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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stop the socialization

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Baltimore resident Freddie Gray died from a spinal injury at the hands of police during an arrest in April 2015. Six officers were charged in Gray’s death for crimes including illegal arrest, misconduct, assault and involuntary manslaughter. Needless to say, the officers were fired from their jobs.

Justice may have been served, but according to Joyce James, the root of the problem remains — a racist justice system.

“It’s not about individuals. It’s about the culture of an organization and how it’s designed,” said James, CEO and lead equity consultant for Joyce James Consulting. “Change occurs at the systemic level.”

James recently facilitated a workshop on systemic and institutional racism for employees and volunteers of Child Advocates, an organization that champions court-appointed special advocates for children who are victims of abuse or neglect. The purpose of the four-hour workshop was to provide attendees awareness, help them better understand the challenges facing the children they work with, encourage attendees to be more sensitive to systemic racism and use what they learn to make better, more informed recommendations to the courts.

“There is a huge disproportionality here in Marion County,” said Danielle Pierson, community volunteer outreach coordinator for Child Advocates. “In order to serve these children, we can’t ignore it — we have to understand what they are affected by.”

James used the example of the justice system to emphasize her point, but she said unfortunately, racial inequality looks the same in all systems, such as the foster care system or education system. She said oftentimes societal ills are blamed on the people, but she believes systems contribute to the public’s disparities. Furthermore, poor outcomes are concentrated in certain areas.

“Go to any area of any city, and you know those ZIP codes where crime happens,” said James. “But what gives us hope is systemic interventions and trainings can work to change thinking.”

Wendy Hill, of Joyce James consulting, said racism in systems perpetuates cycles of disproportionality, however, people have been socialized to keep racism alive and well. Several factors, including “well meaning” trainings, policies, fear, security, lack of exposure and history being written from a white, male perspective, are reasons people who make up systems don’t change.

James added that due to socialization, certain behaviors, characteristics or stereotypes are unfairly attributed to one group of people. A participant told the story of a Black male colleague who explained how he felt the weight of his race each time he entered a boardroom. The pressure to prove that Blacks are capable was exhausting.

James gave the example that in Texas, some social workers reported that when they get a call from certain ZIP codes, they automatically secure a car seat because they anticipate a child removal. James said socialization and group stereotypes contributed to their lack of fairness.

“There are individual roles that we play in transforming a system, but how do we collectively create a common language and a common understanding that allows us to do the work within a system,” said Hill.

The group delved into deep-seated institutional racism and specifically discussed school discipline. Data show that students of color are expelled at higher rates than their non-minority peers, even for the same infractions. This behavior is similar in the child welfare system. Children of color are removed from their homes at higher rates than white children, even if negative factors are the same.

“You’ve got to watch your language too,” Hill said to the participants. “For example, in a report, someone would say, ‘there is no drug use in the home.’ And for another, ‘the parent says there is no drug use in the home.’ You see the implication?”

Hill and James also touched on how infant mortality rates are higher in minority communities, including among educated Black women. Stress is a major factor for this segment of the Black population.

Hill and James reiterated that when it comes to the children Child Advocates serve, safety comes first. Also, people’s experiences with these broken systems are different, so working with families requires a different approach.

Jennifer Dean, a court-appointed special advocate volunteer, said she valued the information and was surprised that data show the common thread of the over-representation of African-Americans through the system.

“I was overwhelmed by this, but enlightened. This gives me confidence to dig deeper,” said Dean. “I’m Caucasian and assigned an African-American teenage boy. To understand how systems are impacting every piece of his life raises my level of responsibility to do my very best to represent him. This is an issue everybody needs to be educated on.”

For more information on institutional racism trainings, call Joyce James at (409) 553-0314 or visit JoyceJamesConsulting.com. For more information on Child Advocates, call (317) 205-3055 or visit ChildAdvocates.net.

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