AFL - CIO How to Have a Convo on Race without Everyone Running Out of the Room.
1. How to Have a Convo on Race without
Everyone Running Out of the Room
2. Meet Your Trainers
Racial and Economic Justice
Carmen Berkley
Civil, Human and
Women’s Rights
Director, AFL-CIO
Tiffany Dena Loftin
Senior Civil & Human
Rights Program
Coordinator, AFL-CIO
4. DEBRIEF THE VIDEO
• Why is talking about race and racism
so challenging in the labor
movement?
• Why do we need to have discussions
about race in the labor movement?
Racial and Economic Justice
6. MALICIOUS RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
Many see racism as
malicious racism.
Malicious racism is ugly,
violent and socially
destructive. Most people
will deny or condemn this
form of racism.
7. MALICIOUS RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
Insisting that racism can
only take this one form is
political strategy.
This allows the right to claim
that racism is largely in the
past, and whatever they are
saying and doing cannot
possibly be racist because
they don’t regularly use
racial swear words.
8. CODED RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
Both of these photos invokes ones rights to own a firearm. Whites are seen as
innocent, hardworking, endangered, and the “real” Americans who deserve guns for
their protection. People of color are predatory, lazy, dangerous, and perpetual
foreigners. Undeserving of guns because they are a threat to society.
9. CODED RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
Coded racism works by
invoking racial stereotypes.
The coded part comes in
when people deploy these
stereotypes without
expressly mentioning race.
They seem race-neutral,
but they incite powerful
(often unconscious)
Racial reactions.
Coded
Terms
Welfare
Queen and
Food
Stamps
Anchor Baby
Illegal Alien
Silent
Majority
Hard
Working
American
Inner
City/Thug
States
Rights
Law and
Order
10. ROUTINE RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
For most of us racism is
routine. This may sound as
if racism is no big deal, but
the point is rather that
racism is commonsense,
forming part of our
everyday understanding of
the world, even for people
who mean well, and even
for people of color.
Example: All Black people <3 Orange Soda
11. STRATEGIC RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
Strategic racism: the decision to
manipulate the racial fears and hatreds of
others for selfish ends.
The “strategy” in strategic racism is to
divide and conquer, and it has been at the
core of American politics for the last half-
century.
We typically think of racism in terms of
intentional harm to people
of color, and certainly that’s a huge
element. But we lose sight of racism’s full
power when we focus only on how it
injures people of color, strategic racism
uses race to structure the basic rules of
government and the marketplace.
12. STRATEGIC RACISM
Racial and Economic Justice
Of all the language twisting
political slogans, few have
had as long an impact as
Right to Work Laws.
RTW laws are rooted in the
quest for super-exploited
labor. Used to justify racial
exclusion, destroy collective
bargaining and derail
workers'’ rights to organize.
RTW has a history of going
after unions and communities
of color. In 19 of the 26 RTW
states, Jim Crow once ruled.
14. IMPLICIT BIAS
Racial and Economic Justice
Attitudes or stereotypes that affect our
understanding, actions, and decisions in an
unconscious manner.
These biases, which encompass both
favorable and unfavorable assessments, are
activated involuntarily and without an
individual’s awareness or intentional control.
Residing in the subconscious, these biases are
different from known biases that individual
may choose to conceal for the purposes of
social and/or political correctness.
16. COMBATTING IMPLICIT BIAS
Racial and Economic Justice
Expose yourself
to counter-
stereotypic
examples of
group members.
Consciously contr
ast negative
stereotypes with
specific counter-
examples.
Rather than aim
to be color-blind,
the goal should be
to “individuate” by
seeking specific
information about
members of other
racial groups
Make more of an
effort to encounter
and engage
in positive
interactions with
people of
different racial
and ethnic
groups.
Assume the
perspective. Ask
yourself what your
perspective might be
if you were in the
other’s persons
situation you can
develop a better
appreciation for what
their concerns are.
17. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Racial and Economic Justice
Ground Rules:
Step Up, Step Back
Assume Best Intentions
W.A.I.T = Wait! Why am I talking
Oops, Ouch
Speak from “I” Statements
Respect each other
What is said here, stays here,
what is learned here, leaves here
18. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Racial and Economic Justice
Timekeeper: 10 minutes
Note taker: Big Themes
Facilitator asks: How does routine racism
and implicit bias show up among union
members and in leadership? What can we
do to help workers and union leaders to see
the shared interests among white workers
and workers of color?
Ground Rules:
Step Up, Step Back
Assume Best Intentions
W.A.I.T = Wait! Why am I talking
Oops, Ouch
Speak from “I” Statements
Respect each other
What is said here, stays here, what is learned here, leaves here
19. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Racial and Economic Justice
Timekeeper: 10 minutes
Note taker: Big Themes
Facilitator asks: Is there an effort to use
malicious, strategic or routine racial
appeals to win support from union members
in local or national politics? How can we
talk to union members about racial appeals
and how it divides worker solidarity?
Ground Rules:
Step Up, Step Back
Assume Best Intentions
W.A.I.T = Wait! Why am I talking
Oops, Ouch
Speak from “I” Statements
Respect each other
What is said here, stays here, what is learned here, leaves here
20. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Racial and Economic Justice
Timekeeper: 10 minutes
Note taker: Big Themes
Facilitator asks: If non-union communities of
color are essential to protecting legislative
battles and political fights, how do we engage
them in the labor movement? How do we foster
a non-transactional relationship with
communities of color around issues that are
beneficial to us and issues beneficial to them?
Ground Rules:
Step Up, Step Back
Assume Best Intentions
W.A.I.T = Wait! Why am I talking
Oops, Ouch
Speak from “I” Statements
Respect each other
What is said here, stays here, what is learned here, leaves here
21. Racial and Economic Justice
Carmen Berkley cberkley@aflcio.org
Tiffany Dena Loftin tloftin@aflcio.org
Editor's Notes
Debrief questions:
Why is talking about race and racism so challenging in the labor movement?
Why do we need to have discussions about race in the labor movement?
Many see racism as malicious racism. Malicious racism is ugly, violent and socially destructive. Most people will deny or condemn this form of racism.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
When you look at these families what do you see? What are the words that come to mind?
When you hear the term welfare queen what do you think?
What about the term anchor baby?
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
A Few Key Characteristics of Implicit Biases
Implicit biases are pervasive. Everyone possesses them, even people with avowed commitments to impartiality such as judges.
Implicit and explicit biases are related but distinct mental constructs. They are not mutually exclusive and may even reinforce each other.
The implicit associations we hold do not necessarily align with our declared beliefs or even reflect stances we would explicitly endorse.
We generally tend to hold implicit biases that favor our own ingroup, though research has shown that we can still hold implicit biases against our ingroup.
Implicit biases are malleable. Our brains are incredibly complex, and the implicit associations that we have formed can be gradually unlearned through a variety of debiasing techniques.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.
Insisting that racism can only take this one form is political strategy.
This allows the right to claim that racism is largely in the past, and whatever they are saying and doing cannot possibly be racist because they don’t regularly use racial swear words.