APALU

: WHAT IS CULTURAL HUMILITY?

Adapted from:  Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998)

Cultural humility is a lifelong process of self-reflection, self-critique and commitment to understanding and respecting different points of view, and engaging with others humbly, authentically and from a place of learning (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998). Tervalon and Murray-Garcia developed this concept while addressing disparities and institutional inequities in the field of public healthcare.

Cultural humility is a unique framework for moving us toward equity. It is a philosophy that addresses the role of power and privilege in a system, as well as the imbalanced power of voice and power to make decisions (i.e., the power over and the power to). Moreover, it is critical to ensure campus commitment and consistency across policies and procedures. Understanding institutional, interpersonal and internalized oppression is also an essential and ongoing aspect to this approach to organizational transformation.

Cultural humility upholds each individual or community group as the experts and teachers on the content of their personal culture. Thus, creating time and space for sharing personal stories, worldviews, approaches to trust building, team building, and community dynamics should become part of the day-to-day strategy for inclusion and our campus community development.

Cultural humility asks that we meet each person where he or she is by suspending judgment and resisting the need to impose personal values, beliefs, “truths,” and notions of right and wrong. By doing so, we reduce the harm of prejudice and oppression and open opportunities for equity. Meeting each person where he or she is, challenging and naming assumptions and biases, sharing the hidden rules of success, and redefining the cultural norms of an organization are part of deepening individual and campus cultural humility.

CRITICAL TERMINOLOGY

“Equity is not about equal treatment of all students. Rather, it  is about equal outcomes achieved by individualizing the instruction and  support for each and every student. Equity is about all students  succeeding, especially when measured according to differences such as race,  ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, language, family background—the list  of diversities within our students goes on and on. This effort has been  traditionally referenced as “closing the achievement gaps” between students  from the dominant White middle-class norm and students from traditionally  underserved or oppressed populations. Building equity in education shifts the  focus of responsibility for academic achievement from the students to the  professional administrators and teachers who are the educators in the school.  Students have to do their part, but the adults in the building need to teach  in a way so that all students can succeed.” -  http://www.livebookpd.com/equity.php

Social Justice The Center for  Economic and Social Justice provides the following definition for  social justice, which guides our work in the Equity Office. Social justice is  the virtue that guides us in creating those organized human interactions we  call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized,  provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individually and  in our associations with others. Social justice also imposes on each of us a  personal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect  our institutions as tools for personal and social development. Social justice  encompasses economic justice.

A  Working Definition of Social Justice: Social Justice is a process, not an outcome, which (1) seeks  fair (re)distribution of resources, opportunities, and responsibilities; (2)  challenges the roots of oppression and injustice; (3) empowers all people to  exercise self-determination and realize their full potential; (4) and builds  social solidarity and community capacity for collaborative action. – UC  Berkeley, School of Social Work

Multicultural Education: Multicultural education has been broadly  defined by various scholars and practitioners in the fields of early  childhood through higher education. The following is a summary provided by National Association of Multicultural Education  (NAME) to explain this critical approach and how it can be applied regardless  of the institution of education. “Multicultural education is a process  that permeates all aspects of our campus practices, policies and organization  as a means to ensure the highest levels of academic achievement for all  students. It helps students develop a positive self-concept by providing  knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups.  It prepares all students to work actively toward structural equality in organizations  and institutions by providing the knowledge, dispositions, and skills for the  redistribution of power and income among diverse groups. Thus, school  curriculum must directly address issues of racism, sexism, classism,  linguicism, ablism, ageism, heterosexism, religious intolerance and  xenophobia.

Multicultural  education advocates the belief that students and their life histories and  experiences should be placed at the center of the teaching and learning  process and that pedagogy should occur in a context that is familiar to  students and that addresses multiple ways of thinking. In addition, teachers  and students must critically analyze oppression and power relations in their  communities, society and the world.

  CULTURAL HUMILITY: VIDEO REFLECTIONS

 "Cultural Humility: People, Principles and  Practices," is a new 30-minute documentary by San Francisco State  Professor Vivian Chávez, that mixes poetry with music, interviews, archival  footage, images of community, nature and dance to explain what "Cultural  Humility" is and why we need it.

