Promoting anti-racism in the legal system: an application of the STYLE framework

Abstract

Racism is a critical social problem, and we present a framework to guide professionals in engaging in anti-racist practices. Professionals on the frontlines in psychology and related fields such as social work and public health have a responsibility to engage in anti-racist practices. Part of the professional role must be to advocate for justice through increased proximity to the issues and engagement in anti-oppressive practices. The current discourse introduces a framework through which people working in psychology and other related professions can promote anti-racism work, highlighting the legal system for illustrative purposes. While some professionals in psychology may not have direct experience with the legal system, many of the individuals served by psychologists do (e.g., clients/patients, students, community members). Our framework is represented by the acronym STYLE (Self-examination, Talk about racism, Yield time to anti-racism work, Learn about structural racism, Evaluate policies and practices). The goal of STYLE is to expand anti-racism science and practice within psychology and related fields. We describe new roles for professionals in dismantling health inequities and offer specific pathways to develop critical partnerships toward this aim. STYLE explicitly encourages active, intentional involvement of affected community members in the development and evaluation of approaches to health services. To achieve equity and to promote individual and organizational growth in anti-racism and ultimately anti-oppression work, professionals must focus on changing their STYLE.

Towards equitable leadership development: active ingredients of a culturally responsive program for Black community leaders

“…Ensure trainings are built upon a base of anti-racism practice Ensure all leadership development administrators and staff have anti-racism training and implement systems of accountability to promote continued work and maintenance of skills (see STYLE framework as an example; Fix et al, 2023). Some lessons learned through our study can offer strategies for administrators, instructors, and other staff working to promote racial equity in leadership development programs.…”

“…This practice would benefit Black community leaders and could also inform and potentially transform practice for non-Black leaders, as well (Saad, 2020;Singh, 2019). Further, anti-racism education targeting this reality is important for program staff, instructors, and fellows on the features and frequency of experiences of racism across settings while stressing how racism impacts Black leaders (Fix, Thurston, Johnson, & Andrisse, 2023). Naming and describing racism as a normative albeit unfortunate set of experiences that should be addressed while demonstrating empathy and recognition of the harm it engenders is critical (Hargons et al, 2022;Williams & Mohammed, 2013).…”

“…It is also worth noting that instructors of color are enmeshed in and impacted by systems supporting racism (Jones, 2000). So, all instructors and leadership team members should be required to complete trainings and demonstrate humility in interacting with Black fellows (Fix et al, 2023;Sowcik et al, 2017).…”