Social Justice and Inclusion

In this competency area, I am at the intermediate level. I have been ignorant of issues on racism in the past because of my limited understanding of and exposure to the concept. I have come to understand that there are different racial classifications beyond the just 'White' or 'Black' and learnt about the oppression that is particular to different groups. I have grown from seeing racism as binary to realizing that it can be perpetrated by anyone consciously or unconsciously, I have gone from the notion that disagreement means conflict, that the same treatment to all is fair and I realize now that socialization has a huge impact on us all even on social justice advocates who may slip up once in a while.  Since this is a journey that no one ever arrives at, we must pick ourselves up and keep at it.

I have learned that anger against oppression most often does not lead to equity and that social justice work comes from a place of compassion. I have learned that being a social justice and inclusion advocate requires that I look at things from different lenses by dismantling my own privilege in order to improve the lived experiences of marginalized people around me while being mindful of the deficit mentality. I have learned that social justice does not always require physical action, sometimes it's just being present and listening to what others have to say. I have learned the concept of intersectionality and how it provides the frames of our outlook and that racism is a by-product of classism and both are systematically perpetrated. I have learned how multicultural competence can lead to systemic changes through Multicultural Organization Development (MCOD) & Multicultural Change Intervention Matrix (MCIM), two frameworks for creating and advancing multicultural inclusiveness at the institutional level and how to take responsibility to ensure that I constantly interrupt dominant perspectives. It is my responsibility to educate students formally and informally to empower them towards multicultural competence in areas of awareness, knowledge, skills, and action. To do that, I must encourage myself and my students to engage in self-reflection, to develop critical and cultural humility, to build multi-cultural relationships and be willing to act in collaboration with others. I have learned the importance of technology in social justice work not just with creating awareness, building networks and advocacy but also with creating structures within the institution to boost diversity retention efforts. I have also learned the necessity of self-care and how it should be viewed as a responsibility that is incorporated as a daily practice. Ways that I have been able to translate my new knowledge and awareness into practice include:

1. More empathy and understanding of student’s personality differences. Instead of trying to make students progress in the way I think they should be making progress, I am beginning to understand their different learning abilities and their different personalities and explore those as I work with them. This has helped me adapt my helping and supporting style to their individuality.

2. I have been one to protect my personal space and time and have been successful in separating my professional life from my personal life. With my new understanding of the student affairs profession, while still recognizing the importance of balance, I have learned to put students first. I am making adjustments and not being as rigid with personal space and time by allowing students more into "my world” instead of being so protective of myself. One of my biggest lessons in this competency is realizing that I cannot be an effective social justice advocate if I shield away my vulnerabilities, I must be in touch with them and be willing to allow them show because it is important in developing relationships which is also a crucial part of helping and supporting students. This has made me more accessible, more available to students, more relatable and more confident in who I am because I really am a combination of my strengths, weaknesses and experiences and so is everyone else.

3. As practitioners, we are the ones who need to reach out to students instead of waiting for students to reach out to us. I am doing that more now and having even more informal discussions with students because relationship building is key to working towards achieving social justice and inclusion.

     With regards to engaging with the SJI competency, I have done and will continue to self-reflect to observe my areas of bias. I now understand my different identities, how they intersect and how they have informed my perspective and attitude and I have a better understanding of the social justice and inclusion standpoint especially within higher education. This class sparked my interest in advocacy because I understand better what to advocate for, the different dynamics involved in the things we advocate for and the sensitivity of these issues. As a result, I have engaged in a few dialogues with my colleagues in different countries, I facilitate orientations for outgoing students who are leaving Nigeria to the United States covering some of these issues that they may encounter when they arrive on US campuses to give them a sense of what they should expect, how they can cope, protect their confidence and their individuality and who they can reach out to for assistance if they need to speak to someone.

     In my daily practice, I am being very conscious of my mindset, my words, my actions and disposition towards students to make sure that each person I work with feels acknowledged, heard and included. Since this is a learning process that I'm just beginning, I am not being unnecessarily hard on myself but when I notice that I could have said something in a better way or done something differently, I immediately correct myself and I encourage colleagues to do the same.  I have also noticed that I am more vocal when it comes to discussions on these topics. In the past, I have taken the “don't rock the boat” approach but I am speaking more especially after learning about the danger of silence. I am lending my voice because my voice will be my gift to the movement towards social justice and inclusion wherever I find myself.