March 2023: Dealing with racism denial

Meeting Facilitators: Dr. Melanie Wong, Dr. Kathryn Accurso, Sadia Shad, and Anastasia Zhuravleva

In this online meeting of LLED Antiracist Caucuses (IBPOC/Racialized Caucus & White Caucus), we will discuss dealing with racism denial. We will think about the various forms that racism denial could take and how we could respond to them.

Stimulus Text:

Please read the following article (approx. 6-mins read) before our meeting on Thursday, March 9th, 2:30-4:00 PM.

Optional stimulus texts:

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which types of racism denial particularly struck you? Why?
  2. If you are comfortable to share, discuss any experiences you have had with these types of denial in personal or professional contexts.
  3. Brainstorm additional responses you might add to the table in the stimulus text.
  4. One suggested response to denial in the form of minimizing is to “Offer broader, more accurate definitions of racism.” How do you define racism?
  5. How do you define antiracism? Discuss how different definitions might shape your response to different types of denial.
  6. Are there types of connections between the topics already discussed in the Anti-Racist Caucus (e.g., AI, teacher education) and denial of racism?