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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lens - March 20224/14/22, 9:48 AM The Lens - March 2022 https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/30dc718 1/3 We only use cookies that are necessary for this site to function to provide you with the best experience. The controller of this site may choose to place supplementary cookies to support additional functionality such as support analytics, and has an obligation to disclose these cookies. Learn more in our Cookie Statement. The Lens - March 2022 City of Iowa City sent this bulletin at 03/23/2022 08:00 AM CDT Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. March 2022 | Visit us online at www.icgov.org/SJREinitiatives The Lens, a newsletter to expand conversations on equity, justice, and human rights. DEI Hotel In Orlando, Florida, a new hotel is taking hospitality to another level. The Lake Nona Wave Hotel, which opened in December 2021, is specializing in diversity and inclusion education for guests. Innovative technology is shaping guest experiences and is built on rotating partnerships with diversely owned companies. General Manager Suzie Yang comments on the Lake Nona Wave Hotel in a DiversityInc article, stating, “By harnessing world-class wellness, esteemed art, internationally-inspired cuisine, and leading-edge technology, we have created a one-of-a-kind travel experience that cannot be found elsewhere.” The family-friendly stay is set only minutes from the Orlando Airport and nearby Disney World, providing the perfect opportunity to give children a magical experience while also educating them on the importance of inclusion. Advocates put together diversity programs for the hotel with amenities including a library of over 100 children’s DEI-focused books and in-room tablets with read-alouds. The Lake Nona Wave Hotel also provides over 200 beverage brands around the facilities made by female, Black, and LGBT-owned businesses; dining by various chefs of color; size-inclusive amenities, like bathrobes; and hotel music by local LGBTQ DJs. The hotel partnered with several DEI leaders like Pranoo Kumar Skomra, founder of Rohl’s Readery, “South Florida’s first stand-alone social-justice- oriented children’s bookstore,” who helped curate the hotel’s library program. Read more about the Lake Nova Wave Hotel here on its website or here at DiversityInc. Can we really not see color? As a guest of Tucker Carlson’s in February, retired sportscaster and current campaign operative Michelle Tafoya said it “breaks my heart that my kids are being taught that skin color matters.” She repeated a version of this comment on The View, saying, “why are we even teaching that the color of the skin matters? ‘Cause to me what matters is your character and your values.” The problem with this “colorblind” approach to race is that it (if you’ll excuse a pun) whitewashes the entire history of racism, white privilege, and the very real structural barriers to equality our country has grappled with for the entirety of its existence. To “not see color” is to deliberately refuse to acknowledge systemic racism. If we are “all the same,” and white people “don’t see color,” “then why can’t I buy a home anywhere I choose, without being profiled, or worse? Plus, if my color is invisible to you, why is it that when I entered the gates of world- renowned universities to teach, many students assumed I was either part of security or supervisor of the sanitation department?” asks David Whitfield, founder of Intercultural Leadership Executive Coaching. Subscribe to updates from City of Iowa City Email Address e.g. name@exam Subscribe Share Bulletin 4/14/22, 9:48 AM The Lens - March 2022 https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/30dc718 2/3 The fact is, people can’t help seeing color—our brains are hardwired to sort and categorize—and acknowledging that actually leads to better, not worse, outcomes for People of Color, says Jennifer Eberhardt, PhD., author of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do. Dr. Eberhardt notes that “in fact, the color-blind approach has consequences that can actually impede our move toward equality. When people focus on not seeing color, they may also fail to see discrimination.” In a study involving mostly-white fourth and fifth-grade children, social psychologists found that after being given a lesson in being “colorblind,” the children failed to notice discrimination in simulations and were less likely to intervene to help when another child was targeted because of their race. The researchers found “color blindness promoted exactly the opposite of what was intended: racial inequality. It left minority children to fend for themselves in an environment where the harms they endured could not be seen.” The better approach, says Samantha Vincenty, is to actively participate in dismantling systemic oppression. White people can start by “mov[ing] away from thinking of racism solely as views and acts committed at the individual level, and instead a system of moving parts.” Then, listen and learn. Do not, however, expect a random non-white person to serve as your guide, and especially don’t expect them to deal with any white guilt you may feel; research and read on your own. Vincenty suggests finding podcasts and books by Black authors and seeking out ways to “continually engag[e],” so we can all “fumble forward together” into a more equitable future. Why do people include their pronouns? Seeing pronouns in social media bios and email signatures is becoming less uncommon. But why are people sharing their pronouns, and how is it helpful? Including pronouns