GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ABLEISM:

- Prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions based on differences in physical, mental and/or emotional ability; usually that of

able‐bodied/minded persons against people with illness, disabilities, or less developed skills.

- A system of oppression that includes discrimination and social prejudice against people with intellectual, emotional, and physical

disabilities, their exclusion, and the valuing of people and groups that do not have disabilities.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

- Refers to the ways in which individuals and communities hold themselves to their goals and actions, and acknowledge the values

and groups to which they are responsible. Accountability requires some sense of urgency and becoming a true stakeholder in the

outcome. Accountability can be externally imposed or internally applied.

- To be accountable, one must be visible, with a transparent agenda and process. Invisibility defies examination; it is, in fact,

employed in order to avoid detection and examination. Accountability demands commitment. It might be defined as “what kicks

in when convenience runs out.” Accountability can be externally imposed (legal or organizational requirements), or internally

applied (moral, relational, faith-based, or recognized as some combination thereof) on a continuum from the institutional and

organizational level to the individual level. From a relational point of view, accountability is not about doing it right; sometimes

it’s really about what happens after it’s done wrong.

ACTIVE RACISM:

- Actions which have as their stated or explicit goal the maintenance of the system of racism and the oppression of those in

targeted racial groups.

ALLY:

- A person who is a member of an advantaged social group who takes a stand against oppression, works to eliminate oppressive

attitudes and beliefs in themselves and their communities, and works to interrogate and understand their privilege.

- Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.)

and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice, understanding that it is in their own interest to end all

forms of oppression, even those which they may benefit from in concrete ways.

- Allies commit to reducing their own complicity or collusion in oppression of those groups and invest in strengthening their own

knowledge and awareness of oppression.

ANGLOCENTRISM:

- Centered on or considered in terms of either England/Britain, or the English language. People who are Anglocentric may not see

that language creates and carries culturally specific perspectives/world views and may assume that the world views produced

through English are universal.

ANTI-SEMITISM:

- The systematic discrimination against and oppression of Jewish people, Judaism, and Jewish culture and traditions. The fear,

hatred, or disparagement of Jews, Judaism, Jewish culture and related symbols.

ANTI-BLACK:

- The Council for Democratizing Education defines anti-Blackness as being a two-part formation that both voids Blackness of value,

while systematically marginalizing Black people and their issues. The first form of anti-Blackness is overt racism. Beneath this

anti-Black racism is the covert structural and systemic racism which categorically predetermines the socioeconomic status of

Blacks in this country. The structure is held in place by anti-Black policies, institutions, and ideologies. The second form of anti-

Blackness is the unethical disregard for Black institutions and policies. This disregard is the product of class, race, and/or gender

privilege certain individuals experience due to anti-Black institutions and policies. This form of anti-Blackness is protected by the

first form of overt racism.

ANTI-OPPRESSION:

- Strategies, theories, and actions that challenge social and historical inequalities and injustices that are systemic to our systems

and institutions by policies and practices that allow certain groups to dominate other groups.

ANTI-RACISM:

- The active process of identifying and challenging racism, by changing systems, organizational structures, policies and practices,

and attitudes, to redistribute power in an equitable manner.

APPROPRIATION:

- The claiming of rights to language, subject matter, and authority that are outside one's personal experience. The term also refers

to the process by which members of relatively privileged groups co-opt cultural elements of marginalized groups-- abstracting

cultural practices or artifacts from their historically specific contexts. See also: Cultural Appropriation

ASSIMILATION:

- The full adoption by an individual or group of the culture, values, and patterns of a different social, religious, linguistic or national

ethos, resulting in the diminution or elimination of attitudinal and behavioral affiliations from the original cultural group.

BIAS:

- A subjective opinion, preference, prejudice, or inclination, often formed without reasonable justification, that influences the

ability of an individual or group to evaluate a situation objectively or accurately.

