How can racism be eliminated

Joan Williams, founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, recommends that organizations conduct internal research to identify areas of possible bias, determine what metrics can be used to measure change, and then make small changes called "bias interrupters" to curb the effects of unconscious bias.

Bias interrupters are tweaks to existing business systems, such as hiring practices, performance evaluations, work assignments, promotions and compensation decisions, that stop and correct implicit workplace biases.

For example: rewriting job descriptions, using software rather than human judgment to screen applicants, or rethinking criteria for performance evaluations. It also expanded its recruitment to include diversity-specific job boards. A few years ago, Google Photos was called out publicly for auto-tagging black people in photos as "gorillas.

When employees report racial harassment or discrimination, HR is often called upon to investigate these claims in a timely, fair and impartial manner. When HR shirks that responsibility, there can be serious ramifications. During the 18 months that Liane Hornsey worked as Uber's chief human resource officer, she led many initiatives that aimed to eliminate racial discrimination. But her laxity in investigating employees' racial discrimination claims, along with questionable personal conduct, led to her resignation.

According to a Reuters report, problems surfaced when an anonymous group of employees of color charged that Hornsey mishandled their complaints of racial bias, used discriminatory language and made derogatory comments about several black executives. The matter was referred to the company's chief legal officer, who retained outside legal counsel to investigate the allegations. After the firm concluded that some of the charges were true, Hornsey resigned. Racism is bad for business on all fronts.

Not only does it place a company in legal jeopardy, but it also fosters a divisive work culture that undermines morale, teamwork and productivity. It makes it harder to recruit, engage and retain diverse talent, and it tarnishes an organization's reputation and brand. To get the best results from a bias training effort, Kim offered the following guidelines:.

Arlene S. Hirsch is a career counselor and author with a private practice in Chicago. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. By Arlene Hirsch October 22, Reuse Permissions.

Image Caption. A handful of post-workshop interviews with Starbucks employees conducted by Time magazine revealed disparate reactions: A white employee at a New Jersey location reported that he and his co-workers learned a lot from the training and wouldn't change anything about it. A black barista in California initially questioned why people needed to be taught how not to be racist.

However, after watching the video with her co-workers, she said that she felt comforted by the experience. It "missed the mark" for another black employee who said it didn't teach him anything that he didn't already know. An employee from Mexico complained of feeling excluded from the conversation because it emphasized relationships between white employees and black male customers. Starbucks plans to integrate the program into its onboarding process for all new hires.

Leveling the Playing Field Joan Williams, founding director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, recommends that organizations conduct internal research to identify areas of possible bias, determine what metrics can be used to measure change, and then make small changes called "bias interrupters" to curb the effects of unconscious bias. For example, in countries like the United States, which have enacted prevention laws, changes in social norms have led some commentators to use phrases like "colour-blind racism"1 and "laissez-faire racism"2 to capture the challenges of preventing racial discrimination and enforcing laws.

Racial discrimination is manifested also in practices generally thought to be relics of the past, such as race-based slavery, as in the case of the continuing enslavement of dark skinned people in contemporary Mauritania,3 as well as crimes against humanity or, as argued by some, the genocide committed in the Darfur region of the Sudan. The OHCHR role in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, is an example, where the discourses arising from the event and the participation of thousands of non-governmental organizations, youth groups and networks had an impact on millions of people.

Specifically, Article 12 of the Declaration on the Prevention of Genocide, adopted on 11 March by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CERD , "urges the international community to look at the need for a comprehensive understanding of the dimensions of genocide, including in the context of situations where economic globalization adversely affects disadvantaged communities, in particular indigenous peoples". This clearly indicates the recognition of the complex factors in facilitating discriminatory practices leading to genocide.

It is worth noting that, whereas genocide is not always directly linked to racial discrimination, they are often interlinked, as demonstrated by the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the Secretary-General.

Given that the Convention calls on States to prohibit racial discrimination and enact laws to protect citizens, it is clear that genocidal activities can be linked to the Government's violations of human rights. The Government of Sudan can, therefore, be held accountable for the estimated 1. It also reported: "Government forces and militias conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement, throughout Darfur.

