Cultural Humility is a Daily Practice
In Freire’s and Horton’s discussion, I was exposed to two new philosophical opinions on the complex subjects of education and how our ethical standpoint on education directly affects our flow through life. They described knowledge as our own form of power. It is unique to the individual both in how one perceives the knowledge and how one uses it. Freire’s interpretation is that knowledge of societal structures is a form of educational enlightenment. I agree and believe it is a theory that starts the metamorphosis of changing one’s frame to another. In my own life expanding my knowledge on modern issues has tilted my original frame. Once you tilt your own perception the facade of neutrality cannot be called back.
When I was first reading about Horton’s views on neutrality, my mediator and middle ground personality traits felt called out. Horton claims “Neutrality is evolving as the system asks us to be … and refusing to take action agaisnt injustice is just an excuse”(101). I introspected with my own beliefs and confronted my own moral code. I realized I had been using neutral as a shield against publicly revealing my political standpoints. I am intensely personal with my core belief system, but now I see the moral obligation in not remaining completely neutral. I have my views, they are complex and fall a bit on each side of the scale. I do however still hold to my belief that things are better looked at from a third-person viewpoint, then only after gathering all the facts can one make an educated personal view.
The issue of neutrality is directly connected to power and privilege. Systems that are built on the unbalanced ground does not benefit all communities, therefore, there is no neutral when there are an oppressor and an oppressed group. In the reading, Freire and Horton agreed that the stance of neutrality is indirectly in favor of the oppressing group due to its conformity to the current political climate. A woman in the video stated this about privileges presence in our society, “It’s hard to see privilege when it benefits you”. Growing up in a predominately white state left me ignorant of many different types of oppression I see today concerning race. When I first went to my service learning class I felt like exposed to a new world, soon after the astonishment wore off of all the current issues I felt guilty. Was I part of this systematic oppression of so many people unconsciously? How important is my voice when there are millions that should be heard before me? These thoughts surface but I have shifted them to more constructive use. Shaking off the guilt for what others in my race have done, and asking the constructive question: What can I do? One must have cultural humility as well as bravery to facilitate change. For me, the change was educating my friends and families about what causes things like education inequity and how our system is formed unbalanced.
In the video, the event that sparked the need for social reform was the inhumane and unjust beating of Rodney King. They began to form new organizations to elevate the oppressed African Americans throughout California. It reminded me of the seminar I attended on how to improve the relationship of power between police officers, government and African Americans. The seminar exposed me to the history of criminalization in this community. This event reinforced my goal of being culturally mindful of the struggles of communities outside of your own have faced.
I feel like Abraham Verghese’s article showcases the moral demand to be more mindful and understanding of people. Verghese states, “But as the night wore on, I understood that they needed me to ask; to not ask was to not honor their ordeal”(2), which really made me think about the sheer power of validating another’s voice after they have experienced trauma. While reading Verghese’s article, I was continually thinking about how this relates to the community in the Canal. It made me stop and imagine how hard it must be for some parts to get their voices heard. I was told that a majority of the parents of the students have a sixth-grade education and speak intermediate English as a third language. Resources like the Canal Alliance give them representation and resources.
Languages are nice to speak but sound even better when they are a tool of just listening. I believe understanding and truly sitting with what an oppressed community is saying is the very first part of connecting all communities as a whole. In the video, Charlotte Chang explained the importance of voice surrounding the mistreatment of workers in Chinatown. Their board team was very diverse and meetings were set up in a formal board-like setting. While these setups force promotes meaningful discussion, they also made the solely Chinese speaking members feel unheard. Chang became aware of this and headsets were given to immediately translate their messages to the whole board. Chang recalls how the other members of the board felt immediately humbled. They like all of use can do assumed. Assumptions that all communities are being heard, but this is a false assumption that can be traced to our own privileges. This story in the video deepened my understanding of cultural humility. How it can start when step out of your own frame and realize just because I eat does not mean no one else is hungry.
Overall, these readings have furthered my insight into what cultural humility is. To me, cultural humility is being receptive to other values, communities, and opinions. To be kind and understanding does not mean you have to agree. It is being able to take the ego and pride from one’s identity and listen to another’s message. Cultural humility is crucial to have in a world where everyone is yelling to be heard. Being aware and open makes it easier to hear the oppressed and put their voices to the front. I believe there is a lot to be learned from the words of people when they are given a voice.