BIGOTRY:

- Intolerant prejudice that glorifies one's own group and denigrates members of other groups.

BIPOC:

- An acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

CLASSISM:

- The cultural, institutional and individual set of practices and beliefs that assign value to people according to their socio-economic

status. Classism also refers to the systematic oppression of poor and working-class people by those who control resources.

- Also: Prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions based on differences in socio‐economic status, income, class; usually by

upper classes against lower classes.

COLONIZATION:

- Colonization can be defined as some form of invasion, dispossession and subjugation of a people. The invasion need not be

military; it can begin — or continue — as geographical intrusion in the form of agricultural, urban, or industrial encroachments.

The result of such incursion is the dispossession of vast amounts of lands from the original inhabitants. This is often legalized

after the fact. The long-term result of such massive dispossession is institutionalized inequality. The colonizer/colonized

relationship is by nature an unequal one that benefits the colonizer at the expense of the colonized.

- Ongoing and legacy Colonialism impact power relations in most of the world today. For example, white supremacy as a

philosophy was developed largely to justify European colonial exploitation of the Global South (including enslaving African

peoples, extracting resources from much of Asia and Latin America, and enshrining cultural norms of whiteness as desirable both

in colonizing and colonizer nations).

CULTURAL APPROPRIATION:

- Theft of cultural elements for one's own use, commodification, or profit — including symbols, art, language, customs, etc. —

often without understanding, acknowledgement, or respect for its value in the original culture. Results from the assumption of a

dominant (i.e. white) culture's right to take other cultural elements.

CULTURE:

- The shared patterns of language, behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned

through a process of socialization. It is a social system of meaning and custom that is developed by a group of people to assure its

adaptation and survival. These groups are distinguished by a set of unspoken rules that shape values, beliefs, habits, patterns of

thinking, behaviors and styles of communication.

DISCRIMINATION:

- Actions based on conscious or unconscious prejudice that favor one group over others in the provision of goods, services or

opportunities. The unequal treatment of members of various groups based on race, gender, social class, sexual orientation,

physical ability, religion, and/or other categories. A person discriminates when they make a distinction, (whether intentional or

not), based on a characteristic, or perceived characteristic that:

- has the effect of imposing burdens, obligations or disadvantages on an individual or a class of individuals not imposed

upon others

and/or

- withholds or limits access to opportunities, benefits and advantages available to other individuals or classes of

individuals in society.

DIVERSITY:

- Includes all the ways in which people differ and encompasses all the different characteristics that make one individual or group

different from another. It is all-inclusive and recognizes everyone and every group as part of the diversity that should be valued.

A broad definition includes not only race, ethnicity, and gender — the groups that most often come to mind when the term

"diversity" is used — but also age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital

status, language, and physical appearance. It also involves different ideas, perspectives, and values.

- It is important to note that many activists and thinkers critique diversity alone as a strategy. For instance, Baltimore Racial Justice

Action states: “Diversity is silent on the subject of equity. In an anti-oppression context, therefore, the issue is not diversity, but

rather equity. Often when people talk about diversity, they are thinking only of the “non-dominant” groups.”

DOMINANT GROUP:

- Not necessarily the majority, but the group within a society with the power, privilege, and social status to control and define

societal resources and social, political, and economic systems and norms.

EMPATHY:

- A learned skill that allows one to recognize and deeply listen to another’s story or experiences and connect them to common

understandings and emotions; differs from sympathy.

EQUITY:

- Fairness - equity means that everyone is given the resources that they need to succeed. Equity often appears unfair, but it

actively moves everyone closer to success by “leveling the playing field. ”Equity is the guarantee of fair treatment, advancement,

opportunity and access for all individuals while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full

participation of some groups and ensuring that all community members have access to community conditions and opportunities

to reach their full potential and to experience optimal well-being and quality of life.

