ALLIANCE FOR VISIBLE DIVERSITY IN SCIENCE
  • Home
  • Code of Conduct
  • Join
  • Donate
  • AVDS Publications
    • Annual Reports
    • AVDS Recommendations for Increasing & Supporting Racial Diversity at OHSU
    • Combatting Racial Bias in Graduate Admissions
  • Trainee Resources
    • Grants and Fellowships
    • STEM Summer Internships & Post-bacc Opportunities
    • Tips for Graduate School Interviews
  • Racial Equity Resources
    • Resources to Understand Race and Racism
    • Portland Professional Organizations
    • Find Support

Anti-racism work & understanding race as a social construct

The Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science - List of Resources
June 5, 2020

Scaffolded Resources:  We all are at different stages in our learning, for a starting point based on your current stage see the table below
Based off of this guide made by Anna Stamborski, M. Div Candidate (2022), Nikki Zimmermann, M. Div candidate (2021), Bailie Gregory, M. Div, M.S. Ed.
Current level of understanding and beliefs/thoughts/actions​
Resources
What to do next?
Stage 1 
  • “I don’t see color.”
  • “Talking about race brings disunity.”
Belief that racism is caused by talking about race.
Belief that you aren’t racist if you don’t purposely or consciously act in racist ways.
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (Peggy McIntonsh)
NPR episode about Whistling Vivaldi
Interview about I’m Still Here
Interview about White Awake
Walking While Black (Garnette Cadogan)
Understanding and utilizing resources about racial inequality and bias is the first part of this work - educating yourself is important.
​

Reject the desire to ask black folks, indigineous folks or people of color (BIPOC) to explain racism for you. Instead, find resources created by BIPOC to help educate yourself.
Stage 2
  • “I feel bad for being white.” 
  • May feel like you’re stuck.
Racial Bias Test - this will help you understand what your biases are for yourself.
White Fragility  (video summarizing the book by Robin DiAngelo)
Do not let guilt (white guilt) or shame stop you from doing anti-racist work.
Ask folks how you can support.
​

Find a way to support anti-racism. Some examples might include attending a training, joining an allies group, participating in a protest. Keep working to grow, instead of settling into shame.
Stage 3
  • “It’s not my fault I’m white.”
  • “I have a black friend/child/relative, etc.”
May notice yourself feeling defensive when talking about race.
How do folks move past this stage? By combating these feelings of defensiveness, shame or superiority.
Side Effects of White Women Podcast Episode with Amanda Seales
Smartest Person in the Room’s episode on Well Meaning White People
Audre Lorde’s The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism 
Rachel Elizabeth Cargle’s When Feminism is White Supremacy in Heels 
Bloomberg and The Legacy of Stop-and-Frisk - Between the Scenes | The Daily Show
Remember that moving forward is important. It might be helpful to revisit some of the previous resources to help remind you of why this work is important.

Find a way to support anti-racism. Some examples might include attending a training, joining an allies group, participating in a protest. Keep working to grow, instead of settling into shame.
Stage 4
  • “How can I be white and anti-racist?”
Belief that privilege is not based on merit, but on bias & racism.
Rely on BIPOC to address racism.
Might affirm or seek to comfort the BIPOC who is addressing racism.
Code Switch podcast A Decade on Watching Black People Die
Brené Brown + Ibran X. Kendi "How to Be an Antiracist"  
Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
How We Can Win (David Jones)
Begin having difficult conversations with white friends and family about racism and inequality.

Begin to think about how you might use your privilege to support anti-racist work.


Note: there are stages past this one! See the original document for more

Extended Resources

​Resources on being an Ally

  • Guidelines for Being a Strong White Ally: A set of guidelines written by Paul Kivel, author of Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Social Justice ​
  • How White People Can Hold Each Other Accountable to Stop Institutional Racism
  • 5 Tips for Being an Ally (video)

For those looking to learn more about Black experiences

  • ​​An Antiracist Reading List compiled by Ibram X. Kendi.  This list contains many books by Black authors, documenting and exploring Black experiences from many perspectives and scholarly approaches.\
  • Black History Month Library compiled by Charles Preston.  This free Google Drive library includes the works of Black authors, theory, praxis and study guides. 

For Portland specific perspectives and commentary

  • The Harsh Truth about Progressive Cities by David Dahmer
  • Chief Outlaw and Superintendent Guerrero, welcome to Portland on behalf of my biracial boys: Guest opinion by Kate Gonsalves
  • The Racist History of Portland by Alana Semuels

For a primer on White supremacy and White Fragility

  • White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
    ​(OHSU members can borrow the ebook from the OHSU Library)
  • How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

For those looking for what “structural racism” looks like in practice and how it has been continually used

  • Race: The Power of Illusion. An online companion to the award-winning documentary series by California Newsreel discussing the origins, beliefs, and consequences of what we call race.  
    ​Episode 3, The House We Live In, specifically explores structural racism.  
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

For those looking for statements and resources on racism, public health, and health inequities

  • Open letter advocating for an anti-racist public health response to demonstrations against systemic injustice occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • How the Bad Blood Started. Episode 4 of the 1619 Project podcast focuses on health inequities. 
  • A Frustrating Year of Reporting on Black Maternal Health by Danielle Jackson
  • Radio Advisory, Episode 19: Why racism is a health care issue

​Justice in June
- Choose how much time you have each day to become more informed as step one to becoming an active ally to the black community. On this document are links to the learning resources and a schedule of what to do each day.

For a broader resource list see this doc: AVDS Resources June 2020

AVDS Racial Justice Allyship Presentation

Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.

Additional Media

  • Black man, white coat: Reflections at the Intersection of Race and Medicine
    ​Summary and video link to Dr. Brian Williams' talk at OHSU can be found here
  • And Still I Rise: Black in America Since MLK
    Part 1 & Part 2
  • NPR Code Switch: 'Strong' Black Woman? 'Smart' Asian Man? The Downside To Positive Stereotypes
  • A primer on unconscious bias from the Royal Society (UK)
  • SfN Career Advice: Five Ways I Navigated Grad School as a Minority ​​

Stay in touch! Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Contact us at [email protected]
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Code of Conduct
  • Join
  • Donate
  • AVDS Publications
    • Annual Reports
    • AVDS Recommendations for Increasing & Supporting Racial Diversity at OHSU
    • Combatting Racial Bias in Graduate Admissions
  • Trainee Resources
    • Grants and Fellowships
    • STEM Summer Internships & Post-bacc Opportunities
    • Tips for Graduate School Interviews
  • Racial Equity Resources
    • Resources to Understand Race and Racism
    • Portland Professional Organizations
    • Find Support