The Fundamentals of Anti-Oppression with Rania El Mugammar

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Go beyond the buzzwords to build a foundational understanding of an anti-oppression framework and how it applies to your organization and its mission. In this episode with Rania El Mugammar, an anti-oppression educator, learn how to understand power dynamics, oppression and liberation. 

Get familiar with the language of social justice and look at models for creating more equitable communities and organizations. In our conversation, we examine concepts of intersectionality, positionality, privilege and oppression. 

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Understanding equality and equity (and why neither are the best path to take)

Anti-oppression is something you do and something we need to consistently work towards. It’s natural to think about equality as the pathway to anti-oppression, but this isn’t the case. This idea stems from the assumption that everyone should get the same thing because they need the same things and are all at the same starting place. The problem with this is that it doesn’t take into account varying power dynamics. For example, we can give one family 10 apples that already had access to them. But if we give to a family that didn’t have any apples, their experiences will be totally different.

Equity is a great pathway because it focuses on giving people what they need… but this only works as harm reduction. This is great because it tells us that it's possible to break down the barriers, but it also brings forth other barriers that come into play. Rania suggests designing for liberation which will break down barriers AND put another solution in its place.

Designing for liberation

Design is a big part of the conversation because there’s a sense that we don’t know how we got here and we forget that things are built with a certain intention. This intention benefits certain people to survive and thrive in different conditions. Unfortunately, this doesn’t consider other people aside from using them as tools in that system. Anti-oppression tells us that it’s possible to redesign the system so that everyone can survive and thrive. Anti-oppression isn’t a theory, it’s something you do consistently and continuously. 

Designing for liberation starts with a critical self-reflection. Look at your institutional history and evaluate what you’ve done in the past. Inclusion by design tells us to then take the most marginalized person and design backwards for them. Then you ask yourself, “does my programming fit this person? Is it accessible to them? Does it make sense for their needs and priorities? Have they been consulted in the design of this program? Is the person designing this program the best fit?” Rania suggests doing community consultations to help answer these questions. 

The truth about diversity

Anti-oppression is not the same as diversity. It’s easy to say that your staff includes women and people of colour, but it’s not that simple. Take the names of your staff members and place them on a pyramid based on who they report to in an institutional hierarchy. Chances are, the pyramid will get “whiter” and more male as you reach the top. The result? You end up with a shallow form of diversity. What organizations should have are a diversity of experiences, opinions and capacities. The voices at the top of the organization should have people who push for change and use their power to let other voices be heard.

Diversity can be used to silence and tokenize people if we don’t self-reflect as an individual and an institution. It’s not the job of someone experiencing oppression to always be the one to point it out. Shift the conversation around reflection and meaningful inclusion.

Meaningful inclusion is more than a seat at the table

Consider this: inclusion is when we invite people over for dinner. We pick the table settings, the location, the time and the food. The problem is that after we’ve invited everyone, the consideration for them stops there. In order to have meaningful inclusion, we need to make others part of the design of things. Some people may like spicy food, or are fasting or diabetic. Others may be vegan, vegetarian or require a gluten-free option. Someone may use a mobility device and will need a lower table. When you simply just include people, they get treated like an afterthought. They get invited to ill-fitting tables and then we wonder why they can’t advance or join in, or why they just leave. We need to work beyond just having good intentions in order to become an ally.

The anatomy of an apology

How many times have you heard someone say “I’m sorry you feel that way” or used that apology yourself? It’s easy to say we didn’t mean it or that we didn’t intend to do something than to acknowledge and admit that we were wrong. It doesn’t matter what the intention was because the impact is still there. Working beyond simply having good intentions means self-reflecting, learning from it and turning it into action. 

The first step to a meaningful apology is to acknowledge bearing witness. We need to acknowledge that we are part of the systemic oppressions and barriers that people face.

The next is emotional uptake which is when you look at a person or community and acknowledge their feelings as valid without policing them on their appropriateness, intensity or duration. The last step is to centre the hurt. This means that you’re not the person who is experiencing harm. Feeling guilty is not the same as experiencing harm, so we need to put aside our feelings and best intentions, and focus on the person who is actually harmed in this situation.

How to have a meaningful conversation in your organization

The first thing that needs to happen is for an organization to normalize these kinds of conversations so that people don’t feel “attacked” or “called out.” Instead, they can see it as a transformative justice practice and an invitation to do better. This can come from simply telling them, “I know you can do better,” “I know you’re smarter than this” or “I know you have the capacity to be more empathetic and understanding.” This creates an environment of self-accountability with community support.

We all need to do work and the best way to do it is to reflect, apologize, take action. Rania also shared some great resources below to help your organization reach its equity, inclusion and anti-oppression goals through policy, process and practice. 

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Resources from this Episode

ArtReach - artreach.org

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) - www.showingupforracialjustice.org

Rania’s website - www.raniawrites.com