So we know as a part of our dialogues, oftentimes issues of discrimination comes out. I think, really to explore that thoroughly, we have to help the young people get the concepts of how discrimination happens, what's the full dynamic of that, and the context in which discrimination or discriminatory acts happen. So beginning with this idea of prejudice and where prejudice comes from and the fact that we all hold it, how did you all get the students to be honest about the prejudice that they hold? I felt with young people that I worked with, they tend to open up and be more vulnerable when I share my personal experiences. I mean no one wants to admit that they may have some sort of prejudice, it's not an easy thing to admit to. But I felt that when they heard me talk about my experience, and prejudices that my family may have ground into me and then how I overcame those, and they were much more open to talking about it. Excellent. Yeah. To go off of that in my way an Arab student dialogue, we had talked about certain prejudices we had, and so for me it was talking about prejudices I had against white people. So I talked about my mistrust of white people and how that's informed by like histories and conflict, so that there is a reason why it exists. But also I had to confront my own prejudices, because my students were white and I had to acknowledge that prejudice, so that they weren't experiencing any harm in that space and that they felt they were also being heard. But something we also had a greater conversation about is, having prejudice doesn't always translate into oppression, because we had a really lengthy conversation about reverse racism that, "Yes, I could treat you differently because of your race as a white person. But thinking about larger society you still hold systemic and institutional power, and social power, and multiple aspects and realities. So yes, I might be treating you different in this space, but you can leave the space and still experience power, or you can actually report me for any prejudice I might have, and that might get me in trouble." If a person of color had reported like a white facilitator, sometimes they could be dismissed and then like, "Are you actually feeling that way, or is it something with a problem within you and not the facilitator?" Because of cultural understandings we have of white people in this country. Wow. Yes. So in that example, there's all the concepts, prejudice, bias, discrimination, and oppression. So when we think about prejudice as these poorly formed ideas that we hold, sometimes based on stereotypes about people, and then allow ourselves to make certain judgments and either have fondness or aversion to people based on that and it becomes a bias, and we act on those biases in the form of some discrimination, usually individual discrimination, acts of discrimination. But then how those get reinforced over time, sometimes generational time within institutions, and it becomes oppressive, I think that example hits on all of those. So for our young people that you got a chance to work with over the summer, helping them to get an awareness of all that is actually in that dynamic, where I maybe in an interaction with an individual and feel discriminated against but there's fuller context of all these concepts going on, that's going to be difficult. I know you all did the web of oppression, what was that like? Were there these examples of discrimination but then you get to see a fuller picture of it being oppressive? What was that like to facilitate? I think the web of oppression really cemented for the students their own involvement in society in perpetuating oppression, because as they hold that web they realize that they are not outside of this web of oppression, that they are within it and that they can either perpetuate it, or make attempts to dismantle it and stop it. So reading all those examples, it really motivated them to think more about, how can they be agents of social change? So that they are not being a part of the system of perpetuating oppression. I think it was also in them realizing that they were a part of it. A moment for me was when the dropped the web of oppression, and they realized that while they do have the power to be a part of it and to contribute, they also have the power to not be a part of it and to not contribute. So for me I think that was their "aha" moment and their "We can make change." Congratulations for young people who dropped the web. They did. Congratulations, that's what we want for all of them. But it is very tactile, they're holding this web, they see themselves connected in it, they see themselves upholding it and it gets uncomfortable and they get tired, and then if they hold it long enough it can be painful. As facilitators, what was it like to try to guide them through that aha moment, or that struggling moment where they're being confronted with all of this? For my co-facilitator and I, we first of all used a pretty harsh tone with them. We recognized that this wasn't a friendly activity, this wasn't an icebreaker, we're talking about oppression, so I think the tone had a lot to do with how they perceived and how they received the activity. But I think once they got past this, "This isn't a joke, this isn't a fun activity, this is a very serious thing," they started to bring up feelings of disgust, some didn't even want to touch the web, they would hold it by the tiniest amount of their fingers. I think when I started seeing that, it was like, "Okay, I need to guide them through this. They're starting to get that this isn't right." Now, guiding them through that, "Why do you feel that this isn't right? What can we do to change this?" So I think for me it was seeing when they were starting to realize what was happening, and then jumping on that, and then moving them forward with what they were feeling, and putting it into their daily life but just like where they are right now. What I really appreciate about the web of oppression is it reminds you you're in your body, and that oppression is experienced materially and physically. Because they're holding the web of oppression while standing up, a lot of the students were asking us, "Can we sit down? I'm tired, I want to sit down." We were like, "No, you can't sit down," and then during the debriefing of the activity, we asked them all, "Why do you think we told you not to sit down? How does this relate to experiencing oppression in society?" They started making those connections with oppression being experienced in your body, and that affecting your body and not just affecting your emotional and mental health, it actually really does have physical implications. Going back to when they dropped the web of oppression that also was a buildup in itself, because getting to that was getting to the realization that they all had to agree to drop the web of oppression. One person can hold it up, two people couldn't hold it up because it would still exist. So getting them to all realize that, "We all have to drop it and nothing's going to change," I think really put things into reality for them. Everyone's a participant. Yes. No matter what social identity you hold, whether you're advantaged or disadvantaged, or you're elevated or you're held back by whatever the oppression, we're all participating in it. It takes everyone deciding that they're going to let go of the web, or drop the web that allows us to do something with those systems. Right. Well, good work you-all. I'm glad that you left your students empowered and feeling like they could effect change. Thank you.