HETEROSEXISM:

- Viewing the world only in heterosexual terms, thus denigrating other sexual orientations. It is a system of oppression where

individual, societal, cultural, and institutional beliefs and practices favor heterosexuality and assume that heterosexuality is the

only ‘natural’, ‘normal’, or acceptable sexual orientation. This creates an imbalance in power, which leads to systemic,

institutional, pervasive, and routine mistreatment of LGBTQ2SIA+.

INCLUSION:

- Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a

way that shares power.

INTERSECTIONALITY:

- Coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, it is the idea that multiple identities intersect to create a whole identity. These identities that can

intersect include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical

disability, mental illness, and physical illness as well as other forms of identity. These aspects of identity are not mutually

exclusive. Each element or trait of a person is inseparably linked with all of the other elements.

Note: Canadian Human Right and Equity Services acknowledges the concept of intersectional discrimination/harassment and

recognizes that people’s lives involve multiple interrelated identities, and that marginalization and exclusion may exist because of

how these identities intersect. Exposing [one's] multiple identities can help clarify the ways in which a person can simultaneously

experience privilege and oppression. For example, a Black woman does not experience gender inequalities in exactly the same

way as a white woman, nor racial oppression identical to that experienced by a Black man. Each race and gender intersection

produces a qualitatively distinct life.

MARGINALIZED:

- Excluded, ignored, or relegated to the outer edge of a group/society/community.

OPPRESSION:

- A term used to describe systems, relations, or behaviors which disadvantage groups or individuals through formal institutions or

informal attitudes and behaviors. Oppression fuses institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social

prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures. Oppression is both the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power

and the effects of domination so attained. Oppression results from:

- The use of institutional power and privilege where one person or group benefits at the expense of another.

- The systematic subjugation of one social group by a more powerful social group for the social, economic, and political

benefit of the more powerful social group.

POWER:

- The capacity to direct or influence behaviour of others; the ability to act in a particular way. The ability of an individual or group

to achieve their own goals or aims. Power may be understood as the ability to influence others and impose one's beliefs. All

power is relational, and the different relationships either reinforce or disrupt one another. The importance of the concept of

power to anti-racism is clear: racism cannot be understood without understanding that power is not only an individual

relationship but a cultural one, and that power relationships are shifting constantly. Power can be used malignantly and

intentionally, but need not be, and individuals within a culture may benefit from power of which they are unaware.

- Power is unequally distributed globally; some individuals or groups wield greater power than others, thereby allowing them

greater access and control over resources. Wealth, whiteness, citizenship, patriarchy, heterosexism, and education are a few key

social mechanisms through which power operates. Although power is often conceptualized as power over other individuals or

groups, other variations are power with (used in the context of building collective strength) and power within (which references

an individual’s internal strength). Learning to “see” and understand relations of power is vital to organizing for progressive social

change.

PREJUDICE:

- A preconceived judgment about a person or group of people, usually indicating negative bias. A pre-judgment or unjustifiable,

and usually negative, attitude of one type of individual or groups toward another group and its members. Such negative attitudes

are typically based on unsupported generalizations (or stereotypes) that deny the right of individual members of certain groups

to be recognized and treated as individuals with individual characteristics.

PRIVILEGE:

- Unearned social power accorded by the formal and informal institutions of society to ALL members of a dominant group (e.g.

white privilege, male privilege, etc.). Privilege is usually invisible to those who have it because we're taught not to see it, but

nevertheless it puts them at an advantage over those who do not have it.

RACE:

- A social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on certain characteristics such as physical appearance

(particularly skin color), ancestral heritage, cultural affiliation, cultural history, ethnic classification. Racial categories subsume

ethnic groups. For many people, it comes as a surprise that racial categorization schemes were invented by scientists to support

worldviews that viewed some groups of people as superior and some as inferior. There are three important concepts linked to

this fact:

- Race is a made-up social construct, and not an actual biological fact;

- Race designations have changed over time. Some groups that are considered “white” in the United States today were

considered “non-white” in previous eras, in U.S. Census data and in mass media and popular culture (for example, Irish,

Italian, and Jewish people);

- The way in which racial categorizations are enforced (the shape of racism) has also changed over time. For example, the

racial designation of Asian American and Pacific Islander changed four times in the 19th century. That is, they were

defined at times as white and at other times as not white. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as designated groups,

have been used by white powers at different times in history to compete with African American labor.

