Video resources: Words matter

Black Lives Matter

Conversations on equity, racial justice and white supremacy can be challenging. Even more so, when we don’t have a shared understanding of the language needed for those difficult conversations. The videos and information here establish a basic foundation for advancing meaningful conversation, education and reflection.

Videos

Anti-Blackness

 

Anti-Blackness refers to structural racism and oppression that marginalizes Black people and can include violence, discrimination, dehumanizing policy, police brutality, segregation, mass incarceration, devaluing Black lives and more.

White supremacy

 

White supremacy is when white culture has been deemed more valuable than other cultures.

Cultural appropriation

 

Cultural appropriation is when someone intentionally or unintentionally takes and exploits part of a culture that is not their own.

Anti-racist

 

To be anti-racist first requires us to recognize that racism is real and embedded so deeply in our society that it impacts almost everything we do and experience in both obvious and unseen ways.

White privilege


White privilege refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements benefits and choices that people have simply because they are white.

Structural racism


Structural racism is a system that gives white people advantages over Black, Indigenous, and People of Color – like better access to education, wealth and health care.

Microaggressions


Microaggressions are things we say or do – even if we don’t mean to – that send negative and hurtful messages to people because of race, gender, class or other factors.

Black Lives Matter


Black Lives Matter is a movement to bring justice, healing and freedom to Black people across the globe by addressing systemic racism and violence against Black people.

Implicit bias


We use the term “implicit bias” to describe when we have attitudes toward people, or associate stereotypes with them, without our conscious knowledge.

Race and racism


Race is a powerful idea. It has been created over time to support beliefs that view some groups of people as superior and some as inferior.

Intersectionality


Intersectionality is the way race, gender, class, sexuality and other parts of who we are overlap and intersect. People from different backgrounds experience the world differently. It helps explain how parts of our identity come together to determine who has power in society and who does not.

Colonization


Colonization is an action or process where one group uses violent force to take control of land, Indigenous peoples and resources.

Ally


Being an ally means that you recognize the rights and privileges you have that others don’t, and you take action to address those injustices.

Undocumented


An undocumented immigrant is a person with a continued residence in the United States without official immigration authorization.

 

Racial equity

 

Racial equity is what would be achieved if race — a physical and social quality — wasn’t a factor in access to things like health care, education, wealth and other opportunities.

BIPOC

 

BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, people of color. It is meant to include all people of color in the work for liberation, while acknowledging that not all people of color face the same levels of injustice.

Reading list

A list of recommended books on race and racism from a range of experts, including Black, Indigenous, Hmong and Latine, and other authors of color.

racial and health equity racing list