 Sentence Starters

 I feel…

 I think ….

 I wonder…

 I wish…

 I don’t understand…

 I feel frustrated  by…

 I hope…

 I will…

FOUR-FOLD WAY: PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE A LEARNING COMMUNITY

Summarized by Michael Welp, Ph.D., www.equalvoice.com

 Angeles Arrien is a cultural anthropologist who has studied the common ways indigenous cultures throughout the world support creative expression, health, and adaptation to change. She has developed four major principles that integrate ancient cultural wisdoms into contemporary life. These principles provide clarity for thriving in today’s complex world of constant change.

  1. Show up, or choose to be present.

Being present allows us to access the human resources of power, presence, and communication. This is the way of the leader. We express the way of the leader through appropriate action, good timing, and clear communication.

 2. Pay attention to what has heart and meaning.

Paying attention opens us to the human resources of love, gratitude, acknowledgment, and validation. This is the way of the healer. We express the way of the healer through our attitudes and actions that maintain personal health and support the welfare of our environment.

 3. Tell the truth without blame or judgment.

Truthfulness, authenticity, and integrity are keys to developing our vision and intuition. This is the way of the visionary. We express the way of the visionary through personal creativity, goals, plans, and our ability to bring our life dreams and visions into the world.

 4. Be open to outcome, not attached to outcome.

Openness and non-attachment help us recover the human resources of wisdom and objectivity. This is the way of the teacher. We express the way of the teacher through our constructive communication and informational skills. Optimum health is expressed in most cultures as a balance in all four areas: leading, healing, visioning, and teaching. Cross-culturally these four areas reflect the four human resources of power, love, vision, and wisdom.

Cultural Humility Workshop Series

Workshop Presenter: Dr. Veronica Neal, Director, Office of Equity, Social Justice and Multicultural Education Cultural Humility Part I: Cultural humility as path to educational equity Cultural humility, unlike cultural competence, does not assume an end point but a commitment to life-long learning. It is an approach that helps us create equitable institutions through the intentional practice of meeting others where they are, addressing power differentials, institutionalizing organizational consistency, and focusing on unlearning personal biases. This workshop will introduce participants to the core philosophy of cultural humility and initial steps for application.

 Cultural Humility II: Institutional consistency, power, and privilege

This workshop will review the matrix of domination, power, privilege, and levels of oppression. We will explore how these dynamics become both internalized and institutionalized, as well as the long-term impacts on educators and students. Social justice self-care and action planning will conclude the day.

 Cultural Humility Part III: Skilled dialogue and inquiry

Cultural Humility is conceptual framework and daily practice for moving organizations more deeply into equity. Cultural humility in practice requires the ability to engage in the process skilled dialogue, conflict transformation, identity negotiation, reflective praxis, and inquiry. It is not enough to have an awareness, understanding, and appreciation of these skills; a commitment and engaged practice is critical for social transformation and justice-based organizations. This session will focus on the skills and abilities required for inquiry and skilled dialogue with students and co-workers. What's more, we will explore what is required to create a culture of dialogue vs. discussion or debate and how best to engage more fully in shaping a culture of dialogue through classroom curriculum, diversity dialogue groups, and equity dialogue/core groups.

  Cultural Humility Part VI: Negotiating identities and self-reflection

As an educator we navigate multiple identities, just like our students. Part of navigating identities is also acknowledging the role of power and privilege in each interaction. How we see ourselves and how others see us matters, as well as the messages we have internalized about our perceived identities. Cultural Humility requires an honest assessment of the role of power and privilege in our daily life, and how it shapes our interactions. In order to fully engage in equity, social justice, and culturally humble engagement we must not only recognize our privileged identities, we must understand how to negotiate them, name them aloud, and move towards alliship. This workshop will examine power and privilege in the academy, navigating personal identities, skilled reflective practice, and ally behavior.  

 Cultural Humility Part V: Transformational Conflict

Conflict is another essential process along the path to a deeper sense of cultural humility. Many conflict-facilitation scholars and practitioners argue that conflict is necessary and positive, and when appropriately handled, is potentially constructive. Conflict need not be viewed as a dysfunctional form of engagement or communication (Heisey, 1991; Kellett & Dalton, 2001). In fact, for individual and perspective transformation to occur, conflict is required (Mezirow, 1995). Indeed, conflict in the classroom and between co-workers is normal part of academy life. This workshop will explore the opportunities conflict provides and how to engage fully and productively with conflict situations from a place of cultural humility.

