Decolonizing Crucial Accountability
January 4, 2021 7:13 PM Subscribe
I'm about to have to take a course based on the Crucial Accountability book, which I understand many here like. I've been warned that the course does have some issues wrt power imbalances. Can you help me understand these better before I dive deep into the course?
In order to take on a weird non-leadership role of being the receiver of concerns within my department (literally, my email is at the other end of an anonymous comment box but I have no power), I need to take this course.
That seems fine - but someone I respect but don't know well gave me a very quick critique that the course can also be problematic in the expectation that majority populations always have the right to ask for more information from minority ones. But, this was fast and I'm not in a position to ask more.
I wish I understood better criticisms of the course in that it can exacerbate power imbalances so that I can keep these in mind while I take it. More generally, are there problems with or criticisms of this framework from a social justice perspective?
Any suggestions on things to read?
In order to take on a weird non-leadership role of being the receiver of concerns within my department (literally, my email is at the other end of an anonymous comment box but I have no power), I need to take this course.
That seems fine - but someone I respect but don't know well gave me a very quick critique that the course can also be problematic in the expectation that majority populations always have the right to ask for more information from minority ones. But, this was fast and I'm not in a position to ask more.
I wish I understood better criticisms of the course in that it can exacerbate power imbalances so that I can keep these in mind while I take it. More generally, are there problems with or criticisms of this framework from a social justice perspective?
Any suggestions on things to read?
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In terms of the criticisms mentioned, they are of course hard to google (because crucial accountability and racism, white supremacy, etc. all bring up...this past summer and like, Robin DiAngelo) and I haven't heard them myself.
Vocab from the books; glossary via VitalSmarts. My intent in using the vocab is to give you points to pay particular attention, and perhaps to ask some questions related to decolonization, when these concepts come up in the course.
Based on my experiences, I would say two potential problem areas are Create Safety (expectations are different around what this looks like if you are BIPOC, LGTBQ, etc.) and Describe the Gap (because the gap in expectations is rooted in a white, hetero-patriarchal, supremacist work culture).
I'm guessing the criticism that you heard actually focused on Create a Pool of Shared Meaning (which involves asking for details about the situation in order to try to create common ground) and some subsequent steps.
I have found sources like The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture and "Nice White Meetings": Unpacking Absurd Library Bureaucracy through a Critical Race Theory Lens (though obviously that latter is libraries-focused) to be really helpful in starting to think about the very colonized water we swim in. Another deeply helpful read (with a not-helpful summary, IMO) is Emergent Strategy. These resources have all helped me unpack current problematic aspects of academia and start thinking about ways to rebuild with BIPOC, in particular, in the lead.
posted by librarylis at 9:21 PM on January 14, 2021