Bi-weekly anti-racism discussion - Language and communications

​Discussion Topic: Language and Communications

We chose language and communications for our first discussion because if we have learned anything, we've learned that language matters!  Our goal is to recognize how bias manifests itself at Pinnacle Prevention and navigate our roles and actions to eliminate practices that invite/perpetuate bias.

Resource Shared: Sum of Us – A Progressive’s Style Guide

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Here are some of the issue areas we discovered in our discussion: 

Age
Disability
Economy
Environment/Science
Food
Gender/Sex
Geopolitics

Health
Housing
Immigration
Indigeneity/Ancestry
Police/Incarceration
Race/Ethnicity
Sexual and Domestic Violence
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LANGUAGE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

Food Stamps  – It is challenging to shift from previous universal term.

•  Stigma associated with different names
• SNAP/EBT is current use – Neighborhood/Community Considerations

Fat – Fatphobia vs Power Dynamics vs Stigma

• More work is needed on bodies of different size (large audience vs small discussions)
• We need to address sources of weight/body language

Tribes/Indigenous/Indian Country/Native

Active Living/Built Environment – Walking, biking, transit 

• How do we integrate/frame rolling? (see LSA reference for inclusivity)

Vulnerable/Low wealth/Low income/Economically challenged/At-risk

Move away from universal reference to ‘Brown Communities’
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Universally Agreed upon actions for pinnacle prevention

 
​We agree to edit/cross-check each other’s work in alignment with guidance.
We agree that work to improve language will be ongoing.
We agree that discussions will rotate facilitation with a team member volunteering for next facilitation.

What are your thoughts? How can we improve our language?