This document summarizes a training provided by Dr. Marquita Byrd on examining whiteness and facilitating discussions about race. The training covers: 1) Understanding the social constructs of race and whiteness and how they operate in everyday lives 2) Learning to have respectful and productive discussions about the sensitive topic of race 3) Examining how whiteness impacts white people and influences their views of other racial groups 3) Reflecting on one's own racial identity development and biases to have more effective cross-cultural interactions

1. ByMar Global
Training for Organizational Transformation
Dr. Marquita Byrd
dr.byrd@earthlink.net
www.bymardiversitytraining.org
Fax: 408-573-1234

2. Where is Your Voice in the National
Dialogue on Race
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3. Why Dr. Byrd?
Teach Diversity
Courses
Whiteness is one of
the basic areas of
study
Developed
techniques that
allow us to examine
the topic without
bruising each other.
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4. Safe Climate
Respect Each other
No blaming
Laugh with each other, not at each other
Respect Confidences Shared
Frustration accepted, hostility not welcome
Treat each other as equals
No shaming
No name calling
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5. Workshop Objectives
I. Understand the nature of Whiteness
II. Become aware of how whiteness works in
our everyday lives
III.Learn about “race” and “ethnicity”
IV.Contemplate the role of “race” in our own
lives
V. Facilitate Dialogue on the topic of race
VI.Discover the impact of racism on White
People
VII.Create ways to remove the baggage of race
in our lives
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6. Senator Obama Speaks on Race
March 8, 2008
We cannot move forward “unless we perfect our
union by understanding that we may have different
stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may
not look the same and we may not have come from
the same place, but we all want to move in the same
direction - towards a better future for of children
and our grandchildren.
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7. Race is an Ambiguous Means of
Categorizing People
Social construct: a way of talking about something that we experience or
know. Race doesn’t exist in that we all have DNA from the same woman.
Race: a way of talking about a group of people based on biologically
transmitted characteristics such as skin colour, hair, facial structure, etc.
Ethnicity: a way of talking about a group of people based on their
learned characteristics such as language, traditions, values, and history
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8. Who Are We?
Spanish First Language
Spanish Surname
Africa Sub-Saharan Indigenous in New
World conquered by
Spain
Asian-Pacific Islander
Far East, South East
Southern Asian (India)
Indigenous People
of US, maintaining
identity through
European: Britain, tribal affiliation
France, German,
Poland, Italy, etc.
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9. Racio-Ethnic Groups in the US
Hispanic Native African
13% 1% 12% Asian
6%
European
68%
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10. The Taboo Topic
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11. The Dialogue is
Skewed
Some groups consider
themselves “muted” in
this great discussion.
They find themselves in
a “spiral of silence”
because they do not feel
comfortable entering
into the conversation.
That group would be
white people.
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12. Whiteness: The
elephant in the
room
The elephant in the room
that many whites don’t want
to talk about or don’t know
how to talk about it.
People of colour talk about it
frequently.
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13. Why are most
whites not talking
about it?
Unconscious: don’t know that it
exists
See whiteness as devoid of culture
Shame over group actions in the
past (history)
Tired of being blamed?
Fearful that people will
misunderstand or be angry
Don’t want to accept that there is a
position of privilege based on race
Whiteness is the “white noise” in
our culture.
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14. To Learn More About Ourselves
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15. Studying whiteness means studying institutional racism, especially
practices that create “white privilege.” This approach can combat the
tendency to get stuck in the “white guilt” syndrome (which involves both
confessions and denials).
Teaching about whiteness helps move classes beyond the "celebrate
diversity" model of multiculturalism.
Silence about whiteness lets everyone continue to harbor prejudices and
misconceptions, beginning with the notion that “white” equals normal.
Whiteness oppresses when it operates as the invisible regime of
normality, and thus making whiteness visible is a principal goal of anti-
racist pedagogy.