helps normalize discussion about gender. For trans and non-binary individuals, stating pronouns is a way to share what they’d like other people to use. Cisgender individuals can share their pronouns to show understanding of and support for individual preferences. It is a simple solution to accidental misgendering and helps everyone feel more comfortable being themselves; small changes like this lead to large cultural shifts. You can help promote acceptance by sharing your pronouns in many ways. In the past year, several high-profile social networks added the option to share pronouns on their sites. In early 2021, Instagram added a dedicated section to profiles alongside the original name, photo, and bio fields. LinkedIn and Pinterest have also made recent updates and given users the option to add pronouns to their profiles. Another great way to normalize gender discussions is by adding your pronouns to your email signature. With more platforms integrating this feature, creating inclusivity is more accessible than ever before. Sharing your pronouns lets others know you care about their preferences and can help reinforce a more accepting environment. It’s one small addition that can create a big impact. You can read more about sharing pronouns here at Forbes and here at The Independent. Two American Traditions: Censorship and Free Speech The more things change, the more they stay the same. In January, the New York Times reported that last fall, the American Library Association (ALA) identified an “unprecedented” 330 reports of “book challenges” (which can include multiple books)—efforts to ban certain books from schools and/or public libraries. Almost exactly 40 years before, however, in December of 1981, the New York Times also published an article citing the ALA’s statistics; “During the early 1970's, the office received approximately 100 complaints a year... The complaints shot up to 300 a year in the late 70's, and are nearing 1,000 a year this year. (That does not mean 1,000 titles; objections are being registered to many of the same books.)” The article mentioned complaints coming from over 30 states. In the 1950’s, books as seemingly innocuous as The Wonderful Wizard of OZ were banned, as well as a wide range of more graphic works like Allen Ginsburg’s Howl and William S. Burrough’s Naked Lunch, both of which were the subjects of obscenity trials. Now, books like Maus, the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize, and All Boys Aren’t Blue are under fire. How does a nation that prizes free speech, so much the right to it is enshrined in the Constitution, reconcile efforts to restrict access to not only books, but other forms of artistic expression such as movies? While there are many other aspects of free speech law, a little-known 65-year-old U.S. Supreme Court case underlies the tension between freedom and age-appropriate restrictions on students’ reading and viewing materials. In Butler v. Michigan, Alfred Butler sold a book containing “lengthy descriptions of sexual activity” to an undercover police officer in Detroit. No children were involved or harmed, but a Michigan law prohibited selling “any book, pamphlet, or other printed paper or other thing, containing obscene language, or obscene prints, pictures, figures or descriptions 4/14/22, 9:48 AM The Lens - March 2022 https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IAIOWA/bulletins/30dc718 3/3 tending to the corruption of the morals of youth.” Butler was convicted, his appeals were denied, and the Supreme Court heard the case. In a decision remarkable for its brevity (just ten paragraphs), the Court held the law was overbroad, or not reasonably tailored to prevent the harm it was supposed to address, and violated the First Amendment. Known for pithy phrases, Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote that denying all adults access to adult content simply because some hypothetical child somewhere might see it was “to burn the house to roast the pig.” Butler led to a legal principle that has been called the “variable obscenity doctrine,” where materials may be held inappropriate for children, but not adults, and is the basis for decisions concerning such things as sales of pornographic magazines (Ginsberg v. New York), the time of day when adult content may be broadcast (FCC v. Pacifica Foundation), what sorts of advertisements may be indiscriminately mass-mailed (Bolger v. Young’s Drug Products Corporation), and even what content is available on the internet (Reno v. ACLU). As in the 1980’s, we are again seeing nationwide coordinated efforts to restrict the books available to students. While no one is arguing for student access to true obscenity, many are attempting to restrict student access to books concerning troubling aspects of our nation’s history (The 1619 Project is one of the most “vigorously targeted,” according to the New York Times) and “books and resources that mirror the lives of those who are gay, queer or transgender or that tell the stories of persons who are Black, indigenous or persons of color… [f]alsely claiming that these works are subversive, immoral, or worse.” Baptist News reports, it’s time to remember Butler and refrain from burning the house down. As an ALA statement quoted in Baptist News says, “parents — and only parents — have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children — and only their children — to library resources.” Stay Connected to Equity and Human Rights News Follow us on Instagram @ichumanrights Subscribe to the Office of Equity and Human Rights at icgov.org/subscribe. Thanks, and welcome! 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