/he_reflection/ Pope, R. L., Reynolds, A. L., & Mueller, J. A. (2004). Multicultural competence in student affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Rosabal, G. (2008). Guided reflection on multiple identities. [handout]. Mills College, California. Rosabal, G. (2008a). Guided reflection shift into parallel identity questionds. [handout]. Mills College, California. Treviño, J. (1998). Personal Identity and Social Identity Wheels. [handout]. The Intergroup Relationship Center at Arizona State University, Arizona. Viklund, A. (n.d.). Tips for effective facilitation. Ideas for Great Facilitation: A blog about facilitating great meetings, retreats and events. [Web log post]. Retrieved from: http://ideafacilitators. wordpress. com/tips-for-effective-facilitation/

Images Found at: http://gointotheworld2012.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/look-in-the-mirror/ http://www.outsidethebox-solutions.com/about/ http://everettea.org/diversity http://just-circles.com/contact-us/news http://ugaadmissions.blogspot.com/2011/12/recommendation-letters.html http://www.assessment.uconn.edu/ http://subversive1.blogspot.com/2011/12/concentric-circles-of-love.html

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Additional Resources Clements, P. & Jones, J. (2002) The Diversity Training Handbook, Sterling: Stylus Publishing Inc. Diversity Activities for Youth and Adults: http://www.extension.org/sites/default/files/w/5/53 Diversity_Activities_for_Adults_and_Youths.pdf Diversity and Inclusive Learning (Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University) http://cft.vanderbilt.edu teaching-guides/interactions/diversity/ Diversity Web: An Interactive Resource Hub for Higher Education http://www.diversityweb.org/index.cfm Hooks, B. (2000). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice for freedom. New York: Rudledge. Johnson, A. (2005). Privilege, power, and difference. New York: Prentice Hall. Katz, J. (1978). White awareness: A handbook for anti-racism training. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Kozol, J. (1992). Savage Inequalities. New York: Crown. Lipsitz, G. (1998). The possessive investment in whiteness: How white people profit from identity politics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press Loewen, J. W. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York: Simon & Schuster. Lorde, A. (1984). Sister outsider. Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press. McIntosh, P. (1989, July-August). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 10-12 Multicultural Pavilion (Paul C. Gorski) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Building Equitable and Just Schools, Communities, and Organizations through Transformative Action http://www.edchange.org/multicultural Obear, K. H. (2000). Exploring the phenomenon of triggering events for social justice educators. Dissertation A tracts International, 61(07), 2563A. (UMI No. 9978535) Recommended Conferences ACPA Institute on Social Justice National Coalition Building Institute National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) Social Justice Training Institute The White Privilege Conference Â