Key Terms

Anti-Racism

Endorsing racial equality, investigating issues pertaining to power and policies, and resisting racial inequity. This involves taking action, discussing antiracist ideas, and supporting antiracist policies.

Coloniality

The often-unspoken, hierarchical system of influence and power that has governed interactions between countries since the beginning of the colonial era. This hierarchy places formal colonies at the bottom of the global power structure and the most vigorously colonizing states at the top.

Colonization

The historical large-scale expansion of nation-states by taking control of foreign land and the indigenous populous utilizing supremacist philosophy. Colonization refers to the process of establishing outpost colonies that centralize these efforts.

Critical Consciousness

Thinking critically and making conscious judgements about systems of power, privilege and oppression.

Discrimination

Unfair action toward a social group and its members that is based upon prejudice about that group. Discrimination occurs at the individual level; all humans discriminate

Dysconsciousness

The unconscious process by which people with privilege are able to justify the use of their privilege at the expense of others in maintaining the status quo.

Intersectionality

The social, political and ideological context in which identities intersect and is best viewed as a lens for examining complexity rather than a tool for “fixing” it.

Implicit Bias

The largely unconscious and automatic prejudice that operates below conscious awareness and without intentional control.

Prejudice

Learned prejudgment based on stereotypes about a social group that someone belongs to. Prejudice occurs at the individual level; all humans have learned prejudices.

Oppression

Group prejudice and discrimination backed by institutional power. One group is in the position to enforce their prejudice and discrimination against another group throughout the society.

Prejudice + Discrimination + Power = Oppression.

Racism

A belief that one’s race is the most significant determinant of their ability, along with the belief that differences between races illustrate the superiority of one race over another.

Rank

Ranks, sometimes called identity domains,  are socially constructed positions with set dichotomies of privilege and oppression (e.g. race, gender/gender orientation, sexual orientation, etc.).

Social Privilege

An unearned, socially conferred advantage, granted based on status or rank regardless of an individual’s talent or ability.

Social Location

The various aspects of social position that people occupy because of where they are located in a society. Aspects of identity such as gender, class, race, socioeconomic status and religion are examples of factors that contribute to one’s social location. Also called positionality.

Social Justice

Exact definitions and applications remain varied and controversial in many ways, but can generally be understood as efforts to decrease human suffering and actuate the values of equality and justice.

In defining social activism for psychologists, the Society for Community Research and Action describes the core qualities of social justice: “To engage in action, research, and practice committed to promoting equitable distribution of resources, equal opportunity for all, non-exploitation, prevention of violence, active citizenry, liberation of oppressed peoples, greater inclusion for historically marginalized groups, and respecting all cultures.”

Status

Systemic

Relates to a system that is foundational to overarching social/political/economic structures. In our work, the word “systemic” is often followed by words like “racism” and “oppression”. This implies that racism is rooted and pervasive within social/political/economic systems.

Target

A person who holds a systematically socially oppressed position.  Most people are not targets in every rank and this term is most often used to describe a lack of privilege within one specific rank at a time.  A target is the opposite of an agent.