Facilitating Anti-Racism: Handling Stress
Anti-Racism and Stress
The work of anti-racism, while rewarding and necessary, can be uncomfortable and lead to stress. Although we all have our own ways of handling stress generally, this section provides facilitators with support in handling the stresses associated with leading activities or discussions on race, racism and anti-racism. As we know, broaching these topics can lead to emotionally charged exchanges; these situations can be stressful for the facilitator who must attempt to manage others’ emotions and responses in addition to their own.
In these settings, it is not uncommon for conflict or upsetting/ignorant comments to arise, which can make facilitators (or other participants) feel angry, hurt, distant, frustrated, etc. Knowing when to exercise self-control and when to show these emotions will help the facilitator to keep participants engaged. Sometimes, these emotions can nudge participants forward in their process, other times, like when the discussion becomes heated or too uncomfortable, a break or different approach to the topic may be required and the facilitator should refrain from expressing their frustrations. This type of self-control requires self-knowledge; self-knowledge can help the facilitator understand her/his own position, and as a result, feel less stressed because she/he understands why certain attitudes, responses or topics can bring up these emotions.
8 Strategies to Manage Facilitator Stress
Understand your comfort zones as well as participants.’ Conversations about race, racism, and anti-racism can take facilitators and participants out of their comfort zones. For racialized facilitators, the process may be more difficult because racism is inherent in their daily lived experience; the unlearning process, even when it is someone else’s process, can be painful. For all facilitators, the difficulty is in opposing the structures that they are a part of or enmeshed in, especially if they are non-racialized/white.
Learn to be comfortable with making mistakes. Agonizing over “I could have done that” or “I wish I did this” puts stress on the facilitator and is not helpful to participants’ processes. Mistakes are inevitable and mistakes that are acknowledged and unpacked are invaluable tools for both facilitators and participants. A willingness to say that you did not handle the discussion well and that you would like the class to revisit it provides a means to go into a deeper and more complex discussion. Remember that it is important to be prepared for the discussion: understand what you are getting into before pursuing it.
Be prepared for conflict. Conflict causes stress and because of the personal nature of conversations about race and racism, conflict can occur easily and often; we often say that this is a sign that the process is working. Participants, particularly white participants and even some racialized participants, for different reasons, do not want to admit that racism exists; these individuals are brought up to act out liberal strategies that promote racism. Often, these participants will defend these strategies unyieldingly because they believe that their intentions are good and that they do not intend to be racist. They believe they are merely trying to be friendly, and thus, that they cannot be perpetuating racism. In preparing for conflict, self-reflection once again becomes essential. Understanding your personal attitudes, beliefs and behaviours related to conflict helps to relieve some of the stress.
Know when to stay in the moment and when to provide participants (or yourself) with processing time.
Recognize that small steps are important as change is slow. Expecting change to happen quickly can lead to greater stress and in some cases, facilitator burn-out.
Seek outside resources/support. This might mean other groups dealing with similar issues who can provide support and information. By connecting with other groups, we can become allies with other facilitators or individuals who understand anti-racism work. Locating outside resources and allies will provide support and help with stress—doing anti-racism education in isolation is far less productive and far more difficult.
Work with other facilitators where possible and debrief your anti-racism workshops or sessions afterwards.
After your session or workshop, be sure to give yourself the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual support that you need. This will look different for all of us. A few examples are as follows: mindfulness, physical activity, rest, relaxation, connecting with friends/family/coworkers, alone time, spending time outdoors, emotional release, journaling, therapy, unplugging from your phone etc. No matter how you decide to care for yourself, know that your wellbeing is of great importance due to the demanding nature of anti-racism work.
Recommended Readings:
Hargons, Candice. “Self-Care, Soul Care, and Healing Racial Trauma.” Presented by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the UGA College of Education.
Harvard University. “Resources for Self-Care.” Anti-Racism Resources.
Learning Actions ⇢ Inventories
Pitts, Jamilah. “Self-Care Can Be Social Justice.” Learning for Justice.
Talking About Race. “Self-Care.” National Museum of African American History & Culture.