Last week UP Projects attended the final training session with Ishreen Bradley and Kami Nuttall of Belonging Pioneers that is supporting us on our journey towards creating an inclusive, and anti-racist organisation.
The session focused on “The Power of Privilege” beginning by acknowledging that our personal history gives us privilege and inviting us to reflect on our own histories and influences and what assumptions have been passed on to us by virtue of family history.
We looked at typical “maintainers” of privilege and how we might dispel them:
- Denial – refusing to believe, or not seeing that there is an issue > important to learn about privilege in order to empathise and imagine what it feels like for those less privileged
- Guilt & Shame – generating feelings of inadequacy and compounding feelings of separation > this can be dispelled by owning our privilege. By owning it we can then feel empowered to act in the interest of those less privileged
- Defensiveness > important to be open to feedback, and listen without interruption
- Entitlement – believing we are inherently deserving of our privileges > can be counteracted by stewarding our privileges for the benefit of those less privileged
Reflecting on and learning about our privilege can empower us to put it to good use. When thinking about privilege in relation to how we can evolve our anti-racist culture at UP Projects with new supportive attitudes, one attendee reflected “Owning and stewarding our privilege seem essential in moving on from feelings of guilt and approaching people and situations with care, attention and awareness”.