upon considering race

Two weeks ago, I assigned a couple of readings to my class:

One, an academic journal article on developing mentalizing communities (Twemlow et al, 2005).
It is an article I personally had a tough time getting through...until I started reading it from the end.

The second, a post from Ta-Nehisi Coates, from smack dab in the middle of his online "debate" with Jonathan Chait about black culture, social policy, race, poverty, politics, and white supremacy.

Both perfect fits for a course on mental health policy.

For months we have identified, dissected, and critiqued mental health policy & implementation.  

We have explored the disparity between ideas and reality. 

We have discussed the intersections between mental health and...

violence

poverty 

the child welfare system

juvenile justice

schools

neighborhoods and families
{to name a few}

Our discussions have been robust, despairing, frustrating, uncomfortable, and exciting.
 

Last week {per the usual} I asked for reactions to the readings.  Per the usual, a handful of students had not done the readings.

Others verbalized an emotional reaction that prevented them from reading on.  

We talked for a while and then prepared to end our class session.

 

 I considered letting the discussion drop there {it would have been easy, after all} but I decided to take additional readings off the table for the next week and requested that students take the time to read or re-read the 2 articles and come back for discussion with a response to the question: 

"Why these readings?"

------
This morning we picked up where we left off.

While Twemlow, et al (2005) present skill-based strategies for addressing the complex needs of social systems and families with multiple problems.
Their take-away premise {and why it made better sense to start from the end} is:

Human variety is an essential part of what makes individuals and cultures different and interesting. The issue, from a social system perspective, is a balance of power. (p. 279)

The authors highlight the importance of creating safe space(s) for systems and families to come together and openly discuss our unconscious (implicit) interpretations of the actions of others AND engage in conscious, deliberate (explicit) consideration of each others' actions.
What is somewhat infuriating about this article, despite how spot on it is about the issues and needs at play when considering social policy development/implementation, is one my students were eager to point out: the authors still step around one of the most organizing and influential motivators of policy.  

Race. Racism. Prejudice. 

We, as a discipline centered around social justice and advocacy, acknowledge the factual impact(s) of race* but we struggle to maintain discourse on the meta-narrative of race:  

What are the implicit and explicit beliefs about race that permit disparities to prevail?

*I believe this criticism holds true for other topics as well (gender, sexuality, age, poverty, and privilege) but for the sake of this post, have chosen to focus on race

Over the last couple of weeks, Coates and Chait have engaged in an online discussion that extends well beyond my knowledge base.  Their responses to one another have kept me up at night, forced me to learn more about some of our nation's history and politics, caused me to jump and yell around my living room, made me cry, and have deep discussions about my own beliefs and biases.
It is messy and I love it.

I assigned the Coates piece because I believe it represents one of the more honest conversations I have seen about the intersections of race, social policy, and culture.  The back and forth between Coates and Chait also represents the chasm I believe gets replicated across the country when we, good-meaning folk, try to develop and implement policies/interventions to address the nation's complex social issues.  I believe their dialogue represents a fairly clear picture of the disconnect and denial we maintain amidst our efforts.

Their dialogue demonstrates the discomfiting task of putting explicit language and feeling to the implicit currency of power and privilege {historical and current} which are embedded in the conversation of race.

There is no easy solution to any of this and I stated as such to my students.
But I feel convicted.
To stay engaged and curious.
To challenge status quo.
To push past my fear of not knowing or saying the wrong thing.
To exercise my power and privilege for good rather than evil.
To consider my role in a nation reluctant to acknowledge our steadfast commitment to white supremacy.
To try and create safe space for open and intentional conversation.

Baby steps, y'all.
Baby steps.








Twemlow, S., Fonagy, P., Sacco, F. (2005). A developmental approach to mentalizing communities 1: A model for social change. Bulletin of the Meininger Clinic, 69(4); 265 - 281.