These acts were conducted on a widespread and systematic basis, and therefore may amount to crimes against humanity. The extensive destruction and displacement have resulted in a loss of livelihood and means of survival for countless women, men and children. In addition to the large scale attacks, many people have been arrested and detained, and many have been held incommunicado for prolonged periods and tortured.

The vast majority of the victims of all of these violations have been from the Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit, Jebel, Aranga and other so-called 'African' tribes. Exploring the importance of preventing and enforcing the prohibition of racial discrimination, as mandated by various UN instruments, can reveal the challenges of addressing persistent racial discrimination four decades after the Convention was adopted.

Using the work of two authors, I shall illustrate here the social construction of race as means of generating discussions on racial discrimination and exposing racism as facile thinking. Consider "essentialist" formulation of race that views it as "a matter of innate characteristics, of which skin colour and other physical attributes provide only the most obvious and, in some respects, most superficial, indicators"5 and is, at least in part, the basis for enslavement in Mauritania today.

The other extreme view is trivializing the category of race, arguing that since it is a social construction, race will disappear if we simply ignore it -- this ignores the ways in which race has deeply structured Western civilization for the last years.

It is important to consider the social construction of race in light of B. Organize a committee of lawyers, real-estate agents, lending institutions, and community and civil rights leaders to conduct a study and present the facts to the local government. If there is a neighborhood association or council, consider if it is representative of the neighborhood's demographics and diversity. If not, develop strategies for engaging leaders formal and informal from the underrepresented groups.

Organize a cleanup or rebuilding campaign to erase racist graffiti or eliminate vandalism. Put up "Hate Free Zones" signs in the community. Doing something as a community to repair physical damage done by racism shows that the people in your town won't stand for such displays of hatred. It also can attract media attention to your cause and put a positive spin on a negative situation. Organize a city-wide coalition of community leaders made up of representatives from the different cultural and ethnic groups, as well as different community sectors e.

Doing something as a group of residents demonstrates the individuals' commitment to reduce prejudice. Creating a governing body that represents institutional leaders helps to reduce racism at the institutional level. Reviewing hiring and contracting policies in the city government will help change institutional norms that could be perpetuating economic disparities. Identify and support new candidates from different racial and ethnic groups to run for city council and other community-wide governing bodies.

Conducting candidate forums and voter registration drives will increase residents' knowledge about the candidates and what they stand for, and increase the candidates' accountability to their constituents should they win.

Examples: St. After their teacher showed them a video on how another town had fought hate, a 6th grade class at St. Francis De Sales Central Elementary decided that if the graffiti was left alone, it would give the impression that the community didn't care about racism.

The kids got together and painted over the graffiti, earning them the thanks of the state Attorney General and publicizing their point. Toronto Coalition Against Racism In the summer of , Toronto experienced a rise in increasingly violent racism, much of which was directed at Tamil immigrants. Much of the violence was being done by neo-Nazis.

Eventually, a large protest was held, with 3, people led by the Tamil community chanting "Immigrants In! Nazis Out! The people who organized the protest went on to form the Toronto Coalition Against Racism. TCAR is a coalition of 50 community-based anti-racist and social justice organizations. According to its website, TCAR has been involved in many community actions since forming, including:.

Put together a community forum or town event on racism. Give citizens a chance to talk about how racism affects your community can give you insight into how people feel on the subject, ideas on what you and others can do to combat racism, a chance to let people who share similar concerns to network with each other, and to publicly let racists know that your community will not stand for racism in its midst.

Create an intentional strategy that engages local government, business, education, media, and other leaders to demonstrate the commitment to eliminate racism in the institutions in your community.

Conducting public forums and events will increase awareness and reduce racial prejudice. Working in a coalition made up of cross-sector leaders and developing a clear plan will move your community towards a more sustainable effort to eliminate racism.

Bringing together leaders to create a strategy that deliberately, systematically, and explicitly deals with racism will enable your community to have a longer-term vision for a just and healthy community. Each institution should find a way for how it can contribute to eliminating racism in its policies and practices. The media should be involved to help get the word out. Credible leaders need to take a public stand to promote and validate the effort. Work to ensure that diversity is valued and included in the city government's mission statement.

