Kimberly Seibles Office of Multicultural Student Affairs University of South Carolina

1. Checkpoint.
How to support coworkers of color during the state of national racial trauma and racial injustice.
Kimberly Seibles, EdD
OMSA

2. Content Disclaimer
Content in this presentation may have a strong emotional and/or
physiological response due to some of the news stories and articles.
What the presentation aims to do:
• Identify resources.
What the presentation does not aim to do:
• Change your political, and/or religious beliefs

3. Having Conversations About Racial Injustice
• Everyone must assume that people are speaking with positive intent, while also acknowledging that speech can have negative
impact --- be humble, no one has all the answers
• Your privilege does not mean you caused oppression, but it does mean you benefit from a system that thrives on oppression.
• Being anti-racist means being willing to make some sacrifice.
• Educating yourself about racism and antiracism is your responsibility; if someone Black helps to educate you – say thank you
• As a White ally you are entitled to all you are feeling. Please understand that Black people have their own feelings that often
go unexpressed. We cannot always attend to yours as you might like.
• Black people have a right not to participate in their own oppression.
• Working within “the system” is not the only valid option to eradicate injustice.

4. “America is in crisis right
now.”
(Robin Abcarian,2020, LA Times)
The country is facing
• Economic Meltdown
• COVID- 19
• National Racial Trauma

5. America is a Tale of Two
Cities
Parallel Americas
Majority vs. Minority
• Majority
• Minorities
• Helplines; Fear; Pain; Profound
hurt;
• Raging to be seen and heard
• MLK the voice of the unheard

6. America is a Tale of Two Cities

7. “Why doesn’t America love us?”
Chris Cuomo stated one of his black friends asked, “Why
doesn’t America love us?”
National Racial Trauma
• Stopped for not wearing mask
• Going for a jog
• Knelling of Kaepernick vs. Floyd
It’s not just these incidents.
“Why do we always end up here?”

8. A House
Divided Can
Not Stand
"A house divided against itself,
cannot stand. I believe this
government cannot endure
permanently half slave and half
free.”

9. Then there is work...
• People are taught to
• Smile
• Agree
• Avoid being seen as angry, aggressive,
combative, a threat, etc.
• People of color do not open up at work.
• “I don’t feel safe sharing information that
might later be used against me.”
• This can stagnate and undermine their
progress towards leadership roles.
Phillips , Dumas & Rothbard, 2018,
Harvard Business Review

10. People of Color in
Academia
• Racial Battle Fatigue
• Self- Care
• responsibility to be intentional about efforts to
sustain their holistic well- being
• It’s okay not to be okay
• Racism’s Impact on Mental Health
• Mental, emotional, and physical health
• Counter Spaces
• Seek supportive communities that can embrace
each other and share narratives
Husband, 2016

11. What not to do...
Don’t take it personally
• People of color may not want to discuss this
• People of color may not want to or feel comfortable discussing situations
with you
Don’t make assumptions
Don’t ask people of color to speak for their community

12. White people in Academia
What can you do?
This is a conversation about race
• This is not about being a democrat or republican, rioting, class, poverty, etc.
Talk to other white people
• Understand how this is impacting your community
• The conversation should go beyond, ““this is so sad,” “I feel so bad for them,” “I thought we were
beyond this,” “this is unacceptable.”
Speak up
• Ask if people are okay
• Send an email
Give people time
• Racial trauma discussions should not be apart of a morning greeting or coffee conversation
Kivel, 2006

13. White people in Academia
Realize your coworkers maybe upset
Do your own research
• Remember it is not the responsibility of people of
color to educate you on issues of race.
Understand
• Some people get treated one way, and others
another
• Understand and acknowledge institution, systemic,
and individual privilege and oppression.
Listen
• It is okay not to have solutions or answers.
Kivel, 2006

14. At home... What do we
tell our children?
• "Silence will not protect you or them,"
said Beverly Daniel Tatum, a psychologist
and author of, Why Are All The Black Kids
Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And
Other Conversations About Race.
"Avoiding the topic is not a solution.”
• “Many white parents wonder whether to
talk with their kids at all, while parents of
color swallow their grief and fear to have
"the talk" once again.”
• Have age appropriate conversations with
your children.

15. Know this...
Don’t do it alone.
• You will not end racism by yourself.
• Build support, establish networks, and work with already established groups.
• Take a stand against injustice.
• Take risks. Intervene in situations where racism is being passed on.
• White protestors standing between police and black protestors
• Understand the connections between racism, economic issues, sexism, and other forms of injustice.
• Understand and learn from the history of whiteness and racism.
• Notice how racism is denied, minimized, and justified.

16. Discussion

17. Community Agreement
• Listen respectfully, without interrupting.
• Listen actively and with an ear to understanding others' views. (Don’t just think about what you are going to say while someone else is
talking.)
• Decide whether you are ready and willing to engage with the topic
• Commit to learning, not debating.
• Comment in order to share information, not to persuade.
• Avoid blame, speculation, and inflammatory language.
• Allow everyone the chance to speak.
• Avoid assumptions or generalizations about social groups.
• Do not ask individuals to speak for their (perceived) social group.

18. Discussion
Breakout groups

19. Discussion Questions
• How are you feeling?
• How you supporting yourself?
• How are you supporting others?
• What missteps do you think you have made? How have or do you want to correct
them?
• What does next steps look like for you?
• What do you think next steps look like for your department?
• What do you think next steps look like for you community?

20. Resources
Column: The burden of ending racism sits squarely on the shoulders of white people
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-29/the-burden-of-ending-racism-is-squarely-on-the-shoulders-of-white-people
Diversity and Authenticity
https://hbr.org/2018/03/diversity-and-authenticity
George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/31/how-talk-kids-racism-racial-violence-police-brutality/5288065002/
Guidelines for Being Strong White Allies
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/kivel3.pdf
Racial Battle Fatigue and the Black Student Affairs Professional in the Era of #BlackLivesMatter
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1266&context=tvc
Senators are demanding a solution to police stopping black men for wearing — and not wearing — masks
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/22/21230999/black-men-wearing-masks-police-bias-harris-booker-senate
We are really just battling one problem America as a tale of two cities on the death of George Floyd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKhEJI2WJ98
What white Americans can learn about racism from the coronavirus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/08/what-white-americans-can-learn-about-racism-coronavirus/