Mindset: The Equity Dilemma Interrupting Personally Mediated Inequities

By R.H. Barrett

Racial and ethnic inequities continue to be prevalent in society today. Whether we willingly admit it or not, racial and ethnic inequities start and end with us. Personally-mediated inequities are more common and more toxic than other forms of inequities because they affect our mental health and well-being. Personally-mediated inequities also support, perpetuate, and maintain systemic racial inequities, creating disadvantages for some groups of people. Making judgments grounded on biased assumptions about a person's abilities and motives can result in differential treatments based on race, ethnicity, or other characteristics. Changing mindset by intentionally disrupting our biased ideas, beliefs, perceptions, thoughts, and assumptions about people is liberating. Mindset: The Equity Dilemma, Interrupting Personally Mediated Inequities can help us intentionally confront our biases and provide guidance on how to purify and renew our minds. The concepts outlined and explored in this book can be applied to our lives, regardless of the spaces (social or professional) we occupy. If we desire to live in a fair and just world, interrupting personally-mediated inequities is a critical step every individual should be willing to take.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637103128

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Mindset

The Equity Dilemma Interrupting Personally Mediated Inequities

R.H. Barrett

Copyright © 2021 R.H. Barrett

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2021

ISBN 978-1-63710-311-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63710-312-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Challenging Beliefs and Biases

Chapter 1

Mind Probing

Chapter 2

Identity Block

Chapter 3

Social Connections

Chapter 4

Obstacle Race

Finding Common Ground

Chapter 5

Personal Levels of Change

Chapter 6

Establishing Authenticity

Chapter 7

Steadfast toward Equity

Chapter 8

Equity Consensus

Selected Verses and Quotes

Appendix A

Biblical References for Advancing Equity

Appendix B

Famous Quotes of Social Justice Leaders

Additional References and Suggested Readings

About the Author

Index

Endnotes

Preface

When I considered writing this book, I was hesitant, at first, as to how people may react. Would they be open to its content or would they be critical to my intent? The truth is, this book is a process of self-reflection and reevaluation of my thoughts and actions. I find writing to be therapeutic. This helps me exhale when I feel stressed or discouraged. Therefore, I am writing this book for my personal reflection and healing. I have so many questions that I am exploring at this time. So I decided to have a courageous conversation with myself. I hope that the readers will join me on this journey. I am hopeful that we will find healing in the pages of this book. Everything I have talked about in this book is what I have either experienced, observed, or questioned. I want this book to be relatable to others, if they view my circumstances to be similar to theirs. I have struggled with the thoughts of why I am going through these life challenges. I am convinced that I am constantly being denied the opportunities to demonstrate my talents and abilities because of my identity. Being overlooked or rejected for who we are can be demoralizing and defeating. When our self-worth is devalued, we can become depressed and self-destructive. We must be determined to get rid of such negative feelings before they materialize into hostility and maliciousness. This book is helping me free myself from mental captivity by cleansing my mind. I am also using this opportunity to have an open and honest dialogue with others. We can learn from each other and find ways for rebirth and reconciliation.

I must caution you that this book is not a psychological analysis of human behaviors as the title Mindset may imply. Instead, it speaks to how we can be mentally liberated from biased beliefs and perceptions that seek to entrap us into a mindset of stereotypes. Such destructive labels, if not denounced, can thwart our abilities and limit us from becoming who we are destined to be, leaving us in a desolate place of unrealized dreams. For this reason, we should be mindful of how unfavorable circumstances and discriminatory practices impact us and the life of others. When people are denied opportunities to reach their highest potential, we should stop to think about how this will affect them and their families. If we do not have the basic instinct to care about the needs of others, then how can we embrace the concept of fairness and justice? If we are not concerned or do not feel responsible for our actions toward others, how can we consciously examine the impact of such actions on their lives, health, and well-being? If we believe that others do not deserve our help and that everyone should fend for themselves, how can we be fair-minded and just? For those of us who are the gatekeepers of resources, how does it feel when we limit access to others? Does it trouble our conscience (sense of right and wrong) or do we feel justified by our actions? What does it say about who we are when we are unfair, unjust, selfish, uncaring, unfeeling, indifferent, callous, or heartless? Most of us do not believe such negative descriptions of ourselves. We want to believe that we are good people and our intentions are good. We may pass the blame to others or society at large. So we may say that it is just the way things are. Is this a lame excuse or is it the reality? Can we really change the way things are so that they are better for all of us? Is this possible without a renewal of our minds in the way we think about ourselves and others?

