RACE AND GENDER ACTION PLAN 1

Race and Gender Action Plan

Belinda Flores Shinshillas

LSU Graduate School

ELRC 7600: Race and Gender in Higher Education

Dr. Chaunda Mitchell

June 26, 2021

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Personal or Community Action Plan.

Our diverse communities face a great problem with respect to racial and gender

disparities. The classification of race and gender has been used to sponsor political and social

power for elite groups. The perverseness of intersectionality affects minority groups across these

classifications affecting multiple forms of discrimination, such as racism and sexism overlapping

and intersecting them in the experiences of marginalized groups. Over the past five weeks, I have

been enlightened about the importance of comprehending how racism and discrimination work

among subordinated and oppressed groups. I truly believe that the acquisition of accurate

knowledge has the potential to open your mind and reframe pre-existing ideologies.

My father used to say that history is written by the conquerors. After several weeks of

revealing readings, I have come to the realization that the only way to transform the reality we

have been taught is by listening to the experiences of people that have suffered from racism and

gender discrimination. “Storytelling and counter-storytelling these experiences can help

strengthen traditions of social, political, and cultural survival and resistance” (Solórzano &

Yosso, 2016, p.133). It takes immense courage for silenced people to tell their stories and share

their experiences, but the greatest courage, the real challenge is to listen to these stories and drift

apart for the majoritarian story. By really listening to the counter-storytelling experiences of

affected people by the perverseness of intersectionality, we will be able to see more clearly that

racism is not only about color or gender but, a combination of these classifications. The members

of our communities have diverse backgrounds, and everyone’s experiences are unique. Only by

taking every single story into consideration, we will be able to reconcile the disparities we all

suffer in our society. I believe we all must have the courage to listen to these stories in order to

stop the distortion and injustice our complacent ignorance causes to the lives and experiences of

people in our own communities.

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Professional Action Plan.

The information I gained during this course has been illuminating and revealing at the

same time. The realization that everyone can carry the invisible backpack of privilege was

helpful to open my eyes to the pressing issue that affects all aspects of our lives and most

importantly, my future as a higher education administrator and educator. Dr. Beverly Tatum

provides a clear picture of what we can expect when new and revealing information is properly

given to students in a higher education setting. By teaching Janet Helms’ model for white racial

identity development educators can provide a better understanding of the real and present issue

of racism on college campuses to students. However, since individuals that have been the

recipients of privilege can experience distress receiving this information, they may deter

themselves from obtaining the benefit of a positive change in their future interactions with

minority groups. “One response to this discomfort is to deny the validity of the information that

is being presented to them, or to withdraw from the class psychologically, if not physically”

(Tatum, 2016, p. 280).

In my professional practice, I will continue positively engaging privileged students into

the stages of this model through open conversations until they can get to the recognition of their

identities. I will encourage them to be courageous to listen to the experiences of students of

different color, race, and gender while simultaneously inspiring a mutual understanding of the

complex issues and problems that have brought us together in this important conversation.
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References

Solórzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2016). Critical Race Methodology: Counter-Storytelling

as an Analytical Framework for Educational Research. In Taylor, E., Gillborn, D., & Ladson-

Billings, G. (Eds.), Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education. (pp. 127-142).

Routledge.

Tatum B. D. (2016). Teaching White Students About Racism: The Search for White

Allies and the Restoration of Hope. In Taylor, E., Gillborn, D., & Ladson-Billings, G. (Eds.),

Foundations of critical race theory in education (pp. 278-288). Routledge.