RACISM:

- A system of oppression based on an individuals or groups actual or perceived racial identity.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE:

- A theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by wrongful behavior. This can lead to transformation of people,

relationships and communities.

- Restorative Justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by crime and conflict. It places decisions in

the hands of those who have been most affected by a wrongdoing, and gives equal concern to the victim, the offender, and the

surrounding community. Restorative responses are meant to repair harm, heal broken relationships, and address the underlying

reasons for the offense. Restorative Justice emphasizes individual and collective accountability. Crime and conflict generate

opportunities to build community and increase grassroots power when restorative practices are employed.

SEXISM:

- Prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions based on difference in sex/gender, usually, but not always, by men against

women.

SOCIAL JUSTICE:

- The equal distribution of resources and opportunities, in which outside factors that categorize people are irrelevant. A process,

not an outcome, which (1) seeks fair (re)distribution of resources, opportunities, and responsibilities; (2) challenges the roots of

oppression and injustice; (3) empowers all people to exercise self-determination and realize their full potential; (4) and builds

social solidarity and community capacity for collaborative action.

STEREOTYPE:

- A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Blanket beliefs, unconscious

associations, and expectations about members of certain groups that present an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude or

uncritical judgment

SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION:

- An interlocking and reciprocal relationship between the individual, institutional and structural levels which function as a system

of oppression. These various levels of racism operate together and function together as a whole system. These levels are:

- Internalized (within an individual)

- Interpersonal (within interactions between people)

- Institutional (within institutions and systems of power)

- Ideological (among institutions and across society)

TOKENISM:

- The practice of doing something to prevent criticism or give the appearance that someone or something promotes equity and

inclusion. This is a form of a microaggression.

TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE:

- A theory and practice for responding to violence, harm, and abuse. It seeks to respond to violence without creating more

violence and/or engaging in harm reduction to lessen the violence. Transformative justice co-creates interventions that:

- do not rely on the state (ex. police, prisons, the legal system, foster care system, etc.)

- do not reinforce or perpetuate violence (ex. punishment or vigilantism)

- actively cultivates the things we know prevent violence such as community, healing, accountability, resilience, and

safety for all

WHITE PRIVILEGE:

- Refers to the unearned, unfair and unquestioned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits and choices bestowed on people

solely because they are white.

- Structural white Privilege: A system that makes current racial advantages and disadvantages seem normal, using incentive and

punishments to maintain white domination.

- The accumulated and interrelated advantages and disadvantages of white privilege are reflected in racial/ethnic inequities in

life-expectancy and other health outcomes, income and wealth, and other outcomes, in part through different access to

opportunities and resources.

WHITE SUPREMACY:

- The idea that white people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions that create a culture of whiteness are superior to

People of the Global Majority. While most people associate white supremacy with extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and

neo-Nazis, white supremacy is ever present in our institutional and cultural assumptions that assign value, morality, goodness,

and humanity to people reflecting whiteness while casting people and communities of color as worthless, immoral, bad, and

inhuman and undeserving.

XENOPHOBIA (OLD TERM):

- The fear or hatred of foreigners. A system of oppression based on the fear, hatred or mistrust of that which is foreign, especially

strangers or people from different countries or cultures.

XENOMISIA (NEW TERM):

- Discrimination towards, fear, marginalization and hatred of immigrants or those perceived as being immigrants, foreign and/or

non-citizens. This discrimination is rooted in within systems of White supremacy and is a form of oppression.