Skip to main content

The Privilege of Engaging Vulnerably

Last weekend I attend the ACPA Institute for Social Justice: Envisioning Vulnerability in Social Justice Education. The institute was packed with opportunities to participate in dialogue with those with similar salient identities and hear from awesome speakers who shared their social justice journeys, research, and perspectives about vulnerability. While at the institute my understanding of vulnerability became twisted and complex – particularly as a white female social justice educator. Here is the tension that I am currently sitting with:

The need to lean into the discomfort of the work…

Brene Brown’s TedTalk The Power of Vulnerability has been viewed by over 17,000 people and has found its way onto college campuses through leadership trainings and helping frame community development models and was a framework for ACPA ISJ. Brene suggests vulnerability is necessary and fundamental to building human connectedness and the ability to empathize, belong, and love. 

I believe human connectedness is core to being a social justice advocate. A huge part of my social justice journey has been examining my identities, how they allow me to walk through this world and shape my perspectives and biases and sharing these feelings and reflections through dialogue with others. For many, this process is not natural, myself included. In order to share my authentic self with others I have to lean into the discomfort of the work, be ok with the mess, the emotions, the awkwardness, and being vulnerable. As a social justice educator I often ask my students to challenge themselves to step outside of their comfort zones and participate in ways that will encourage personal growth. I believe through intimate conversations and connections with others we will create positive social change.

…and the privilege of choosing when to be vulnerable.

And yet there is the reality that not everyone is able to select when they want to lean into discomfort. Rather, there are many who are vulnerable without choice because they do not live amongst systems and situations that allow them to feel empowered and/or contribute fully or equally as others. The potential fear of hurt, harm, or rejection that I (white, able-bodied, middle class, straight, woman) might feel as a result of choosing to be vulnerable are daily realities for others. Why would those who have had to be vulnerable choose to lean into that again?

As an educator and facilitator of social justice conversations, how can I build brave spaces that encourage all to share authentically AND is ready to support in meaningful ways when individuals choose to be vulnerable? 

On a side note: Check out this awesome spoken word artist that performed at the ACPA ISJ institute: Guante 

By Nicole Juliano








Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank You DJS Leaders

Rosario Jesús Treviño Yoson is a 2nd year majoring in Economics. They identify as a mixed queer transmasculine person using he/they pronouns. He plans to use their degree to address food insecurity. You can find him in the Diversity Center, the library, or the student radio station in the Neeb building. Dear DJS Student Leaders,      It has been an honor to organize your stories this year. When I started, I was a little lost. I hadn’t attempted something like this before. What I uncovered became larger than the website. In conversations I had with each of the writers, I sought to go deeper into their motivations, why they are committed to the work they do towards anti-racism; outside of school and sometimes unpaid. It is the right thing to do, but these students stepped farther, they took initiative and leadership in their own communities, rather than waiting for direction.       I was encouraged after hearing from a few writers “this conversation help...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alumni Spotlight: Troy Andrade 2007

Troy J. H. Andrade is a 2007 graduate with a BA in Economics and Political Science, and a minor in Music.  As a student, Troy was heavily involved in The dCenter’s Rieke Leadership Program.  In fact, Troy created the Rieke Leadership Award poster that hangs in the dCenter today (right next to the bookcase, check it out!)  Troy is originally from Manoa Hawaii and still remains close to many of his friends from PLU. Troy, Jackie (Sasaki) ('07), and Noah What type of work are you doing and why is it important to you? I am currently an attorney at McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon, LLP, where I specialize in complex commercial litigation, administrative law, and appeals in both state and federal courts.  Working as one of two Native Hawaiian attorneys in a prestigious and large law firm provides me with a unique opportunity to educate my colleagues on the socio-historic and political struggles of the Native Hawaiian people when dealing with issues sensitive to ...
1 comment
Read more

A View from the Middle

“What are you?”  People of color have so much beef with this question and for good reason. At its heart it is an inquiry rooted in ignorance and misunderstanding of race, culture and the scope of human diversity. Regardless, it is a question that I have asked myself time and time again as a part of a long process of developing my identity as a mixed-race person. That being said, I am not mixed in that my parents are of different races. As I have thought about who I am, I have started to redefine what it means to be a mixed race person. Phenotypically I am brown skinned, black haired, and brown eyed; and while I lived in Ecuador as an exchange student, friends and family referred to me as “negrito” from time to time. By this standard I am a person of color without a doubt. People still ask me “what are you” or “where do you come from” because of my initial appearance and I have come to understand the implications of my being a POC as I navigate PLU.  On the other hand, my...
Post a Comment
Read more