Introduction to the Equity & Empowerment Lens (Racial Justice Focus) Oregon Campus Compact VISTA In-Service Training Thursday, December 12, 2013 Sonali S. Balajee & Josh Todd, Consultants

Purpose of Presentation: 1.     Develop common understanding of the basic concepts and terms of equity and racial justice; 2.     Connect personal experiences and passions to the topic of equity and racial justice; 3. Apply one equity tool in the review and analysis of a community engagement activity. 2

“Organizations move in the direction of the questions they ask.” --Sonali S. Balajee

Briefly introduce yourself to your partner. Choose who will go first Briefly introduce yourself to your partner. Choose who will go first. You have 1 minute to say whatever comes to mind when you hear: College Trade roles

POWER You have 1 minute to say whatever comes to mind when you hear: After 1 Minute-Trade roles

EQUITY You have 1 minute to say whatever comes to mind when you hear: After 1 Minute-Trade roles

How are Positive Community Outcomes Connected to Social Justice? Inequities are disparities that result from preventable, systemic conditions, policies, and institutional practices Action to eliminate inequities requires a perspective and a conceptual framework grounded in principles of social justice

Why Are We Focusing on Race / Ethnicity? Racial and ethnic inequities prevent our organization and community from fulfilling our overall potential We move toward our vision of breaking the cycle of poverty by eliminating the root causes of such inequities many of which are compounded by race. Our vision mentions health people in health communities. MCHD is a community (internal) which also benefits from eliminating inequities and allowing people to more fully realize their potential. By doing so, we move closer to our vision of healthy people in healthy communities. This focus on race / ethnicity exists at the same time we are focused on broader social justice root causes (homophobia, classism, ageism, etc.)

Why Are We Focusing on Race / Ethnicity? We have made strides in reducing some health inequities in recent years, but research still shows: Overall, people of color have worse outcomes than Whites in Oregon. In Multnomah County, white individuals on average earn $33,100/year while people of color earn $16,600/year. Half the rate of whites. At end of slide: ‘We know these inequities exist… so, how can we work together towards eliminating their root causes?’ First, let’s touch upon a few key definitions that help us identify the issue and the realm of solutions.’

“Personal transformation can and does have global effects “Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one.” -Marianne Williamson

A Few Key Definitions Equity: An ideal and a goal. --Ensures that everyone has the resources to succeed --Fair and just distribution of resources --Just decision-making and involvement processes, leading to greater shared power and involvement of communities most affected by inequities

A Few Key Definitions Inequities: Systemic, avoidable, unfair and unjust differences in indicators of success

A Few Key Definitions Root Causes: The underlying causes of health inequities, and include: --unjust decision-making; --disempowering engagement processes; --inequities in living and working conditions, access to transportation and proper food sources; and --racism, classism, and other forms of discrimination (sexism, homophobia, disabilism, ageism, etc.)

A Few Key Definitions Empowerment: A social-action process in which individuals and groups act to gain mastery over their lives in the context of changing their social and political environment. Source: Wallerstein, 1992 --Targets BOTH individual and community change outcomes --Individual outcomes can’t be measured apart from the social setting --not a FIXED outcome, but rather an ability to judge situations and determine whether the conditions are appropriate to demand change --Another difference in terms of definitions--- public health research states that empowerment works at both horizontal and vertical levels (vertical being communities having more power vis a vis other groups in society)

Why an Equity AND Empowerment Lens? Equity is an ideal and a goal, not a process Connection to definition of equity: improved and just distribution of resources and voice / power Individual, organizational, and community empowerment are the means to achieving equity Keeps critical thinking about the social, economic, and environmental context at the forefront In public health and in other realms, these processes are crucial to achieving outcomes, and have been documented. Wallerstein – 2006 piece on link between processes and improved health and decreased inequities --Comprehensive measure of empowerment: which setting are conducive to promoting participation and psychological empowerment, and which ones constrain? (psych empowerment at individual level is: measurement of one’s self-efficacy in the community) Definition of empowerment in PH is different than ‘individual empowerment’ alone (pulling up by bootstraps analogy) or ‘empowerment zones’ usage Equity definition related to law: • A branch of law that developed alongside common law in order to remedy some of its defects in fairness and justice, formerly administered in special courts.

A Few Key Definitions Prejudice: Having inflexible and irrational preconceived beliefs or attitudes held by members of one group about another. Discrimination: Behaviors or actions irrationally based on prejudice directed towards another group or individual.

A Few Key Definitions Racism: *Conduct, words, or practices which advantage or disadvantage people because of their culture, ethnic origin, language, or color. *It is just as damaging in obvious forms as it is in less obvious and subtle forms, and is still called racism whether intentional or unintentional. Source: (Lopes and Thomas, 2006)

A Few Key Definitions Racism, continued: Only members of the dominant social group can exhibit racism because racism is: prejudice + the privilege of belonging to the group who possesses institutional power to enforce it.