Make an effort to support events that celebrate the traditions of different cultural and ethnic groups. This can be as simple as including such events on the community calendar and actively publicizing them.

Your organization can also co-sponsor these events to show its support. If a racist group or incident occurred in your community, organizing a vigil, demonstration or public protest will not only give you and others some effective way to respond, but also help give hope to your community by having everyone come.

After September 11, various immigrant communities held vigils to express their sympathy for the World Trade Center and Pentagon victims and their families, speak out against anti-Muslim acts, and show their commitment and loyalty to the United States. This community forum gave a panel of local expert as well as members of the audience the chance to ask mayoral and city commission candidates questions about the impact of racism on the Dayton community and the role it plays in local public policy decisions.

More than people attended, including state and local officials, community organizers, clergy, citizens, and students.

The Coalition is planning to conduct study circles to provide residents an opportunity to build relationships. A community-wide activity was to invite Beverly Daniel Tatum to a community forum to talk about racism and how it affects our children's education. The Coalition worked with local bookstores to first sell Ms. Tatum's book at a reduced cost and to publicize the community forum. During the community forum after Ms. Tatum's presentation, small group discussions were held by facilitators that the Coalition provided.

At the institutional level, there is loan program for homebuyers that is designed to encourage and improve neighborhood diversity in particular areas of the community where one race is underrepresented. They also worked closely with the school district to "reinvent" a school to become a "Lab school," which has attracted a more diverse student population to the school, and increased demand among people of different races for the neighborhood around the school.

You don't have to form a group to do something about racism. As an individual, there are many steps that you can take to reduce another person's prejudice, including:. Changing people's attitudes and institutional practices is hard but necessary work. A commitment among individuals, organizations, and institutions to valuing diversity is essential for healthy communities.

Changes will not happen overnight, but you can begin to take small steps towards making a difference, as suggested in this section. These small steps build the foundation for more organized, deeper, and larger efforts to build inclusive communities, a topic that will be discussed in the next section of this chapter. Black Feminism and the Movement for Black Lives : Learn about how social justice movements are rooted in Black feminist theory in this video.

The Northeast Education Partnership provides online access to PowerPoint training slides on topics in research ethics and cultural competence in environmental research. Chapter 9: Oppression and Power in the "Introduction to Community Psychology" explains the concepts and theories of oppression and power, the intersection of oppression and power, and strategies community psychologists and allies use to address oppression and power.

Chapter Social and Political Change in the "Introduction to Community Psychology" details the characteristics of dehumanizing and harmful societal structures, which means are most effective to reduce harm when engages in social and political changes processes, and how to engage in sustainable forms of activism.

Collins, C. What is white privilege, really? Teaching Tolerance, Facing the Divide : Psychology's Conversation on Race and Health is a video series designed to bring psychological science to the conversation regarding the connections among race, racism and health. Presented by the American Psychological Association.

How to Be an Antiracist video from the Aspen Institute. Political Research Associates. The Racial Equity Impact Assessment Toolkit from Race Forward: the Center for Racial Justice Innovation is a tool for conducting a systematic examination of how different racial or ethnic groups will likely be affected by a proposed action or decision.

Center for Democratic Renewal. Responding to hate groups: Ten points to remember. Responding to hate-motivated activity: Monitoring , research, and security. Southern Poverty Law Center. Ten ways to fight hate. Chisom, R. Undoing racism. Clark, R. Racism as a stressor for African Americans: A biopsychosocial model. American Psychologist, 54 , Duvall, L. Respecting our differences: A guide to getting along in a changing world. Ford, C. We can all get along: 50 steps you can take to help end racism at home, at work, and in your community.

New York, NY: Dell. Hair, P. Louder than words: Lawyers, communities and the struggle for justice. A community builder's tool kit. Tenth Street, Claremont, CA , Ong, P. Transforming race relations. Orfield, G. Religion, race and justice in a changing America.

Potapchuk, M. Holding up the mirror. Rivera, F. Community organizing in a diverse society. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Saad, L. Me and white supremacy: Combat racism, change the world, and become a good ancestor.

Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Inc.