Antiracist-students: Home

Ally: someone who makes the commitment to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and works in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may benefit from in concrete ways (OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Some Working Definitions).

Anti-racism: the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes in political, economic, and social life (Race Forward).

Bias: conscious or unconscious prejudice against an individual or group based on their identity.

• Implicit Bias - Unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, beliefs, and decisions.
• Explicit Bias - Conscious attitude or belief that occurs as a result of a deliberate thought.

Culture:

1. the customs, beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group
2. the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization (Merriam-Webster).

Discrimination: actions based on personal opinions and bias for or against individuals and groups (Dr. Hopson, Reimagining America: Discussions on Race, Justice and Social Protest).

Diversity: all the ways in which people differ, and all the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. Including people of different identities (i.e. race, ethnicity, gender, ability, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance) and people who have different ideas, perspectives, and values (UC Berkeley Center for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, Glossary of Terms).

Ethnicity: a social construct that divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics such as shared sense of group membership, values, behavioral patterns, language, political and economic interests, history and ancestral geographical base (Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: A Sourcebook. Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne Bell, and Pat Griffin, editors. Routledge, 1997).

Identity – an individual’s sense of self that consists of multiple intersecting factors, including but not limited to, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, class, ability and sexual orientation.

Inclusion – engaging with and listening to all voices in a way that shares power,  especially when decisions and policies are being made (OpenSource Leadership Strategies, Some Working Definitions).

Institutional or Systemic Racism: refers specifically to the ways in which institutional policies and practices create different outcomes for different racial groups. The institutional policies may appear neutral on the surface but have an exclusionary impact on particular groups - their effect is to create advantages for white people and oppression and disadvantage for people from groups classified as non-white (Racial Equality Resource).

Historical Trauma: experiences, shared by communities, that result in cumulative emotional and psychological wounds that are carried across generations (University of Minnesota Extension).

Lived Experience: used to describe the first-hand accounts and impressions of living as a member of a minority or oppressed group (Geek Feminist Wiki).

Microaggression: a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group such as a racial minority (Merriam-Webster).

Power (Social and Institutional):

• access to resources
• the ability to influence others
• access to decision-makers to get what you want done
• the ability to define reality for yourself and others (Dismantling Racism Workbook)

Prejudice: personal opinion and bias for or against individuals and groups (Dr. Hopson, Reimagining America: Discussions on Race, Justice and Social Protest).

An attitude based on limited information, often based on stereotypes. Prejudice is usually, but not always, negative. Positive and negative prejudices alike, especially when directed toward oppressed people, are damaging because they deny the individuality of the person. In some cases, the prejudices of oppressed people (“you can’t trust the police”) are necessary for survival. No one is free of prejudice (Dismantling Racism Workbook).

Privilege: unearned advantage based on social identity. Examples of social identity include: race, gender, class, sexual identity, ability, information etc. (Dr. Hopson, Reimagining America: Discussions on Race, Justice and Social Protest).

Race: is a made-up social construct, and not an actual biological fact (PBS - Race: Power of an Illusion).

• Race: Power of an Illusion: Ten Things Everyone Should Know about Race

Racism:

• Racism = race prejudice + social and institutional power
• Racism = a system of advantage based on race
• Racism = a system of oppression based on race
• Racism = a white supremacy system

Racism is different from racial prejudice, hatred, or discrimination. Racism involves one group having the power to carry out systematic discrimination through the institutional policies and practices of the society and by shaping the cultural beliefs and values that support those racist policies and practices (Dismantling Racism Workbook).

Social Construct: an idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society (Merriam Webster).

Socioeconomic status: an individual's or group's position within a ranked social structure. Socioeconomic status depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence (Dictionary.com).

Stereotype: a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, which may be untrue or only partly true (Cambridge Dictionary).

Title IX: is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance (Harvard Title IX, What is Title IX?).

• Title IX states:
  • No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Whiteness: Sociologists define whiteness as a set of characteristics and experiences generally associated with being a member of the white race and having white skin. Sociologists believe the idea of whiteness is directly connected to the related idea of people of color as "other" in society. Because of this, whiteness comes with a wide variety of privileges (The Definition of Whiteness in American Society, ThoughtCo., 2019).

White Privilege: the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits and choices given to people solely because they are white. Generally white people who experience such privilege do so without being conscious of it (Peggy McIntosh – Racial Equality Resource).

The majority of these definitions came from the Racial Equality Tools Glosssary

Use this link for Spanish translations of these definitions