Microaggression may have “micro” in its name, but that doesn’t mean these assaults are small. Two women I admire so much for their anti-racism work explain it like this:

“There’s nothing micro about micro aggressions” — Britt Hawthorne, anti-racist educator 

“Microaggression, macro effect.” — Alex Scott, creator of Ditto Kids Magazine 

According to a paper by researchers at the Teachers College at Columbia University and published in American Psychologist, “Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities.”

See? “There’s nothing micro about microaggressions” because “microaggression, macro effect.” 

In this episode of the First Name Basis podcast you will learn:

• The three different types of microaggressions — microassault, microinsult, microinvalidation.
• Specific examples of what these racial assaults look like.
• What affect microaggressions have.
• What you can do — whether you are a white person or a BIPOC — to respond to microaggressions. 

 

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Articles, Studies & Podcasts Referenced In The Episode 

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 3, Episode 22: “The Danger of Gaslighting”

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 2, Episode 16: “How to Avoid Cultural Appropriation”

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 3, Episode 29: “Critical Race Theory In Schools”

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 2, Episode 22: “Cancel Culture Part 1: Calling Out, Calling In, and Tone Policing”

First Name Basis Podcast, Season 3, Episode 9: “Racism 101”

“Racial Microaggressions In Everyday Life,” by researchers at the Teachers College at Columbia University, published in American Psychologist

“Conflicted: How Black Women Negotiate Their Responses to Racial Microaggressions At A Historically White Institution,” by Dr. Angel Jones

“Daily Positive Affirmations For When Black Lives Forget That They Matter”

“How Slavery Made Its Way West," by Tiya Miles, 1619 Project Magazine

Embracing Equity

Song Credit: “Sleeper” by Steve Adams” and “Dive Down” by VYEN