This is one of the reasons why I pondered if equity (fairness and justice) is possible in an imbalanced society. Can people honestly do good to others all the time, if not most of the time? Are we asking people to live up to an unattainable ideal that is just imaginary? I am not being cynical or pessimistic in contemplating these questions in this book. I am just curious about these things as I know many people are too. I spent a good part of my career promoting equitable policies and practices as the gold standards for ensuring equitable behaviors and a system of accountability. But is this realistic? If we expect people to implement equitable policies and practices, how will they be held accountable? What will be the consequences if they fail? Also, what is the reward for equitable behaviors? Is it the good feeling that comes from sharing what we have with others and seeing someone other than ourselves getting ahead in life? Is that an attractive incentive for being equitable? Who is willing to buy into that reward? So I write this book to find out if there is another way out of this dilemma. Yes, I am guilty of playing on our conscience, ethics, morality, principles, and integrity. This book is intended for us to think critically and uncover some deep-seated thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions about ourselves. We need to get to the root of the problem—our mindset. The task at hand is for us to dismantle and disrupt how we were trained or conditioned to think of ourselves and others. That may be the only way we can become fair-minded, impartial, or unbiased in our thoughts and actions.

Acknowledgments

First, I want to acknowledge my husband who has been encouraging me for years to record my thoughts and experiences and to share them with others. He believes in my abilities to influence change and to make a positive difference in the life of others. So I dedicate this book wholeheartedly to him and my daughters because they are my biggest fans. To my daughters, I want to plant the seeds of encouragement with words, through this book, that will develop roots in their life and, later on, produce good fruits. However, I hope the questions I contemplated throughout this book will not be the same ones pondered by my daughters for years to come. I am hopeful that they will not face the same obstacles I have encountered. If things remain unchanged, then their lives may be the same as mine, as my daughters are mirror images of me. It is disappointing that the world may see my daughters through the same lens the world sees me. So I am writing this book to serve as a reference or a guide from which my daughters can learn about how to navigate this world that views people differently because of the color of their skin and not the content of their minds. I hope that the world will change to accept all people, regardless of who they appear to be physically. I hope that by the time my daughters are adults, people will come to realize that we all deserve the right to live fulfilled lives on this earth, regardless of who we are.

Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Alfancena (Alfie) Barrett, who helped me to bring this book from its infancy to full form. Also, to all those who have encouraged me along the way, believing in my ability to express my thoughts, in words, that resonate with those of similar experiences.

Introduction

The mind is a powerful tool that is mainly governed by our thoughts and beliefs. What we think and believe is what we become. Therefore, choosing to name this book Mindset was intentional, as we will explore the set of beliefs or ways of thinking that determine our behaviors and outlook on life. How we think subconsciously influences our conscious behaviors, which may have a positive or negative impact on others. Think about those deep-seated thoughts, feelings, ideas, and perceptions that drive our attitudes, dispositions, and actions toward others. The tagline The Equity Dilemma, Interrupting Personally Mediated Inequities is about conceptualizing and focusing our attention on the equitable or inequitable thoughts that are formulated by our minds and translated into behaviors. The content of this book is guided by several theoretical concepts and constructs of human behaviors. The main premise is that behaviors are influenced by our personal beliefs, our attitudes, the behaviors of others, and the social environment. The impinging reality is that inequities are influenced by the relational processes that fuel the environment in which we live, work, worship, and play.

The factors that contribute to the root causes of inequities are diverse, complex, ever-evolving, and interdependent. However, personally mediated inequities can be the interconnecting mechanism by which other forms of inequities are manifested and operationalized. Personal biases and discriminatory practices can influence institutional or systemic inequities¹, through the organization and distribution of resources and opportunities differentially by race, gender, class, and other dimensions of individual and group identities. For this reason, this book focuses on the mindset of individuals to help us confront and dismantle personal biases (unwarranted opinions and feelings about people). The theoretical concept is that personal belief, attitudes, and behaviors drive the systemic disadvantage against one social group compared to other groups with whom they coexist. Consequently, personally mediated inequities are at the core of systemic inequities (see reference box 1). It is people who design and implement policies and laws that govern decisions that limit the scope of opportunities and prevent people from reaching their full potential in specific aspects of their lives (e.g., health, education, and employment).

To illustrate this point, we should consider a time when we treated someone unfairly because of a lingering negative thought we had about them. Over time, our minds may have transformed this negative thought into what we deem is a fact, without substantial or supporting evidence, which eventually translated into a negative action. Consequently, we sometimes act without giving others the benefit of the doubt, as we believe we are right about our feelings toward them. We should be careful, as our actions can ultimately result in us impeding the progress of others and denying them a fair chance to be their best selves. How would you feel and respond if someone told you that you were a hindrance to them having a better outcome in life? Would you outwardly deny this allegation, or would you consciously examine your thoughts and actions to determine the validity of such statement? If after fully examining the situation you find out that you are indeed at fault, would you seek to find out why and find ways to remedy the problem? Personal biases are manifested in different forms and can be targeted at specific groups of people in society. This problem is not limited to the prejudicial or discriminatory actions of a few persons rather such actions have become normalized in our society and most times are overlooked or denied by the perpetrators of inequities and their collaborators within the general public. In some cases, such actions may be considered a mere mishap and only happen on rare occasions by irrational people. We must be willing to see things the way they are and not sugarcoat wrongdoings.

It is well documented that in the United States (US) historical inequities have persisted and continued to affect the life chances of certain racial and ethnic groups of people, leading to the intergenerational transfer of disadvantages. If we are socially conscious, then we should