A Few Key Definitions Structural Racism: “…a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work to reinforce and perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with ‘whiteness’ and disadvantages associated with ‘color’ to endure and adapt over time.” Source: PolicyLink, 2011

NOTE for this and next two slides: at any ‘level of the stream,’ supporting communities building their own capacities is addressing issues at a root cause level, for it involves empowering strategies. Ex: Grassroots leadership internally and externally

Causes of Education Inequities Root Factors Poverty Discrimination Immigration status Institutional power --the ‘-isms’ Neighborhood Conditions Toxic contaminants Joblessness Unequal education Poor transportation Inadequate access to food and exercise Marketing of unhealthy products Unhealthy housing Land use Access to healthy food Voter participation Risk Behaviors Poor Attendance Low Parental Involvement Violence ADHD ? Negative Outcome Complete Disconnection Drop Out Failing ? Funding for Attendance Initiatives Parent Fairs School Police Another way to look at the Upstream / Downstream concept in terms of strategically funding strategies addressing upstream issues and root causes… Current funding and programming reflects a strong emphasis on the medical model and on individual and group services. Upstream Downstream Adapted from: Prevention Institute. The Imperative of Reducing Health Disparities through Prevention: Challenges, Implications, and Opportunities, October, 2006.

Solutions to Education Inequities Root Factors Poverty Racial discrimination Immigration status Institutional power --the ‘-isms’ Neighborhood Conditions Toxic contaminants Joblessness Unequal education Poor transportation Inadequate access to food and exercise Risk Behaviors Poor attendance No higher ed role models Documentation Irrelevent curricula Negative Outcome Complete Disconnection Drop out Low wages Dependence Resources for Community capacity-building Policy advocacy Social and economic policy change/ education reform Equity & Cultural Responsive trainings To address inequities in our society that lead to health disparities, resources and programs need to shift to focus on policy, training, leadership development, and community organizing strategies that emphasize social change (Shifting Cultural Norms, Strengthening Organizational Capacity, Improving Policies and how they are created). Upstream Downstream Adapted from: Prevention Institute. The Imperative of Reducing Health Disparities through Prevention: Challenges, Implications, and Opportunities, October, 2006.

Relational Worldview Model Values: Balance Inclusion Systems Empowerment Relationship Sustainability Connects: Land Resources People Shared power Spirit and purpose CONTEXT MIND SPIRIT BODY --Developed by the National Indian Child Welfare Association --based on key Lens values such as balance, inclusion, empowerment --deliberately included to represent a worldview supported by many communities of color. --balanced relationshiop between land, resources, people, spiritual faith, and power --mind: cognitive processes (thoughts, memories, knowledge, etc.) and emotional processes --body: includes all physical aspects, genetic inheritance, gender, condition --context: culture, community, socioeconomic conditions, school, social history --spirit: comes from Latin root ‘espiritus’ or ‘spirare’ – meaning ‘to breathe into.’ What brings passion, breath, or purpose into people’s lives

Video: Unnatural Causes

What was one thing you heard that was new or an “aha” moment? What was one thing you heard which was confirmed by experiences you have had on your campus or host site?

End of Part 1

BREAK

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.  Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."  --Mother Teresa

Part II Choose a key moment/decision in your life that was driven by your values.

Part II In small groups at your table have three or more people share their decision and highlights from the handout questions.

Part III In table groups answer questions from handout. Be prepared to share key highlights from your conversation with the large group.

Closing/Next Steps “One of the things I learnt when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself I could not change others .” -Nelson Mandela

Be the change… Name one barrier to integrating this information in your daily work on your campus or host site. Share one concrete action that you can do to address this barrier.

Feel free to contact us with questions or further information: Sonali.S.Balajee@gmail.com JoshTPDX@gmail.com

How are trainings developed, prioritized, delivered in partnership with racial/ethnic communities? Who benefits and who is harmed by decisions around the training in terms of experiencing emotional, physical, mental, spiritual health? How can we better promote and educate on the impact of social determinants ? J.C. Watt – American politician from Oklahoma, Republican, First black person elected to statewide office in Oklahoma, 1990 Studied ministry, football player for Canadian league,

Thinking Upstream NOTE: Throughout presentation, encourage folks to keep the org development hat on as they move through the content

Thinking Upstream, cont. Where are policies, practices, and overall decision-making unjust, unfair, and overall, leading to racial discrimination? What barriers (political, financial, emotional, legal, etc.) exist in identifying and addressing root causes? How can I as an individual better contribute to eliminating racism and the ‘-isms’ in my own work via empowering behaviors?

Racial Equity and Social Change: Outcome Areas Shift in social and cultural norms Strengthened organizational capacity Strengthened partnerships and alliances Strengthened base of support Improved policies Changes in social impact Source: Measuring Policy and Advocacy, Annie E. Casey Foundation

“The things we fear most in organizations…fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances…are the primary sources of creativity.” --Margaret J. Wheatley

Barriers to this Work Lack of acknowledgement and understanding of historically inequitable policies, official and unofficial (employment, housing & homeownership, education, health care, loans, etc.) and their effect on individuals, communities, orgs Organizational and individual resistance to change as well as sharing power The ‘–isms’ in practice Sonali: Are there others that are not on this list?

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." --Marie Curie, Physicist and first woman to win the Nobel Prize

Transformational Change and the Lens Environmental conditions A culture of innovation and improvement Balance promotion of learning environments while maintaining efficiency / service Empowering strategies utilized We are all leaders Cultural humility Valuing and embodying respect, inclusion, honesty, courage Integrating diverse talents, perspectives MCHD, the organization, is a community