Study Hall! Equity v. equality and the burden on WOC.
Welcome to our weekly Study Hall. Each week I answer questions and share insights from each of you in our community. This week I dove deeper on some pressing topics from our community.
Ironically, I wrote most of this on a plane before I learned of the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Now, as I add the last touches, I write with both deep sorrow and appreciation of her legacy.
If you'd prefer to receive just one email a week, this is the email you'd receive. You can change your email preferences by updating your profile information here.
As always, your support is greatly appreciated. You can give one-time on our website, PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or subscribe for $5/mo on our Patreon.
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Reflect on the questions prompted by our community.
Ask yourself two questions about one of the topics we discussed this week. Discuss these questions with a friend or colleague.
GET EDUCATED
In review: The newsletters we published this week.
9/18/2020 | Reject racial gaslighting.
9/17/2020 | Abolish ICE.
9/16/2020 | Fight for paid sick leave.
9/15/2020 | End Hollywood whitewashing.
9/14/2020 | Stop the use of ketamine in arrests.
9/13/2020 | Understand representation in vaccine trials.
Q+A
Do you have any recommendations on words to diffuse the gaslighting?
From 9/18/2020 | Reject racial gaslighting.
Jacquelyn Ogorchukwu Iyamah is a social wellness designer that consistently unpacks interpersonal racism on her Instagram. In an article with Refinery29, she offers the following for Black people that may experience this:
"calling out: publicly pointing out the person’s harmful behaviour"
"calling in: scheduling a one-on-one with the person to discuss their behaviour"
"removing yourself from the conversation to preserve your energy and peace of mind, writing down exactly what happened so that you can refer back to it if you find yourself questioning your truth, or sending the person educational resources and establishing boundaries around the person who racially gaslighted you to limit your interactions with them."
For those with white privilege, I encourage sticking with the conversation on behalf of the communities of color that have to deal with it.
Q+A
Why would anyone even work at ICE, to begin with, especially a Black woman, considering how long allegations of abuse have been happening?
9/17/2020 | Abolish ICE.
Let's start with the professional aspect of this conversation. Dawn Wooten is a licensed professional nurse, a role that has increasingly limited opportunities in the healthcare industry, driven in part by the industry's history to disregard women of color and queer practitioners. Monica McLemore breaks this down further on Twitter.
Our society is quick to place the blame and burden on women, particularly women of color, for transgressions like these. Here is no different. Just because our bodies are on the line does not make them the shields for harm. And it's unfair to ask people who are already barred from equal opportunities to sacrifice themselves and their families' wellbeing and leave the system. That is certainly their right, but not their obligation.
I don't know Dawn Wooten personally and can't speak for her. No one should have to. It's not productive to blame anyone – especially people from marginalized communities – individually for this system of abuse (especially if she did speak out against it).
Q+A
I have spoken with people about this, and their response to me is that only 13% of the United States is Black, so why would this group get more representation than that? This is not an idea I agree with, but what would be a factual response that explains that?
9/15/2020 | End Hollywood whitewashing.
A few people had questions about this survey generally, which wasn't aiming to only demonstrate general stats on the ethnic breakdown, but the fact that there's been little to no change over the course of six years, even though our country is rapidly diversifying. I haven't seen a more recent study with this breadth of data yet.
I'd also consider the movies and roles that may have increased representation on film during these times. Films like 12 Years A Slave, The Help, and The Butler may have contributed to Black actors' representation, and all display Black people enslaved or in servitude. Consider that the two Black women that won Oscars during this time frame were playing Black women overcoming racism and/or horrific violence because of their identity (Halle Berry in Monster's Ball and Lupita N'gonyo for 12 Years A Slave). As did Morgan Freeman, who won the Best Actor role for his depiction of Nelson Mandela, and Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years A Slave.
Let's say these movies and the resulting representation did represent the breadth of stories and narratives that the film industry produces each year. Looking at racism as percentage points aren't enough. That's a lens of "equality" – that everyone gets resources based on population size. But it doesn't take into account the struggles and difficulties that some people have to get there. When it comes to representation in film, likely, we've only just gotten to proportional representation based on population size. It certainly hasn't always been like this, and the movies we're heralding are still perpetuating limited stories of Black people and their experiences.
In my opinion, we need to look at this from the point of equity: what's "proportional" based on the systemic inequities that people have color experienced? What are the systems that have caused this to exist? What would it look like if the industry was truly celebrating Black actors and filmmakers, and a breadth of stories and perspectives?
Q+A
If people of all races are biologically the same, why does there need to be diverse representation for drug trials?
From 9/13/2020 | Understand representation in vaccine trials.
The importance of diverse representation is to ensure that a wide range of health conditions and genetic compositions are represented in the trials. We've discussed in previous newsletters how racism – not race – can shift health outcomes for various populations. It's important to ensure that they're all represented.
It's also equitable, based on our history of medical bias and violence, for us to establish a more equitable practice of testing with broader populations. It means reconciling the deep rifts of distrust, including more diverse medical professionals and institutions, and holding ourselves accountable for a more equitable healthcare system.
Clarifications
9/17/2020 | Abolish ICE.
In our story on forced sterilization, we referenced how transgender people are being forced by state laws to undergo surgery to have their gender legally recognized. The term used by the source we referenced was “sex reassignment surgery,” but the preferred term in the trans community is “gender confirmation surgery”. We have corrected this language in our archives.
RELATED ISSUES
9/12/2020 | Study Hall! Youth activism, Prop 22, and being multiracial.
9/5/2020 | Study Hall! Defund the police or add more training?
8/29/2020 | Study Hall! The trauma of police brutality videos, active bystander trainings.
8/15/2020 | Study Hall! Affirmative action, sliding scale pricing, and the right intentions.
8/8/2020 | Study Hall! Emoji blackface, the "family card," and starting conversations.
8/1/2020 | Study Hall! Racist actions, doulas, and intersectional change.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza