Being anti-racist requires you to actively work to dismantle racism. Find out how.
Ebony King, diversity and inclusion specialist, and LaShan Lovelace, diversity and inclusion director, of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion provide education, guidance and tips on how to be an active participant in anti-racism.
Tips to ensure that disabled people can participate in campus activities and the classroom
Syracuse University is renowned for being progressive in the access it provides those with disabilities. Our campus places a concerted emphasis and focus on accessibility via our Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Disability Cultural Center, the Center for Disability Resources, and our other related areas on campus. Due to this, there are many students, faculty, and staff members within our campus community that have disabilities, which makes it very likely that you are interacting with someone who has a disability regularly.
While some with disabilities, such as those who use a wheelchair or are otherwise physically disabled, are obvious, some people have hidden disabilities, including those who are Deaf, some who are blind, those who have psychiatric disabilities, and those with autism, learning or intellectual disabilities, among others. Therefore, when it comes to classrooms, events, or meetings it’s important to think broadly when it comes to accessibility when making preparations.
It is our goal to be inclusive in all aspects, which includes ensuring that those who have disabilities also have full access to the various experiences that occur on campus. There are many things to consider when providing access as each disability requires a different kind of accessibility. Understanding the many types of access is not intuitive, however, it is not complicated to learn once you commit it to part of your planning process.
Be mindful of all who may be participating and what disabilities they may have. The following are some general examples of accommodations and tips for some with disabilities:
Tip: Refrain from using vague words in your writing or speech as these ideas don’t translate well.
Tip: Refrain from saying someone is “confined” or “bound” to a wheelchair, which has negative connotations. People who use wheelchairs see them as liberating, therefore, simply say they use a wheelchair or that they are a wheelchair user.
People who are disabled aren’t seeking sympathy, they are proud of who they are, and their main difficulties with being disabled are mostly tied to not having proper access to the experiences they want or need. For more information on how to ensure you are creating inclusive environments for disabled people and for tools and resources for doing so, visit the ITS Answers page, Disability Cultural Center, the ADA Coordinator, in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Disability Resources, or request a short training on providing inclusive events.
There are approximately 1.8 billion Muslims on the planet; on our campus alone many of our students identify as Muslim. While Muslims believe in the same fundamental elements, they come in all races, ethnicities, shapes, sizes and, depending on what type of Muslim they are, their beliefs may differ. With so many Muslims in this world, and living on our campus community, understanding their core beliefs and some key aspects of their religion will broaden your perspectives and will give you a deeper appreciation of someone who may believe something different than you do. And you just may find out that your beliefs align with Muslims’ beliefs in surprising ways.
What is Islam?
Islam is the second largest religion in the world only after Christianity. Islam was founded by the Prophet Muhammad who was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabi in 570 CE. The Prophet Muhammad, also known as “The Prophet” or “The Messenger” developed the religious, political and social principles that became the foundation of Islam.
What is a Muslim?
Muslims are those who follow the teachings of Islam. According to Imam Duric, Muslim is an Arabic word that means surrender and is derived from a word that means peace. Simply put, a Muslim is one who surrenders to the will of God and the ultimate peace occurs when you submit to the will of God, or Allah (pronounced aa · luh) as some Muslims refer to God. Some people are born into Muslim families and others convert, or revert, and become a Muslim.
What types of Muslims are there?
Muslim beliefs may take a variety of forms, or sects, but the majority of Muslims are Sunni (pronounced soo · nee) and most of the remaining Muslims are Shi’ite (pronounced shee · ait). Sunnis follow the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and four elected successors. Shi’ites believe that the Prophet Muhammed’s son-in-law ‘Ali was his designated successor and that, therefore, Muslims should be led by a designated descendant of the Prophet.
What is the Nation of Islam?
The Nation of Islam is an African American religion that was established by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in 1930. Fard Muhammed was succeeded by Elijah Muhammad who was active in Fard Muhammed’s temple. The book Speaking Qur’an: An American Scripture by Dr. Timur Yuskaev states that, “in 1975, Elijah Muhammad died and his son, Wallace Muhammad, took the reins of the Nation of Islam.
After taking control of the organization he led the effort to gradually convert its members to Sunni Islam. By the early 1980s, the transformation was complete. Most members of the Nation followed Elijah’s son – who in the late 1970s adopted the name Warith Deen Muhammad (later to be changed to Warith Deen Mohammed) – and embraced the Sunni Muslim identity. Some split from Imam Mohammed’s group and formed new versions of the Nation. Most famous of them was the reconstituted Nation of Islam of Minister Louis Farrakhan (1933-).”
How can you tell if someone is a Muslim?
You actually can’t tell if someone is a Muslim. Muslims are of various races and live all over the world so they don’t all look the same. Some Muslims adhere to a certain type of dress based upon guidance from the Qur’an that are translated into their culture. Some Muslims, both men and women, follow the instructions of the Qur’an to dress modestly and for some women this means they only allow their face, hands and feet to be seen by men they are related to or their husbands. They may wear a hijab, a scarf that covers their neck and hair, or a burka which covers their full body leaving only the eyes visible – there are many other types of head coverings but not all Muslim women cover their heads. Some Muslim men only wear long trousers and long-sleeve shirts. Depending on the country, these dress recommendations are adhered to rigidly; dress codes may also be required at certain religious sites. However, in other countries you will see a variance in how Muslims choose to dress with some opting to follow specific codes of dress and others opting not to.
What are the main tenets of Islam?
The goal of Islam is to have the body, heart and mind perform optimally. Muslims believe that three dimensions lead to this optimal performance Islam (submission), Iman (pronounced ee · mon, means faith, believe, trust) and Ihsan (pronounced ih · san, means perfection or excellence).
What do Muslims do?
Islam suggests that Muslims put their faith first and incorporate it into their everyday lives. To accomplish this Muslims practice the Five Pillars of Islam, these five pillars encompass Islam’s first dimension:
Just as no members of a religion are monolithic, some Muslims will practice each of the five pillars and some Muslims may only practice a few.
What do Muslims believe?
Muslims believe in Six Articles of Faith, these encompass the second dimension of Islam:
The third dimension of Islam, Ihsan, suggests that Muslims should seek to obtain perfection, or excellence, in worship, which leads to excellence in all actions. It specifically states, “to worship God as though you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you.
What do Muslims eat?
You may have noticed halal food options in the dining halls. These options are for Muslims who choose to follow the Qur’an’s guidance on foods and their consumption. Halal (pronounced huh · laal) means permitted. Essentially, all foods are considered halal except those that are prohibited according to the Qur’an.
Muslims believe that all life is sacred including the lives of animals, therefore, the Qur’an states that Muslims should only eat meat from animals that have been slaughtered in a way that reduces their pain and distress as much as possible. In addition, Muslims believe that food and drink are for sustenance only and are not for indulgence. Examples of foods that are not halal include: alcohol, pork, meat and food products from animals not slaughtered in a very specific way.
What does modern-day Muslim discrimination look like?
Modern-day Muslim discrimination involves the act of limiting participation or non-participation of Muslims in certain activities varying from schools, employment, accommodation, businesses, public parks, and other areas and activities otherwise available to the general public and other religions. These include preventing athletes from being on a sports team, barring a student from attending certain schools or classes, enforcing increased restrictions on airport security measures, passing on a potential candidate for a position even though in all of these cases the individual possesses the requisite determined for the attributed activity solely because he/she is a Muslim.
In addition, Muslims face microaggressions caused by prejudice including remarks, comments, taunts, and direct speech hurdled toward them regarding them and/or their religion that can cause fear, intimidation, humiliation, despair, and discouragement from being a Muslim. Examples are women who wear the hijab being treated with suspicion, inaccurate statements about eating habits, inappropriate questions regarding intimate relations and Sawm, the assumption that obtained positions are due to affirmative action rather than work quality.
What’s next?
Now that you have the basics down you may want even more information about Islam and the Muslim community on our campus. Please contact our Islamic Chaplain with any additional questions you may have.
Glossary:
Allah (pronounced aa · luh) means God
Hajj (pronounced haj) the pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslim adults. The fifth pillar of Islam.
Halal (pronounced huh · laal) food or items that is permitted to be consumed or used per the Qur’an.
Imam (pronounced ee · mom) not be confused with Iman, an Imam a person who leads prayers in a mosque
Islam, Iman (pronounced ee · mon), and Ihsan (pronounced ih · san) are the three dimensions of Islam
Muslims are those who follow the teachings of Islam.
Qur’an (pronounced kr · aan) is the main text of Islam.
Salah (pronounced sa · la · hey) prayer that occurs five times a day. The second of the five pillars of Islam.
Sawm (pronounced saam) fasting during Ramadan. The fourth pillar of Islam.
Shahadah (pronounced shuh · haa · dah) the profession of faith stating that there is only one God and that Muhammad is his messenger. The first of the five pillars of Islam.
Shi’ite (pronounced shee · ait) Muslims are the second largest sect of Muslims.
Six Articles of Faith – six core beliefs that Muslims uphold.
Sunni (pronounced soo · nee) Muslims are the largest sect of Muslims.
Zakat (pronounced zuh · kat) giving a portion of your wealth to the needy. The third of the five pillars of Islam.
Syracuse University sits on the ancestral lands of the Haudanosaunee. Find out a little bit more about this confederacy including how to pronounce the name.
Even the best intentions can perpetuate racism.
Many years ago, I read an article by philosopher of education, Audrey Thompson, in which she wrote, “Our morality can be one of the main obstacles to racial change.” Cleveland Hayes and Brenda Juarez similarly argue, “The problem of whiteness is not a problem of evil but a problem of good.”[i] This jolted me, a white woman who has been studying moral philosophy, moral development and moral education for over 30 years. When I came to Syracuse and started working in the School of Education, I started to research and inquire how good white intentions can engender defensiveness and denials that will derail conversations with students, parents and colleagues of color about their experiences with racism and white complicity in that experience. I had to remind myself that what I was reading and studying, mostly from generous and courageous scholars of color, no one was saying white people should not have good intentions but rather these scholars were calling for critical reflection around white good intentions and their effect on BIPOC experience. On the surface, to want to help others is such a good thing and often praiseworthy. But I was beginning to realize that good white intentions can often, even unwittingly, perpetuate patronizing forms of racism that keep hierarchies of power and privilege in place. In a powerful New York Times letter, “Dear White America,” George Yancy[ii] invites white people to let go of their white innocence and honestly engage with the problem of good intentions and the complicity they might hide. It is not comfortable for white people to read what Yancy wrote, but it helps to also remind oneself that James Baldwin tells white people, “It is the innocence that constitutes the crime.[iii] Important critical analysis of systemic oppression can be thwarted by presumptions of innocence.
I think it is important to remember that racism is not only about holding hate in your heart or consciously believing you are superior because you are white. Racism is about a system of marginalization that one can be upholding even through good intentions.
One example that I often address with my white future urban education teachers is to critically question any beliefs/feelings they have about “saving” their students. We talk about how “white savior complex,” something so common in movies that focus on white teachers in urban settings, reinforces the idea not only that the white teacher is the hero, but that there is something wrong with their students that requires saving by white people. It is to understand urban students as having a deficiency that only you can fix. White teachers don’t intentionally try to hurt anyone but good white intentions often have that effect, especially if white teachers protect their good intentions instead of being willing to explore what the impact of their intentions can be. And a white teacher might be able to acknowledge that people of color are less privileged and yet not see oneself as playing a role in their experience. Help, one Black graduate student once told me, was not the same as justice. Unless white teachers are willing to critically reflect on their good intentions, their ability to examine how they might be complicit and what to do about it will be blocked. And if you can’t name injustice, you don’t have to do anything about it. When white people do not critically examine their good intentions, and their potential hindrance to justice, they conveniently remove themselves from the responsibility of addressing injustice.
REFRAME. My wonderful teaching assistant always reminds me how helpful it is to reframe something I am thinking and to see it in a different way. Reframing a call to examine systemic racism not as an accusation but instead as an appeal to consider what white people might not know or might not want to know can break some of the deadlocks that are linked to preoccupations with good intentions and shift the focus to the impact of those good intentions. Instead of bringing conversations to an end, such a shift can open up educational moments of growth that make broader understandings of racism possible for white people. The challenge for white people is to shift the focus from intention to the effects of their doings and listen to what people of color say those effects are.
We can see another example of white emotional investments in goodness in how some white people responded to the justified anger expressed in protests around the country in response to the murder of Black bodies by the hands of the police. Some white people felt shock, fear and then retreat when they heard the powerful statement made by Tamika Mallory’s State of Emergency speech in which she explains her reasoning for the protestors’ response to police brutality, and the discourse around “looters.” THE NEED TO REFRAME: How can white people move from shock, fear and retreat in order to hear the message behind the anger? What would happen if white people understood that rage can unsettle us, jolt us, but also teach us something important about others as well as learn something about ourselves? How can white people stay in the moment of discomfort instead of trying to escape it in order to learn something about the experiences of others as well as something not easy to hear about ourselves that might change how we see things? In her profound essay “The Uses of Anger,” Audre Lorde addresses how white woman respond when she speaks with clear and meticulously articulated anger about her experiences in feminist circles. White feminists exhort, ‘Tell me how you feel but don’t say it too harshly or I cannot hear you.’[iv] To which Lorde replies, “But is it my manner that keeps her from hearing, or the threat of a message that her life may change?” White people have to learn to shift their attention away from a focus on the tone in order to hear the message. And when I refer to white people in this reflection, I am not excluding myself.
It is not comfortable for white people to have good intentions challenged. It is not easy to hear the message behind anger. But that discomfort is nothing compared to the causes of the anger that marginalized groups experience daily. Also, it helps to remember that anger is not usually the first resort but a tool that might be a consequence of one’s voice not being heard. Imagine how much we can accomplish together towards social and institutional change if white people stop focusing on white comfort and our good intentions, and instead try to understand what has to change and how we have to change for there to be a more just society. Elizabeth Denevi offers white people something to seriously ask ourselves, “What if being called “racist” is the beginning, not the end, of the conversation?”[v]
[i] You showed your Whiteness: you don’t get a ‘good’ White people’s medal Cleveland Hayes & Brenda G. Juárez 2009 International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22:6, 729-744
[ii] https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/dear-white-america/?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=14D3E7B6222B672CAB8B710C2BA38CBB&gwt=pay
[iii] James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (New York: Vintage, 1962/1993): 5-6.
[iv] Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider (Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1984) 125.
[v] Elizabeth Denevi, “What If Being Called ‘Racist’ is the Beginning, not the End, of the Conversation?” In The Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys, eds.,Eddie Moore, Jr, Ali Michael, Marguerite Penick-Parks (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2017): 74.
Syracuse University announced today that it will adopt all Phase One recommendations as presented to Chancellor Kent Syverud by the Disability External Review Committee. Continue Reading
Syracuse University has added 79 new members to its accomplished faculty. While some have transitioned into new faculty roles, 58 are new to the University community. Continue Reading
This year marks the 15-year annual celebration of Latinx Hispanic Heritage Month (LHHM) at Syracuse University, with events Tuesday, Sept. 15, through Thursday, Oct. 15. Continue Reading
