Functional Assessment and Healthy Behavior Lab
The FAHB Lab's
Anti-Discrimination
Policy statement,
Commitment to Inclusivity,
and Resources
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We should all be aware that racism, unequal representation, discrimination, and harassment of minoritized groups exist. Usually this is addressed as a problem that occurs in the workplace, but unfortunately these behaviors and attitudes are present in our academic institutions as well. As an educational platform, the members of FAHB Lab feel the need to address this topic in depth. We are by no means experts on the topic, but we are taking the steps to learn how to get there by educating ourselves and any future members. We would like to disclose that this statement of purpose for an anti-racist and anti-discriminatory lab was inspired by a recent article (Chaudhary, 2020) that was discussed during our weekly lab meeting in Fall 2020. With that being said, we would like to strive to make CSUN’S FAHB Lab a safe space for all. As a safe space we will have zero tolerance for any and all discriminatory behavior, whether it be based on religion, gender identity, age, sexual orientation, culture, race or ethnicity. As a lab we will continue using our platform to give equal opportunities to all members and prospective members. This page will provide sources in the forms of websites, videos and articles to keep us informed of ways we as individuals, and as a lab, can work towards being anti-racist and understanding other relevant social issues.
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Special thanks to Wendy Velazquez for developing the initial draft of this statement and organizing the resources found below. Thanks to Monica Montalvo, Christina Warner, Chunying Jin, Dylan Bellusci, Yvette Salgado, Jennifer Posey, and Alina Gharibkhanyan for their additional contributions.
Resources
Articles
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This article by Chaudhary (2020) gives us ten simple rules to follow in order to build an anti-racist lab. Sometimes it is easy to underestimate the value of small actions. This article touches on placing field safety guidelines, amplifying the voices of BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) and placing value on their work not only using them to show we are “inclusive”. As a lab, this article was very eye opening and opened up the floor for this topic and hope that you will take away some valuable information from it as we did.
Ten simple rules for building an antiracist lab
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This article focuses on defining racism and stating that being anti-racist requires action. They define anti-racist actions as “…seek to identify and deconstruct harmful personal, institutional, and internalized attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to create essential opportunities for healthy living.” This article pertains more towards the healthcare system during COVID-19, but we feel there is many valuable points made that any of us can benefit from. They also provide a table that focuses on elements of anti-racism and anti-oppression framework.
Videos
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This short video demonstrates how privilege plays a role in our lives. It is sometimes simple to let biases rule our thoughts. “They don’t try hard enough”, when in reality, life is not set on an equal playing field. The life of privilege is explained in $100 race.
Life of Privilege Explained in a $100 Race
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This next video further explains how the system distributes sources unevenly, it is not a perfect explanation, but it’s simple enough to get the main ideas across. It explains how socioeconomic status can affect the quality of education we receive and how it affects the opportunities we receive.
Websites/ Blogs
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This website provides a series of texts, videos and activities you can do in order to learn more about racism. It includes definitions of the different types of racism, how to be antiracist, and how to act in a situation on which you deal with racist beliefs.
National Museum of African American History and Culture- Talking about Race
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Due to COVID-19 the new norm is now virtual. We believe it is important that we place emphasis on appropriate virtual behavior. This blog post gives us four simple ways to apply our antiracism efforts online. It speaks about setting ground rules and making sure inappropriate behavior is not tolerated, talk about why race is an important topic, talk about cultural appropriation as well as avoiding “verbal blackface” in regard to slang terms.
4 Ways to Apply Your Anti-Racism Efforts to Virtual Environments
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This blog post highlights an experience dealt with by students in a graduate level course. They had a problem with an instructor who insisted on using the n-word during lecture and allowed a space for his predominantly white students, to feel it was okay to use the word as well. The student went to the appropriate people to talk about this issue and was ignored and penalized for bringing this to light. These situations may seem far off and unlikely, but it is important to know that sometimes speaking up is not easy but should be done. This also highlights the need for institutions to place regulations and guidelines on all educators, nobody should be exempt from being anti-racist, especially in educational institutions.