Unfortunately, another incident among many reflecting a larger issue of ignorance and cultural incompetence at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing occurred on Monday June 15, 2015, during the Nursing the Childbearing Family lecture. We were presented with an image of a Black man with locs for his chosen hairstyle and told that it was the best illustration that could be mustered to represent the “dread” we might be feeling about the class. The man was able to be so dehumanized that the professor was able to use the name of his hairstyle to talk about dreading the OB course.
After the presentation of this slide, one student in particular had to endure the uncomfortable stares of her peers around her in class due to the fact that she has locs. The professor may as well have put the student's photo up. The professor made a remark about this student's departure from the classroom, but was totally oblivious to the offensiveness and implications of the slide and the reasons that she left. Furthermore, this student has not felt comfortable going back to class since the incident.
This petition will be presented to the administration soon. Please sign below to show solidarity in support for the changes that members of our SGA and Diversity Committee have already been pushing for as well as the following:
In the short term-
1) To have the lecture removed and edited so students can learn from the material without distracting remarks.
2) An official exploration into the Curriculum Committee’s purpose and the quality of work in regards to issues of diversity and inclusion. This exploration should come from outside of the School of Nursing.
3) Mandatory training on micro aggression and negative imagery for everyone including all staff members. This training should come from outside of the School of Nursing.
4) An increase in need-based student financial aid for Black Students from Baltimore City.
5) The creation of a program such as Fuld Fellows that is open to any student who is interested in doing research and projects on issues of social justice, diversity and health that help uplift the poor of Baltimore City.
6) Appropriate inclusion of ethnic groups consistently underrepresented in our lectures.
In the long term-
1) Systematic change that involves in depth training for all professors, clinical instructors, and faculty on issues pertaining to cultural humility that is mandatory and funded fully by the institution.
2) The training should be organized and led by an outside organization that specializes in such training like Baltimore Racial Justice Action.
3) There should also be critical oversight and evaluation done on the school annually with regards to issues related to cultural humility.
4) To see a bold increase in the number of tenured faculty and students in the school of nursing that is more representative of the population of Baltimore City. If more minority students are not in the classroom these incidents will continue to go unchecked. This can be accomplished through a pipeline or partnership with institutions such as Morgan State University.
Updates
July 14, 2015
The administration has acknowledged the petition and we are currently finalizing a meeting time with the Dean. Our focus is now on securing a commitment for mandatory bias training and an immediate review of the curriculum.
Reached 100 supporters
July 14, 2015
25 Comments
Thank you for taking a step to raise awareness and increase accountability. Training for staff on racial micro-aggression and derogatory language and imagery would be a direct, clean, clear start.
I happen to have been in a similar situation: a professor in his intro remarks made a comment regarding the accents of African students and said something about bananas to make the point that if he can't understand what you say because of your African accent, please bear with him. Clearly bananas and black monkeys are not related!!!!!!!
I believe that it is absolutely necessary for a professor to understand that he/she is servicing a diverse student body and that certain actions or statements that may seem harmless are in fact detrimental to the overall success and well being of students. These actions would not be tolerated if it were the other way around and this incident in itself displays the plague known as white privilege.
I can relate to this incident, my son where's locks and he has been handcuffed recently just because he had been profiled. The police officer said they keep pulling him over because he is a black man and because he wears locks.
It's sad to learn about this incident. However, it is distracting to see a laundry list of demands that are not directly related. Training for staff on micro aggression, racial and derogatory language and imagery seems reasonable and focused. Marlon, SON 2013, SON PhD Student.
We need to be mindful of how we present our views & perspectives.
We need to reclaim our self image and regain the courage it takes to directly confront the effects of racism white supremacy in the effort of global healing. What effects one effects many as we are universally connected. I commend the student with locs in being sensitive enough to pick up on the "professional" wordplay presented by her instructor. After acknowledging this example of racist perpetuation we must ask ourselves who coined the term dread locs to begin with and for what purpose and how often do we as coiled haired beings use this term to reference ourselves. Now, is the time to disect who we think we are and who selfimage do we claim. I look forward to an outcome of awareness and social/political progression for all human beings.
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Unfortunately, another incident among many reflecting a larger issue of ignorance and cultural incompetence at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing occurred on Monday June 15, 2015, during the Nursing the Childbearing Family lecture. We were presented with an image of a Black man with locs for his chosen hairstyle and told that it was the best illustration that could be mustered to represent the “dread” we might be feeling about the class. The man was able to be so dehumanized that the professor was able to use the name of his hairstyle to talk about dreading the OB course.
