How to apply the REaCH lens in your presentation
How can I think about applying this lens within my presentation?
One tool our National Office has used to help us critically evaluate ourselves and the work that we do are the Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families developed by the Irving Harris Foundation. While there are lots of ways you might approach applying a racial equity and cultural humility lens, if you’re feeling stuck, this might be helpful for you.
For us, the tenets have helped us to connect the dots between ideas of racial equity and cultural humility and the practical principles we must employ to bring those ideas to fruition.
We will list the 10 Tenets here, but highly encourage you to download the full explanation of each (provided in English and Spanish) on the Irving Harris Foundation site.
Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families developed by the Irving Harris Foundation:
Central Principle for Diversity-Informed Tenets
- Self-Awareness Leads to Better Services for Families
Stance Toward Infants, Children and Families for Diversity-Informed Practice:
- Champion of Children’s Rights Globally
- Work to Acknowledge Privilege and Combat Discrimination
- Recognize and Respect Non-Dominant Bodies of Knowledge
- Honor Diverse Family Structures
Principles for Diversity-Informed Resource Allocation:
- Understand that Language Can Hurt or Heal
- Support Families in Their Preferred Language
- Allocate Resources to Systems Change
- Make Space and Open Pathways
Advocacy Towards Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Institutions
- Advance Policy that Supports All Families.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the visual labeled Equality we see the result when people with varying needs in a bike are given same – an equal – bike to ride on.
In the visual labeled Equity we see the result when people with varying needs in a bike are given a bike best suited for them.
The outcome of equality is that everyone gets a bike, but not everyone is able to ride. The outcome of equity is that everyone can ride the bike. When we talk about equity, we’re talking about equal outcomes, versus equal inputs.
This visual, presented to a HFA audience in Milwaukee, during our Racial Wealth Gap Learning Simulation, was created by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
What we’re not looking for in your presentation proposal is a blanket statement about how something is inclusive because “works for all families”. We know through our cultural humility and racial equity lens that each family has their own culture.
Even in locations where families may be more racially homogeneous, there is still culture and diversity present. Be thoughtful about the role of culture in your communities, as well as your own culture and how it impacts your work, ideas, and innovations.
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