Workshop Purpose: This Anti-Racism Training workshop aims to help participants understand the systemic nature of racism. In particular, how often solutions implemented fail to solve the systemic problem. Also how these "quick fixes" can have unintended side effects. After the workshop participants will be in a better position to avoid the side effects of quick fixes and better tackle the deep-rooted systemic issues. Learning Outcomes: 1. Understand how systems thinking can help with problem-solving. 2. Identify factors that influence racism and how these factors are interconnected. 3. Recognize potential side effects of “Quick Fixes” 4. Identify systemic solutions that better address the problem in a long term sustainable way. 5. Agreement on actions the participants can take to make progress within their context. The training guide including agenda and materials can be found here: https://www.tobysinclair.com/anti-racism-training

1. Anti-Racism Training:
Exploring Systemic
Racism with Systems
Thinking
TOBYSINCLAIR.COM

2. WORKSHOP
OVERVIEW
• Opening
• Defining Terms
• Systems Thinking Overview
• Quick Fixes
• Side Effects
• Systemic Solutions
• Using Systems Thinking to tackle Racism
• Whats next?
• Retrospective

3. 5 – No Problem, I’ll talk about anything
4 – I’ll talk about almost anything; a few things might be hard
3 – I’ll talk about some things, but others will be hard to say
2 – I’m not going to say much, I’ll let others bring up issues
1 – I’m not going to talk at all, I don’t feel safe.
SAEFTY CHECK
How can we make this a safe and inclusive discussion for everyone?

4. DEFINING TERMS

5. DEFINING TERMS
A racist policy is any measure that produces or
sustains racial inequity between racial groups. By
policy, I mean written and unwritten laws, rules,
procedures, and guidelines that govern people
A racist idea is any idea that suggests
one racial group is inferior or superior
to another racial group in any way.
Racist Policy Racist Idea
One who is supporting a racist policy
through their actions or inaction or
expressing a racist idea.
Racist
Racism is a marriage of racist policies
and racist ideas that produces and
normalizes racial inequities.
Racism

6. Typically, organizations focus on a single-issue or on a narrow set of closely related
issues. We work on housing, or air quality or health, in communities that are defined by
immigration, race, and class. By focusing on one issue, such as housing, air quality, or
health, we try to explain differential outcomes for entire segments of the population,
such as what groups of people live in substandard housing, breathe contaminated air, or
have poor health outcomes. This approach uses a ‘one dimensional‘ understanding of
an issue. Since issues are multi-dimensional, we need to use multidimensional thinking
to consider and strategize about differential outcomes. To illustrate our meaning,
imagine a caged bird. By examining one bar of the cage, we cannot explain why the bird
cannot fly. However, on evaluating the multiple bars arranged in specific ways that
reinforce each other, we see that the effect of the bars is structural and cumulative such
that the bird is trapped.
If the bird falls ill because of poor air quality, and is unable to fly away, the owner might
fault the bird; however, the illness of the bird trapped inside a particular environment
should be seen as evidence that the environment is inappropriate, and that the system
that trapped the bird is not working.
Systems Thinking And Race - John Powell
https://www.racialequitytools.org/

7. Systems Thinking is a way of understanding how institutions that effect opportunity are
arranged, and to what result. In other words, Systems Thinking examines the order of
structures that give or take opportunity from particular groups of people, the timing of the
interaction between these Opportunity Structures, and the relationships that exist between
them. With this multi-dimensional thinking, or, ‘Systems Thinking,’ we can understand the
context that produces consistently different housing, air quality, health, economic, and
educational outcomes in different communities, and strategize on multiple fronts to change
these outcomes.
https://www.racialequitytools.org/
What is your reaction?
Systems Thinking And Race - John Powell

8. Linear Problem Solving
Challenges with traditional problem solving
Jumping to quick fix solutions (Solution Bias)
Belief in a single root cause
People who solve problems quickly are praised
Failure to see the side effects of any implemented solutions

9. Systems thinking is a disciplined approach for examining problems
more completely and accurately before acting. It allows us to ask
better questions before jumping to conclusions.
Systems thinking often involves moving from observing events or data,
to identifying patterns of behavior overtime, to surfacing the
underlying structures that drive those events and patterns
WHAT IS SYSTEMS THINKING?
https://thesystemsthinker.com/

11. Systems Thinking helps identify the
feedback loops present within
systems. Often these feedback loops
are ignored or hidden.
Loops not
Lines
Feedback between
elements of the system

12. Symptomatic Solutions or Quick Fixes
are solutions that address the
symptom but do not address the
longer term problem.
Symptomatic
Solutions
Help or Hinderance?

13. SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS
Identify sustainable solutions
Systemic solutions typically have a bigger
impact in the long run. Rather than solve the
symptom they seek to change the underlying
structure, policies and rules which keep the
problem in place.

14. Symptomatic solutions often have side
effects which impact our ability to
implement a systemic solution. The
side effects often distract us from
solving the real problem.
Side Effects
Limit the ability to introduce fundamental
solutions

15. These diagrams are called "Causal Loop Diagrams". The plus and
minus signs help describe the diagram
Notation
Going further with Causal Loop Diagrams
Scenario:
If Tiredness Increases then Coffee Consumption Increases (+)
If Coffee Consumption Increases then Tiredness Decreases (-)
If Coffee Consumption Increases then Sleeping Difficulty Increases (+)
If Sleeping Difficulty Increases then Ability to Eliminate Coffee Decreases (-)
If Ability to Eliminate Coffee Decreases Tiredness will Increase (+)
What happens if Coffee Consumption Decreases?
How might you Decrease Coffee Consumption?

16. A racist policy is any measure that
produces or sustains racial
inequity between racial groups. By
policy, I mean written and
unwritten laws, rules, procedures,
and guidelines that govern people.
ibram X. Kendi

17. Number of Black Employees in senior
positions
Number of Black Candidates who apply for
positions
Police Brutality to Black Citizens
Barriers to High Quality Education
Using the diagram first identify a problem the
group would like to explore. Some ideas:
Problem
Identify a problem to explore

18. BREAKOUT:
Identify examples of
quick fixes to this
problem?

19. BREAKOUT:
What are some side
effects of these quick
fixes?

20. BREAKOUT:
What are some more
systemic solutions?

21. What?
So What?
Now What?

22. FURTHER LEARNING
Documentary: 13th - Netflix
Book: How to be an Antiracist - Ibram
X. Kendi
Book: Thinking in Systems - Donella
Meadows
https://thesystemsthinker.com/