[Kate]

Don’t be afraid to bring what I’ve earned up in my every day conversations and correct people when it feels appropriate.

[Chiara]

Finally, I wonder about the practice of active and intentional listening for stories other than our own (e.g., the NPR podcast Code Switch) and its role in co-creating language:

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/

[Chiara]

Some resources of interest, mainly geared to help children understand concepts and realities such as ‘intersectionality’ and ‘privilege’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6dnj2IyYjE&t=7s

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/summer-2016/toolkit-for-teaching-at-the-intersections

https://www.learningforjustice.org/professional-development/webinars/intersectionality

https://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/parenting/parenting-articles/race-privilege/

[Chiara]

Hello. Thank you, Tim, for posing this question and opening this thread; and thank you for all the people who participated in this thread. I am taking the course in the Fall of 2023 and the same question about language and its clarity and accessibility came up for me.

I wonder whether there may be any qualitative research about how Black communities may have already been defining the experiences captured by terms ‘intersectionality’, ‘privilege’, ‘location’, to rename the few brought forth in the original posts. I think that the academic world hyper-fixates on words and terminology because these are fundamental tools of the trade and enable exchange of knowledge. Transmission of knowledge outside of research and academia (the Western paradigm thereof) has been thriving through storytelling over millennia and across cultural boundaries. So, I wonder what stories would a community chose to represent experiences of intersectional oppression, for instance? What story would resonate across generations within that community? What space can be co-created to make room for such stories to emerge? What form of documentation would be preferred, if any, by the community holding these stories? What value would these stories have in the transmission of critical knowledge from one generation to another? What acts of co-creation of these stories would a community perform? What difference would it make to young people in particular the giving value and creating space for this type of knowledge transmission across generations, and across communities?

[Charnjot]

I’ve noticed that a lot of the material covered in the modules is often information that isn’t easily accessible to a larger audience or that people don’t know enough about how to support black youth. One way to make this language more accessible is to have it discussed in schools from a young age so that children learn a lot about Black history.

[casondra]

I agree Tim. This workshop was great and very informative but some of the language is not the typical everyday language most uneducated individuals would use in my opinion. Luckily I just completed a course in anti-oppression and equity otherwise I would have been confused by some of the terms and language used.

[Deinera]

Thanks for your reply Tim! Here is more on implementation science: https://impsciuw.org/implementation-science/learn/implementation-science-overview/ I also think you raise an important point about concepts like intersectionality, which are critical but build on understanding of many other concepts, as well (e.g., oppressive, privilege). One image analogy I have used is a spider web, where each line of the web (social structures, like anti-Black racism, sexism, colonialism, etc.) work together to create interlocking systems of oppression, but depending on where we sit (closer to the centre where people hold power or further to the edges where people are marginalized and pushed out), our experiences are shaped in vastly different ways. But it’s always something we are looking for ways to explain, so would love to hear other ideas people have used!

[Tim]

Hi Dineira. Thanks for your sharing. I will look into what you said about “Implementation Science”. That sounds interesting. Also great to hear about the person who spoke about translation into plain language. Think it is important to get these discussions happening out in wider forums. I am thinking if and when people choose to perhaps call in to a Talk Radio show they give thought to the way of expressing ideas in simpler language or maybe even very briefly explaining significant terms like “Intersectionality”. I love this word and concept but it has taken me a while to fully understand what it means. What I notice sometimes in meetings with people who work in similar fields is they use terms and acronyms and the like with the assumption everyone understands. I think it is good to really think about terms and about the audience one is speaking to. Anyway thanks for the input.

[Deinera]

This is something I was thinking about too as I watched, and reflecting on afterwards. The lectures were all fantastic and beautifully written, but yes, how do we translate this information out the to the folks we work with in ways that are accessible yet retain the core messages? I was thinking about the field of implementation science, where I work, where the goal (broadly) is taking complex ideas from research to help make them more accessible in real-world practice. I think a lot of people are working on this question of knowledge translation of anti-racism theory and research into daily practice and organizational change, but I think there is still a lot of work to do in this area.

[Emily]

I’m not sure if this answers your question, but something I work on actively work on is to create plain language summary versions of documents (reports, publications, etc). This makes knowledge accessible to folks with various disabilities/needs, as well as the knowledge accessible to folks who aren’t in the field. Here is an example of what a plain language summary could look like https://bit.ly/DemystifyingDisabilityPlainLanguageVersion and an example of a guide https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-your-research/writing-your-paper/how-to-write-a-plain-language-summary/

[Holly]

This is an interesting question but an important one, Tim. I agree, I am not an academic but I have learned the “buzz” words within our sector that are used to describe experiences and realities that continue to be used. To what someone else said, language being used makes some groups feel more woke than others but I do feel like we need to deconstruct but maybe fuse simple language to describe the experiences so that they are accessible. Context helps when sometimes buzz words become too flashy.

[Lux]

Hi Tim,

I think you have a really interesting question. I would challenge the watering down or simplification of words and terms to make them “accessible”. I’ve entered spaces where I’ve had to learn words like “carburator”, “touchdown”, and “emulsification” to understand the conversations and engage in those spaces. If someone is claiming the language is too “woke” to engage with, I do not think using other language is going to get them to engage. It is not the language but the context that these folks have an issue with.

[Andrew]

I see what you’re saying, but I think Tim might have a point. I think there are folks who would have an issue with these ideas even if they were put into other language – a the same time, I think that words like ‘privilege’ can take time to fully understand, and some people find it more challenging than others to learn words that describe fairly complex social phenomenon. Using ‘priviledge’ and ‘intersectionality’ and ‘location’ in a matter of minutes can lose people even if they want to follow what you’re saying.

[Tim]

Hi Andrew. I am not suggesting terms should be watered down. Rather about the benefit of thinking about these terms and concepts and ways to get some of the information and ideas across to people who might be receptive but are not versed in the language or terms. I have been at many meetings online (mostly these days) where people there throw around terms or acronyms as if everyone knows or understands them when that is often not the case. I think some of these terms are essential to capture the nuance of meanings but sometimes when connecting with people outside of academia the message does not have to be as nuanced. I love the way one can find stories or metaphors to convey meanings – maybe this is partly what I am talking about.

[Andrew]

Hi Tim – I hear what you’re saying, I was talking about the same thing. I think that you might have been talking about ways to teach the words to a broader audience, whereas I was thinking more about making oneself to people who don’t fully understand the words. Although, these are not mutually exclusive goals – in fact I think they can go hand-in-hand – and maybe you were talking about both. Anyway, I’ve been reflecting on how I’ve tried to do it. When I’m trying to hone in on one part of something (as in those circumstances where the entire nuance of a word is not necessary for conveying something), I take the time to expand on it by focusing on the part that’s most relevant. Usually, I think, that involves talking about the social / structural issues surrounding whatever we’re talking about – raising awareness of the social structures that uphold inequities. Or, when I’m trying to talk about what a word means, I’ll explain them though the example of my own experiences (or sometimes the other person’s, depending on how well I know them). I think that giving people something concrete helps them compare it to their own experience and the experiences of others. Story and metaphor sound like great ideas, those are great tools for teaching and reaching people.