       SOURCE: https://www.deanza.edu/equityoffice/culturalhumilityworkshop.html

Since, under present world conditions, everyone either is now, or has been, or will be at some time a target of social oppression, and since everyone is now, or has been, or will be in a non-target group in relation to some other group's oppression, alliance-building is for everyone.

Everyone of us needs allies, and everyone of us can take the role of an ally     for someone else. The following guidelines are based on this premise. They should be equally applicable from the perspective of the target and the non-target group.

STRATEGIES FOR WINNING ALLIES

                  Assume that you and all members of your group deserve allies.                                        

                  Assume that your liberation issues are justifiably of concern to all people outside your group.                                        

                  Assume that people in other groups are your natural allies; assume that all people outside your group want to be allies for you and that it is in their interest for them to do so.                                        

                  Assume that it is only other people's own oppression and internalized oppression that prevents them (temporarily) from being effective allies to you at all times.                                        

                  Assume that your allies are doing the best they can at the present time, given their own oppression and internalized oppression. Assume that  they can and will do better.                                        

                  Assume that you are the expert on your own experience and that you have information which other people need to hear.                                        

                  Speak from your own experience without comparing your oppression to theirs.                                        

                  Assume that your experience is also an experience of victories; be sure to share these- as well as the stories of how things are hard.                                        

                  Expect perfection from your allies; expect them to be able to deal with the "difficult issues" in your struggle. Assume that allies make mistakes; be prepared to be disappointed, and continue to expect the best from them.                                        

                  Assume that you have a perfect right to assist your allies to become more effective for you. Assume that you can choose to do this at any time. Take full pride in your ability to do this.

               STRATEGIES FOR BEING AN EFFECTIVE ALLY

                 Assume that all people in your own group including yourself want to be allies to people in other groups. Assume that you are good enough and smart enough to be an effective ally. (This does not mean  that you have nothing more to learn- see # 6, below.)                                        

                 Assume that you have a perfect right to be concerned with other people's liberation issues, and that it is in your own interest to do so and to be an ally.                                        

                  Assume that all people in the target group want you and members of your group as allies. Assume that they recognize you as such- at least potentially.                                        

                  Assume that any appearances to the contrary-(any apparent rejections of you as an ally) are the result of target group people's experience of oppression and internalized oppression.                                        

                  Assume that people in the target group are already communicating to you in the best way they can at the present time. Assume that they can and will do better. Think about how to assist them in this without making your support dependent upon their "improving" in any way. (Hint: think about what has been helpful for you  when you were in the target group position).                                        

                  Assume that target group people are experts on their own experience, and that  you have much to learn from them. Use your own intelligence and your own experience as a target group member to thin about what the target group people might find useful.                                        

                  Recognize that as a non-target person you are an expert on the experience of having been conditioned to take the oppressor role. This means that you know the content of the lies which target group people have internalized. Don't let timidity force you into pretended ignorance.                                        

                  Assume that target group people are survivors and that they have a long history of resistance. Become an expert on this history and assist target group people to take full pride in it.                                        

                  Become an expert on all the issues which are of concern to people in the target group, especially the issues which are most closely tied in to their internalized oppression. Assume that making mistakes is part of the learning process of being an ever more effective ally. Be prepared for flare-ups of disappointment and criticism. Acknowledge and apologize for mistakes; learn from them, but don't retreat.                                        

                  Recognize that people in the target group can spot "oppressor-role conditioning"; do not bother with trying to "convince" them that this conditioning did not happen to you. Don't attempt to convince target group people that you "are on their side"; just be there.                                        

                  Do not expect "gratitude" from people in the target group; thoughtfully interrupt if it is offered to you. Remember, being an ally is a matter of your choice. It is not an obligation; it is something you get to do.                                        

                  Be a 100% ally; no deals; no strings attached: "I'll oppose your oppression if you oppose mine." Everyone's oppression needs to be opposed unconditionally.