Building resilience in the face of racism: options for anti-racism strategies

This paper recommends incorporating a focus on resilience in anti-racism strategies and suggest a framework for doing so which builds on the factors understood to promote resilience in those vulnerable to racism. Executive summary A significant number of Australians experience racism and racial discrimination every year. Research shows that racism has serious consequences for the health and wellbeing of those who experience it, and impacts negatively upon society more broadly. Given the prevalence of racism and the harm that it causes, governments and civil society organisations have adopted anti-racism strategies which aim to prevent and reduce racism by targeting those who may perpetrate or condone racism and discrimination. Such strategies however do not tend to focus on building the resilience of those subject to racism. Arguably, this should also be an objective of an anti-racism strategy. A recent Australian research project, Bubalamai Bawa Gumada (Healing the Wounds of the Heart) investigated agents of resilience in high-achieving Aboriginal people with experience of racism. The research identified a number of key themes for building resilience to racism: acknowledging racism, emotional distancing, staying calm and positive in the face of racism, having a strong sense of identity, seeking support from friends and family, and challenging racism. These themes reflect the findings of international research on racism and resilience and provide a framework for incorporating a focus on resilience into anti-racism strategies. The framework outlines objectives for actions targeting individuals, organisations and the broader community, including: having organisations and community leaders who name racism when it occurs and who implement strong sanctions against it, making sure that the targets of racism think positively about their identities and understand that racism results from flawed thinking by those who perpetrate it, the presence of supports, including safe spaces, for those subject to racism, and ensuring that both the targets of racism and bystanders are empowered to respond safely and effectively when encountering racism. Actions to promote these objectives could include communication campaigns aimed at individuals and groups vulnerable to racism, support for organisations such as businesses, schools and sporting clubs to oppose racism and provide safe spaces for vulnerable groups, and initiatives to promote bystander anti-racism action. Further research is necessary to develop safe and effective ways for those who experience racism to challenge it, and to understand what constitutes effective bystander action from the perspective of the target of racism. Research into agents of resilience with leaders of a broader range of culturally and linguistically diverse communities would be beneficial, as would work to build an understanding of the benefits to resilience of collective, as well as individual, resistance to racism. Such work is necessary in order to minimise the harm of racism to the individuals and communities who continue to bear the brunt of it

A Critical and Comprehensive Sociological Theory of Race and Racism

This article contests the contention that sociology lacks a sound theoretical approach to the study of race and racism, instead arguing that a comprehensive and critical sociological theory of race and racism exists. This article outlines this theory of race and racism, drawing from the work of key scholars in and around the field. This consideration of the state of race theory in sociology leads to four contentions regarding what a critical and comprehensive theory of race and racism should do: (1) bring race and racism together into the same analytical framework; (2) articulate the connections between racist ideologies and racist structures; (3) lead us towards the elimination of racial oppression; and (4) include an intersectional analysis

How a turn to critical race theory can contribute to our understanding of 'race', racism and anti-racism in sport

As long as racism has been associated with sport there have been consistent, if not coordinated or coherent, struggles to confront its various forms. Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework established to challenge these racialized inequalities and racism in society and has some utility for anti-racism in sport. CRT's focus on social justice and transformation are two areas of convergence between critical race theorists and anti-racists. Of the many nuanced and pernicious forms of racism, one of the most obvious and commonly reported forms of racism in sport, racial abuse, has been described as a kind of dehumanizing process by Gardiner (2003), as those who are its target are simultaneously (re)constructed and objectified according to everyday myth and fantasy. However, this is one of the many forms of everyday racist experiences. Various forms of racism can be experienced in boardrooms, on television, in print, in the stands, on the sidelines and on the pitch. Many times racism is trivialized and put down as part of the game (Long et al., 2000), yet its impact is rarely the source of further exploration. This article will explore the conceptualization of 'race' and racism for a more effective anti-racism. Critical race theory will also be used to explore the ideas that underpin considerations of the severity of racist behaviour and the implications for anti-racism. © The Author(s) 2010

Is there any justice in being other than 'white' in Britain?

