4. Supporting Anti-Racist and Anti-Biased Practices

How do we include everyone when planning an event or activity? How can we make sure that our program feels inclusive to all families? There are so many things to consider.

In this video, we’ll start by talking about two examples of how implicit bias leads to the unintentional exclusion of learners and their families at school. Then we’ll learn more about implicit bias and what it means to be anti-racist and engage in anti-racist work. Let’s get started.

Khalid’s family is Muslim and celebrates Ramadan. His middle school hosts a free community event, inviting families for a bingo night one evening at the school. They advertise the event with flyers and email communication, talk a lot about it at school, and encourage everyone to attend. Khalid’s family does not attend because they’re celebrating Ramadan with family and friends.

At school the next day, his teacher asks, “Why weren’t you at bingo night? It was so fun.” Khalid said he was celebrating Ramadan with his cousins. The teacher replied, “Huh, who’s Ramadan, your cousin?” Khalid tries to explain the holiday, but his teacher moves to the front of the room to start the lesson. Why didn’t his teacher know what Ramadan is?

Leonard is Khalid’s classmate. He is Jewish, and the school bingo night is held during Passover. Leonard’s family is not eating leavened bread as part of their observance of the holiday. His mother, Rebecca, sees hot dogs and buns being served and tells Leonard, “Why don’t you just have a plain hot dog, or you can eat the matzah and cream cheese sandwich that I brought for you?” Leonard gets upset; he feels self-conscious eating in a different way than his peers. His mom gives in, saying, “Fine, just have a hot dog,” but feels conflicted. Rebecca wants Leonard to be proud of his Jewish heritage, not feel like this part of his identity needs to be concealed or compromised. She’s frustrated that the school didn’t consider Passover and offer food that everyone could enjoy.

When Rebecca brings this up with the school principal, she’s surprised. She had no idea it was Passover and didn’t know that some Jewish people don’t eat bread during this time. Rebecca also shares that it was Ramadan, noting that it’s why Muslim families didn’t attend. The principal didn’t know that either and did not realize that many Muslims fast during the days of Ramadan.

In this example, we had a school leader and a teacher who did not realize the school had acted in a biased way by hosting an event during two major religious holidays. As a person who celebrates Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, the principal did not know that other religions’ holidays took place during the spring. When Khalid’s teacher asked him why he didn’t attend the bingo night and asked what Ramadan was, she made a child feel excluded. In both examples, children’s religious identities were not acknowledged and certainly not celebrated at school. Instead, students and parents were made to feel singled out for their religious practices. We can agree that this does not make up an inclusive, equitable place.

So how can we avoid putting learners like Khalid and Leonard, and parents like Rebecca, in situations where they feel left out? We have to start by learning about and reflecting on our implicit bias.

Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes that influence our thoughts, decisions, and actions, often without our awareness or intent. These biases are rooted in societal and cultural influences and can impact our interaction with others, shaping how we treat people based on race, gender, age, religion, ability, and more.

Just like how the teacher and principal we talked about before acted towards Khalid and Leonard, they didn’t mean to exclude their learners and families, but by being unaware of major holidays celebrated by members of their community, they unintentionally created an uncomfortable situation.

Implicit biases are formed through exposure to societal messages, media portrayals, personal experiences, and cultural norms. They can affect our judgments and behaviors. We may not even realize we’re acting in biased ways or interpreting something in a biased way. Implicit biases are not necessarily reflective of our conscious beliefs, but they still can lead to unintentional discrimination and unequal treatment.

In fact, implicit bias is responsible for significant over-representation and over-identification of students of color in special education, and in Black and Native students being suspended at higher rates in elementary and secondary school settings.

So what does it mean to be anti-racist?

To be an anti-racist means actively opposing and working against racism. This involves acknowledging that racial disparities and discrimination exist, and taking deliberate actions to push against these systems of inequality. Being anti-racist goes beyond simply not being racist; it requires that when we notice structures, policies, and practices that support bias, we say something. Being anti-racist requires us to work to dismantle injustice while we implement more inclusive and equitable systems. It requires all of us to do our part when we witness racism and ensure that our programs are not maintaining biases and prejudices.

This is particularly important when we talk about educational or community settings, where biases can lead to discrimination and unequal treatment. Anti-bias work aims to address biases related to many things, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability, and religion. Our goal is to create spaces where learners and families are respected, valued, and treated fairly, regardless of their background or identity.

Due to bias, some learners and families are unfairly treated and made to feel unwelcome. Due to bias, some people may make choices based on stereotypes, which can lead to unfair systems and negative outcomes. As we work with teens and pre-teens and their families, anti-racist, anti-bias practices and reflecting on implicit bias are a critical part of inclusion. Our goal is to create spaces where all learners and families feel comfortable and confident with all aspects of their identities—their race, religion, gender identity, culture, language, ability, and more.

There are many actions we can take to consider implicit bias and act in anti-bias ways. The first step is always self-reflection. Think about your own experiences and what was prioritized as you grew up. Were you raised to behave in one way due to your gender identity? How did your family or community relate to people who spoke other languages? What things were celebrated? Who was in charge? Who wasn’t in charge?

Think about how some of these aspects of your upbringing might influence your interactions with children or families. Then think about the activities your program does. Do you have diverse materials that represent the range of family and participant identities? Does your program celebrate one religious holiday over others? Do you consider the major holidays of multiple religions when planning events for your organization? Are these activities accessible and available to everyone?

In truly inclusive programs, all participants and families are welcome and feel like they belong. But to create spaces that are actually inclusive of everyone, we first need to understand the families and learners in our program. We need to understand their identities and how our programs can celebrate these.

Finally, a big part of this work is continuing to reflect on ways our implicit bias impacts how we interpret and respond to others.