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"In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist."

                       -Angela Davis 

Defining Racism 

“The formal theoretical definition of racism links individual acts of racially motivated prejudices and discrimination with institutional laws, customs, and practices that systematically reflect and produce racial inequalities.” (Bowser, 1995)

Defining Anti- Racism 

“Anti-racism can be defined as a conscious rejection of the belief in any on race’s inferiority or superiority, which in turn leads to a rejection of the necessity for institutional reinforcement of racism and for personal acts of prejudice and discrimination to affirm racial superiority.” ( Bowser, 1995)

 In order to discuss anti-racism we must first understand racism.  

Anti-Racist Framework  

Anti-Racist frameworks can be used to assist counselors in gaining more awareness of their own racial biases, develop insight into how racism may be at play in the therapeutic setting, and help them get comfortable addressing matters of race, ethnicity, and culture when working with Black individuals. One Anti-racist framework is the R.E.A.C.T framework.

R

Reflecting on implicit biases.​

E

Educating ourselves on historical and current forms of structural racism.​

A

Assessing the use of race-based algorithms and asking how racism is impacting a clinical interaction.​

C

Calling out behaviors that perpetuate racism.

T

Treating everyone with dignity and respect.​

McCorvey, E. (2020, August 20)  How to Talk About Race With Your Therapy Clients. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/202008/how-talk-about-race-your-therapy-clients

R

Reflect on implicit bias

It is imperative for counselors to be aware of their beliefs and how they inform their world view. Engaging in training, mental inventory tools, as well as various reflection tools can help you identify implicit biases. While implicit bias may be unconscious it impacts our “understanding, interactions and decision making” and thus we must always be working to identify our biases.

E

Educating ourselves on historical and current examples of racism.

Historical and current events are going to impact Black individuals in different ways. Remaining cognizant of how racism has and continues to impact the lives of people of color can inform the treatment process with Black individuals and help you to engage in anti racism practices on the structural level as well.

A

Assessing the use of race in clinical practice and asking how racism is impacting a clinical interaction.

Counselors should consider how race and racism may be showing up in the systems that their clients are operating in and be willing to address the harmful impact as well as assist in brainstorming and cultivating solutions.

C

Calling attention to bias and racism in institutional policies.

Racism is embedded into the structures we operate in. It is imperative for counselors to be aware of when policies, procedures or biases arise that are racist and negatively impact people of color. Counselors should be continuously advocating for equity at the micro, mezzo and macro levels.

T

Treat everyone with dignity and respect

Understanding that our society has structures and systems that are embedded in racism that we operate in and inform the bias that we have. Treating everyone with dignity and respect means continuously being mindful of our bias, centering the client and their experiences, and being intentional about our interactions with others.

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