Event Type
Lightning Talk
Location
WHH 117
Track
Collegiality as Self Care
Start Date
13-7-2018 3:15 PM
End Date
13-7-2018 4:00 PM
Description
People of color experience microaggressions on a regular basis. Microaggressions, as defined as Dr. Derald Wing Sue in Psychology Today, are “brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities and denigrating messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned White people who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated.” Microaggressions are the racist behaviors and statements delivered without malicious intent. Despite the intention of the microaggression, these are persistent recurrences which cause harm to People of Color (POC). A repeated barrage of these behaviors has very real and damaging effects to one’s mental and emotional state. In the face of this threat, self-care is a necessary preventative mechanism. Mindfulness practice lends itself to compassion, gratitude, and greater understanding. Research shows that it only takes five minutes of daily practice to begin to reap the positive effects of mindfulness. The Loving-Kindness and Compassion meditations are mindfulness tools which have the capacity to address many of the detrimental aspects of racial fatigue. These meditations help to address the effects of stress, anxiety, depression, conflict, and anger. These forms of mindfulness meditation have a secondary effect as well: by positively impacting the individual experiencing these microaggressions, this can alter the relationships and experiences of those around them. An essential part of self-care is developing a support network. Although mindfulness has the capacity to revitalize and reset in the face of stress or anxiety, the practice can also help by encouraging healthy relationships. Through the facilitation of measurement preceding and succeeding a mindfulness intervention, librarians and library staff identifying as POC will be surveyed to determine the efficacy of the practice in the face of microaggressions.
Lightning Round A: Meditating on Microaggressions
WHH 117
People of color experience microaggressions on a regular basis. Microaggressions, as defined as Dr. Derald Wing Sue in Psychology Today, are “brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities and denigrating messages sent to people of color by well-intentioned White people who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated.” Microaggressions are the racist behaviors and statements delivered without malicious intent. Despite the intention of the microaggression, these are persistent recurrences which cause harm to People of Color (POC). A repeated barrage of these behaviors has very real and damaging effects to one’s mental and emotional state. In the face of this threat, self-care is a necessary preventative mechanism. Mindfulness practice lends itself to compassion, gratitude, and greater understanding. Research shows that it only takes five minutes of daily practice to begin to reap the positive effects of mindfulness. The Loving-Kindness and Compassion meditations are mindfulness tools which have the capacity to address many of the detrimental aspects of racial fatigue. These meditations help to address the effects of stress, anxiety, depression, conflict, and anger. These forms of mindfulness meditation have a secondary effect as well: by positively impacting the individual experiencing these microaggressions, this can alter the relationships and experiences of those around them. An essential part of self-care is developing a support network. Although mindfulness has the capacity to revitalize and reset in the face of stress or anxiety, the practice can also help by encouraging healthy relationships. Through the facilitation of measurement preceding and succeeding a mindfulness intervention, librarians and library staff identifying as POC will be surveyed to determine the efficacy of the practice in the face of microaggressions.