After the presentation of this slide, one student in particular had to endure the uncomfortable stares of her peers around her in class due to the fact that she has locs. The professor may as well have put the student's photo up. The professor made a remark about this student's departure from the classroom, but was totally oblivious to the offensiveness and implications of the slide and the reasons that she left. Furthermore, this student has not felt comfortable going back to class since the incident.
This petition will be presented to the administration soon. Please sign below to show solidarity in support for the changes that members of our SGA and Diversity Committee have already been pushing for as well as the following:
In the short term-
1) To have the lecture removed and edited so students can learn from the material without distracting remarks.
2) An official exploration into the Curriculum Committee’s purpose and the quality of work in regards to issues of diversity and inclusion. This exploration should come from outside of the School of Nursing.
3) Mandatory training on micro aggression and negative imagery for everyone including all staff members. This training should come from outside of the School of Nursing.
4) An increase in need-based student financial aid for Black Students from Baltimore City.
5) The creation of a program such as Fuld Fellows that is open to any student who is interested in doing research and projects on issues of social justice, diversity and health that help uplift the poor of Baltimore City.
6) Appropriate inclusion of ethnic groups consistently underrepresented in our lectures.
In the long term-
1) Systematic change that involves in depth training for all professors, clinical instructors, and faculty on issues pertaining to cultural humility that is mandatory and funded fully by the institution.
2) The training should be organized and led by an outside organization that specializes in such training like Baltimore Racial Justice Action.
3) There should also be critical oversight and evaluation done on the school annually with regards to issues related to cultural humility.
4) To see a bold increase in the number of tenured faculty and students in the school of nursing that is more representative of the population of Baltimore City. If more minority students are not in the classroom these incidents will continue to go unchecked. This can be accomplished through a pipeline or partnership with institutions such as Morgan State University.
Updates
July 14, 2015
The administration has acknowledged the petition and we are currently finalizing a meeting time with the Dean. Our focus is now on securing a commitment for mandatory bias training and an immediate review of the curriculum.
Reached 100 supporters
July 14, 2015
25 Comments
Absolutely unacceptable. And this would not be the first time I have heard of/experienced a Hopkins professor saying something completely inappropriate and/or stigmatizing. This professor's ignorance is disgraceful and the fact that we even have to sign a petition in order for Hopkins to take action is embarrassing!
Thank you for taking a step to raise awareness and increase accountability. Training for staff on racial micro-aggression and derogatory language and imagery would be a direct, clean, clear start.
I happen to have been in a similar situation: a professor in his intro remarks made a comment regarding the accents of African students and said something about bananas to make the point that if he can't understand what you say because of your African accent, please bear with him. Clearly bananas and black monkeys are not related!!!!!!!
I believe that it is absolutely necessary for a professor to understand that he/she is servicing a diverse student body and that certain actions or statements that may seem harmless are in fact detrimental to the overall success and well being of students. These actions would not be tolerated if it were the other way around and this incident in itself displays the plague known as white privilege.
I can relate to this incident, my son where's locks and he has been handcuffed recently just because he had been profiled. The police officer said they keep pulling him over because he is a black man and because he wears locks.
It's sad to learn about this incident. However, it is distracting to see a laundry list of demands that are not directly related. Training for staff on micro aggression, racial and derogatory language and imagery seems reasonable and focused. Marlon, SON 2013, SON PhD Student.
We need to be mindful of how we present our views & perspectives.
We need to reclaim our self image and regain the courage it takes to directly confront the effects of racism white supremacy in the effort of global healing. What effects one effects many as we are universally connected. I commend the student with locs in being sensitive enough to pick up on the "professional" wordplay presented by her instructor. After acknowledging this example of racist perpetuation we must ask ourselves who coined the term dread locs to begin with and for what purpose and how often do we as coiled haired beings use this term to reference ourselves. Now, is the time to disect who we think we are and who selfimage do we claim. I look forward to an outcome of awareness and social/political progression for all human beings.
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Absolutely unacceptable. And this would not be the first time I have heard of/experienced a Hopkins professor saying something completely inappropriate and/or stigmatizing. This professor's ignorance is disgraceful and the fact that we even have to sign a petition in order for Hopkins to take action is embarrassing!