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16. 1. Topic examined in the philosophy, literature and discussions
of People of Colour
2. Expounded on by those who wished to validate the
oppression of people of Colour
3. Academic Disciplines of Law, Feminists Studies and
Performance Studies
Critical Race Theory
Critical White Studies
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17. Whiteness is More than a Skin Colour
Group and individual identity
Ideology: set of ideas about the nature of the world
Ownership
Dominance
Privileged Group
Attitude of superiority
The standard by which all others are judged
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18. Who Invented Whiteness and Why?
Europeans of means who encountered various cultures
around the world during exploration.
To create solidarity among Europeans in the colonies
Justify oppression
Divide and conquer disadvantaged
whites and people of colour
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19. Impacts of Racism on White Americans (2nd ed.)
Bowser and Hunt (1996), Sage Publications
Promotes
1. Lack of cultural knowledge of self and others
2. Isolates or sets apart from the rest of the world (3/4 people of colour)
3. Lives susceptible to social and political ills first appearing in communities
of colour and the poor.
4. Aversion to coalitions among poor, working poor and middle class whites
and people of colour.
5. The invisibility of poor whites
6. Distorted views of reality (Ex. Numerically the majority of poor people
are white).
7. Hinders development of potential.
8. Dehumanization of self and others.
9. Moral and social confusion.
10. Increase and aggravation of psychiatric disturbances.
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20. Activity: Where are You in the
Stages of Racial identity
Development
Unaware Conscious Foreclosed
Moratorium Achieved
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21. We all interact from the “standpoint” of
who we are without even thinking about it.
Whiteness College Professor
Speak in a tone of superiority Preachy
Don’t think to take into People developer
account the culture of others Dominate conversation with
May not understand the information, rather than
impact of your race on listening
interactions with others Because I am right (correct
Unaware of self as an ethnic information) I have to be
group right
See yourself as the standard Privileged
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22. What Marquita Brings to the
Table Educated
College
Professor
Female
Senior Citizen
African American
Minister Midwesterner
Middle Class [according to the federal government]
(But this is what my house looks like!!!)
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23. Effective communicators must always
take into account who they are.
Aware of how my:
Race
Gender
Education
Occupation
Physical Characteristics
Style of communication
Worldview
Past Experiences
Future Expectations
Influence the way people see me, how I see myself, and how that
shapes my relationships with other people, personally and
professionally.
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24. I think the athletic
system in higher
education is unfair to
the rest of the
student population
Have to be aware of my
bias against college
athletics and guard
against that interfering
with my scholar-
athletes in my classes.
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25. All of Us have Biases
Biases Parent Tapes
Racial stereotypes Who is good
Myths about other races Who is bad
Discriminatory behaviors Who I should love
against others Who I should avoid
Negative attitudes about the Why I should wear good
poor underwear
Misunderstanding of the How I should be in the world
immigrant experience How the world relates to me
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26. My Parent Tapes About Race
Blacks are better than
whites
Blacks don’t do all the
bad things that white
people do
Whites will always have
the advantage in every
situation
White people don’t have
to struggle
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28. Parent tapes
must be
examined
Some of the
messages have to
be erased,
sometimes the
playback
equipment must
be turned off.
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29. Racial groups
Ethnic groups
The poor
Disabled
Women
Men
Which Ones Do You Need to Purge?
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30. Biases are a Part of the Human
Experience
Biases Awareness of Biases
Don’t make you a bad person Being aware of your biases
Makes you normal Managing your biases
Unrevealed biases Makes you more effective in
cause harm and your work
discrimination
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31. Home Work
Think about what your race might mean to the clients
you serve.
List the biases you might have about the clients you
serve.
How do those biases manifest themselves?
What can you do to keep those biases from harming
your clients.
Develop a vision of your work and how it would be with
these biases under control.
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32. Become Aware of Your Race
Learn more about it.
Become part of the national dialogue
Let your voice be heard!
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