Social Justice Awareness
Respect and compassion.
In our Social Justice Awareness programs (SJA), Chinook’s trainers explore the ways in which various oppressions, including racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism and ageism, have been woven into the very fabric of American society. Understanding the dynamics of systemic oppression, as well as the truth that in one way or another, we all inhale its fumes, is a hallmark of Chinook’s SJA training. Because this work is sensitive for everyone involved, we approach this process with the utmost respect and compassion.
Change.
Our focus is organizational change: we work with organizations that are committed to identifying and eliminating institutional oppression/s both internally and externally. We recommend that an organization start this process by focusing on racism, due to the unique role that race has played, and continues to play, in the United States. In the U.S., race has functioned as a system of social categorization that has been used to justify and explain the general entitlement of white persons to legal and political rights, benefits and social approval, and the denial of those rights and benefits to people of color.
Power and Oppression.
Racist and other oppressive beliefs have been institutionalized in the American legal, judicial, health care, welfare, education, media and other systems. This institutionalization has resulted in disparities in access to various systems as well as to actual resources. Understanding intentional and unintentional manifestations of racist belief requires an understanding of the concepts of power and oppression, and how each operates in our lives, including in our workplaces.
No guilt trips.
We ask participants to examine their own personal privilege or oppression in our SJA trainings, but always within the context of an overall societal culture of systemic power and oppression. Our purpose is to encourage personal responsibility, not to assign personal guilt or blame. In fact, it is essential that those participants who are privileged move beyond feelings of guilt in order to more effectively ally with co-workers, clients and/or consumers who are targets of oppression.
Assessment Process.
We design each training to fit the organizational needs of each client. Because of this, everytraining is preceded by an assessment, where we meet with members of the organization, including members of its inclusivity committee (if any), and the executive director or CEO and other key members of the organization's leadership. The assessment is critical because we use the information gained from that process to determine the organization's unique needs, culture, experience and commitment to both the training and change processes. With that information, we are able to tailor our presentation specifically to the organization and appropriately present the fundamental concepts which all our trainings incorporate.
Transformative Training.
Our trainings are generally divided into two parts. In part I, we seek to establish a relationship of trust and safety with the participants; we provide definitions of key terms (power, oppression, racism, etc.). We take a historical look at the pervasive institutionalization of racism (or another form of oppression) in the American legal system. We also provide an analytical framework with which to understand the operation of oppression and power; and we provide experiential exercises so participants may practice identifying various manifestations of oppression and power in our society today.
In part II, we examine issues that are particular to the organization based on information and insights gained during the initial assessment process. Such issues may include organizational culture, leadership, staffing, volunteers, outreach, the role of the organization in the community, and/or effective delivery of the organization's message or services. We conclude part II by collectively determining the next steps for the organization to follow in its change process, based on the issues raised during this facilitated discussion.
Our intention is to give participants the tools with which they may challenge and change the damaging manifestations of oppression that exist in every organization and community, in order to make their organization a fully inclusive and welcoming environment for all people.