By Debra Mooney
Our nation’s summer of protests and civil unrest against racial injustices and historically entrenched inequities have many wondering if (and hopeful that) this is truly the period of solidifying permanent change in our country.
I was moved by Pope Francis’ message to all Americans after the murder of George Floyd that, “we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life,” as well as his prayerful outreach to the U.S. bishops photographed supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. His imploring call to address our nations’ race-based injustices further summons us to action to fulfill our Jesuit Catholic educational mission of justice and reconciliation. It is essential that we not allow this moment in history to pass; the time is now to promote reform.
Of course, a powerful response with lasting and meaningful change rests upon a broad and systemic perspective. “Intersectionality,” a term coined in 1989 by UCLA law professor and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, is this necessary point of reference. Based on concepts from the women’s liberation and civil-rights movements of the 1960s, intersectionality theory spotlights how the numerous aspects of one’s identity are inter-related and influence one another. Therefore, an individual’s experience of various institutional oppressions, dominations, and discriminations is impacted by the inextricably linked constellation of their race, gender, class, income, age, sexual identity, religion/spirituality, ethnic origin, ability, status, etc. As Crenshaw underscores, “Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there. Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things.”
Contemporary psychology offers valuable insights to the understanding of human diversity and intersectionality. It is noteworthy that the American Psychological Association relatively recently updated its document on professional multicultural competence and engagement. Notably, the current version (APA, 2017) was crafted “with intersectionality as its primary purview.” With the new subtitle, “An Ecological Approach to Context, Identity, and Intersectionality,” the refreshed guidelines underscore how a “focus on intersectionality has increased the capacity…for considering the multitude of positions and components of identity and personhood that exist within the array of communities, individuals, educational settings, and organizations.”
The Multicultural Guidelines outline 10 multifaceted guiding principles within a layered ecological model of transacting nested systems (i.e., microsystems, exosystems, macrosystems), levels, and sources of influence. This sophisticated approach considers contextual factors and intersectionality to provide a full understanding of diversity factors for the professional practice of psychology. As a licensed clinical psychologist and university chief mission officer, I appreciate its value beyond the psychological health sphere. The approach is highly relevant to the service of faith and the promotion of social justice and human rights for all. Therefore, in the interest of acting on the appeal of Pope Francis, I share some aspects of the model, each derived from one of the guidelines, for greater multicultural understanding and allyship.
On Friday, June 12, 2020, Shades of X, a staff and faculty affinity group at Xavier University, invited Xavier’s campus community to join them in a sign of solidarity and allyship with protesters (above). Photo courtesy of Xavier University.
As a foundation for social justice activism, a person striving to be more multiculturally aware, empathic, and competent seeks to:
Move beyond stereotypes and ‘ethnic gloss’ to understand both the heterogeneity within, and the overlap among, identity groups and the complexity of a person’s identities and self-identifications.
Recognize how their own attitudes, beliefs, world views, and life history influence their approach and response to issues and peoples.
Notice how language and communication styles, including both verbal and non-verbal forms, are connected to culture and social identity.
Understand how social, physical and community resources (i.e., transportation, healthcare, jobs) and barriers (i.e., food deserts, pollution, and crime) in the immediate environment differently impact identity groups.
Recognize inequities and disproportionalities from structural oppression which have roots in the practices and policies of institutions.
Identify ways to serve as an advocate for policy, practice, and systemic changes that affect disadvantaged and discriminated identity groups.
Appreciate intersectional identities and cultural issues within a globalized context and engage, internationally, to end oppression and human rights violations.
Notice the interplay of intersectionality, stage of life, and historical experiences (e.g., WWII, slavery, The Great Depression, and COVID-19) on a person’s multiple identities.
Engage in charity, helping, and advocacy activities in ways sensitive and appropriate to the culture and subcultures of the identity group.
Focus on the strengths, resiliencies, and positive attributes of individuals, communities, and organizations.
Clearly, to be a capable agent of social justice and anti-racism necessitates multicultural competency and an understanding of the inseparability of a person’s multiple identities. Consequently, an intersectional lens suggests that to truly eliminate the longstanding “sin of racism” we need to abolish all forms of injustice. I am inspired and optimistic that Pope Francis will guide his “dear brothers and sisters in the United States” in creating a world that expresses the sacredness of human life through equity and equality for all persons and in all its policies, systems, and institutions.
Debra Mooney, a licensed clinical psychologist, is the vice president for mission and identity and chief mission officer, and, founding director of the Ruth J. and Robert A. Conway Institute for Jesuit Education at Xavier University.
The featured cover photo (above) is courtesy of Loyola Marymount University.