Over the past five years numerous headlines have deconstructed racism as a political event. There is no escape from the politics of these events in the media; for example, Racism on the Rise in Britain’ (Guardian, 2014); Immigrants make UK racist (The Independent, 2014); Cameron to hold football racism summit (Sunday Times, 2012); and, You can't ignore racism and raise anti-racist children (Guardian, 2015). Following Prime Minister John Major’s political rhetoric calling for policy [to] be colour blind (1997:7) and Blair’s commitment in the 1990s to address race inequities in schools (DfEE, 1997) there is a need for fresh thinking. Especially since behind such political rhetoric there was only superficial support to challenge racism (Gillborn, 2009). Indeed, on a wider horizon, despite education permeating the warp and weft of Western societies, the politics of ‘White supremacy’ (more commonly identified as racism) is so ingrained in institutional and political structures in the UK (Taylor, 2009), its grounding assumptions remain largely ignored

Illinois Resident Assistants 1990s and Now: How RAs Caretake Students Regarding Racism

My study is composed of analyzing Racism and Diversity within the University of illinois. I looked into how Residential advisors treat Racism and diversity with the students that they take care of. Since they are group of the University of illinois, they reflect how the RA's reflect how much the university cares about racism and diversity, which is very little to me because they don't have any programs for racism such as rape which freshman must attend as well as other programs. this proves that we need to improve this problem because its still a big problem

Positive Affect and Adjustment to Perceived Racism

This research provided the first empirical investigation of the role of positive affect in moderating the relationship between perceived racism and depressive symptoms. A sample of 215 racial and ethnic minority young adults completed measures of perceived racism, daily race–related stress, positive affect, optimism, and depressive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that positive affect and perceived racism accounted for a significant portion of the variance in depressive symptoms. Most notably, above and beyond the effects of optimism, positive affect interacted with perceived racism to weaken its influence on depression. Implications for future research directions that build on these initial findings are discussed

Theology, Race and Libraries

Recent theological research into the origin of race and the presence of structural racism in library systems of knowledge organization will be presented. Using examples from the open access Anti-racism Digital Library and International Anti-racism Thesaurus participants will learn how to overcome current limitations in library catalog subject headings in order to offer anti-racist and just library service

Minority students’ responses to racism : the case of Cyprus

While research has focused on the role of racism in (re)producing ethnic/racial inequalities in education, there is very little research that investigates how variability in minority students' responses to racism can be explained. By using an ecological approach to integrate existing research on actors' responses to racism, this study finds that researchers have generally neglected factors and processes situated at the micro- and meso-levels of analysis. Qualitative interview data with Turkish-Cypriot children enrolled in schools in the predominantly Greek-speaking part of the Republic of Cyprus are used to investigate their strategies in response to racism and the factors that explain the observed variability in their responses. The findings suggest the importance of and interactions between factors situated at different levels of analysis, including the level of organizations and social groups and face-to-face interactions in explaining variability in young people's responses to racism

Racism and anti-racism in Europe: a critical analysis of concepts and frameworks

The targets and expressions of racism vary across Europe. This article discusses the relevance of different descriptions and analyses of racism despite the different terms used in different countries such as ‘ethnic minority’, ‘foreigner’ or ‘black’ and different interpretations of which differences matter. It shows the significance of a cross-national European perspective on racism. There are important convergences across European countries in the discourses and practices of racism, particularly the distinction between ‘useful’ and ‘abusive’ migrants. A cross-European perspective can be an important inspiration for anti-racist struggles

Racism as Self-Love

In the United States today, much interpersonal racism is driven by corrupt forms of self-preservation. Drawing from Jean- Jacques Rousseau, I refer to this as self-love racism. The byproduct of socially-induced racial anxieties and perceived threats to one’s physical or social wellbeing, self-love racism is the protective attachment to the racialized dimensions of one’s social status, wealth, privilege, and/or identity. Examples include police officer related shootings of unarmed Black Americans, anti-immigrant sentiment, and the resurgence of unabashed white supremacy. This form of racism is defined less by the introduction of racism into the world and more on the perpetuation of racially unjust socioeconomic and political structures. My theory, therefore, works at the intersection of the interpersonal and structural by offering an account of moral complacency in racist social structures. My goal is to reorient the directionality of philosophical work on racism by questioning the sense of innocence at the core of white ways-of-being