Training the Incoming Class on Power and Privilege

Imagine you’re in a room. 

One end of the room represents the  opinion “strongly agree;” the other end is “strongly disagree;” the middle is “neutral.” 

A booming voice says, “Cookies and cream is the best ice cream in the world.” 

Where do you stand on that line? Do you completely agree? Are you actually a big supporter of salted caramel and want to explain why you feel so strongly? Are you pretty neutral, as in cookies and cream will do, but so might the other 30 flavors of ice cream you could choose from? 

Of course, ice cream isn’t a critical topic (for most), but this light-hearted question is a great opener for what soon becomes increasingly more sensitive prompts around social issues.  We use this exercise in CoLab’s racial justice training that all new MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) students undergo at the start of the new school year. We address topics like sustainability, racism, poverty, public safety, and many more. It’s a really interesting activity and often a revealing one as well; helping classmates and colleagues see where they land on various spectrums of opinion.  Who shares your values? Who respectfully disagrees? 

For our training, CoLab, which is a center for planning and development within DUSP, takes a moment to introduce ourselves and who we are in the department. We have a unique position at DUSP, our approach is “innovation from the margins,” and we leverage different strategies working with a diverse universe of partners to facilitate change and promote economic democracy and self-determination. In order to have a better understanding of these broader terms, we have a discussion and some activities to unpack what can sometimes be heavy topics. 

Once the ice is broken and the students feel more comfortable, we transition into a discussion on oppression. We define the “Four I’s of Oppression:” 

 ·      Ideological: forms of  racism is usually associated with the majority community’s discriminatory attitudes and beliefs towards minority communities

·      Institutional: racial inequity within institutions and systems of power, such as places 
    of employment, government agencies and social services 

·      Interpersonal: when  we act upon our prejudices or unconscious
    bias—whether intentionally, visibly, verbally or not 

·      Internalized/Intrapersonal: the ways in which private racial beliefs held by and within individuals. It’s the way we absorb social messages about race and adopt them as personal beliefs, biases, and prejudices. It can also involve negative messages about oneself or one’s racial group.

We then take a deeper dive about how this plays out in daily life. Implicit bias, for instance, involves attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. We discuss racial microaggressions, which are brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities and denigrating messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned people who may be unaware of the hidden messages being communicated. An example of this could be when a well-intentioned white person makes the statement, “I don’t see color,” or “There is only one race, the human race,” to a person of color. While that person may have been trying to say they see everyone as equal, the impact of their words actually makes them appear like they don’t want to acknowledge racial identity and racism, and is in essence denying that person of color their own lived experiences. We unpack a lot of this in facilitated large and small group discussions. 

From personal experience, as a white woman who has gone from receiving some of these trainings to facilitating them, I know how big an impact a training like this can have, especially for those who are completely unaware of their own blind spots. The transition from student to teacher was a process of introspection, learning about my own blind spots, and acknowledging them with an open heart. 

And while CoLab is in the position of trainer, we don’t always get the nuances of race and racialized oppression right.  Much like the new students we’re engaging, we are a work in progress. When Colab staff transgress–and we do, we have empathy for ourselves and each other and commit to a hard and painstaking process of truth and reconciliation. Language and knowledge are one of the tools we offer, along with opening a brave space to openly discuss, learn and journey together in this work at DUSP and MIT.

For incoming Masters of City Planning (MCP1) students, Orientation Week is an exciting time. Many students are new to MIT and Boston. It’s a perfect opportunity to meet and socialize with their new classmates, learn more about the courses they will be taking, and take a minute to pause and reflect on the state of this country and the unique opportunity many of them will have to help shape the cities of tomorrow. Systemic racism has plagued us for centuries; it is built into society. Many students may come from areas where they don’t realize they have implicit bias or exhibit microaggressions. It is imperative to shed light on these topics, and wonderful that MIT supports this type of training Through the training, it is our hope that everyone will start their experience here at MIT with the same knowledge level and awareness. Knowledge is power.

Written by Jill Kronberg, CoLab Administrative Assistant, and a back to school racial justice training facilitator