Course Structure

Study time: 2 hours (approx)

Time to Talk about Race is an introductory course designed to provide a foundational overview of race, racism, unconscious bias and microaggressions. It aims to dispel myths and educate to minimise discrimination, particularly in the workplace. The content is relevant for people in a working environment and individuals who have a personal interest.

The course answers many questions people are often afraid to ask and allows learners to acquire information without feeling uncomfortable in a group setting. Often talking about race can feel extremely uncomfortable for many. This course enables learners to work in an environment suitable to them and reflect on the lessons without feeling judged, attacked, or misunderstood.

Time to Talk about Race is a blend of videos, activities, reflective questions, and a multiple-choice assessment at the end. The video content is approximately 100 minutes (including bonus material). Each assessment should take no longer than 10 minutes each.

It is delivered by Rebbecca Hemmings - Director of Strawberry Words training consultancy.  She has 23 years’ experience of facilitating conversations about race and cultural awareness. Coming from an empathetic perspective, the aim during the sessions to enlighten, empower and promote equity for all whilst considering the emotional impact upon the learner.

A Safe Space to Develop Racial Literacy

Talking about racism can seem difficult and uncomfortable. The temptation can be to avoid discussion. However, issues around race seldom disappear. This CPD accredited course provides a foundational education on racism to help to increase racial literacy which includes building confidence to speak about and deal with issues of race. It provides a language through which meaningful conversation can take place (particularly in the workplace). 

Topics include defining race, unconscious bias and microaggressions. These help the learner to understand how racial discrimination takes place with and without conscious awareness. Strategies are shared to enable recognition of different types of racism to promote belonging and inclusion for all.  

Aim

The primary aim of the course is to enable learners to define and explore race, racism, unconscious bias and microaggressions, make vital connections between the content and local communities, people in the workplace and society in general. Ultimately the aim is to reduce racial discrimination.

Modules

Module 1 Race

• Defining racism 
• Impact of racism 
• Key terms 
• Language  

Module 2 Unconscious Bias 

• Defining unconscious bias 
• Types of unconscious bias 
• Debiasing techniques  

Module 3 Microaggressions             

• Defining microaggressions & problems with the term 
• Three types of Microaggressions 
• Impact 
• Coping mechanisms 
• Micro-affirmations 
• Frequently asked questions 

How the course works

The following offers more details for each module.

Race & Racism 

• Defining racism

Many people have a very limited idea of what racism is. This video talks about the problems this can cause and provides a more substantial definition to enable more useful discourse around racism.

• Impact of racism

This section makes the case for anti-racism work and provides a snapshot of some U.K. statistics that highlight racial discrimination and disparities.

• Key terms

Here you will learn/be reminded of key terms that are associated with discrimination so that you gain further insight into where and how discrimination originates.

1.4 Language

Often people do not know how to refer to ethnic minorities. There can be lots of confusion around the ‘correct language’ to use. Here you will learn why some terms are problematic and how you can use language in a way that is more acceptable. 

Module 2 Unconscious Bias

2.1 Defining unconscious bias

Learn what is meant by unconscious bias by understanding what happens in the brain when it detects a threat. 

Types of unconscious bias

Here 10 common types of unconscious biases are shared they are likely to lead to poor treatment based on a person having a marginalised identity.

Debiasing techniques

Here you can discover how to discover you hold an unconscious bias and what you can do to challenge them.

Module 3 Microaggressions             

• Defining microaggressions & problems with the term

After learning what a microaggression is and where the term originates, this section delves into why the term can be helpful and hinder work to challenge microaggressions.

 Three Types of Microaggressions

In this section we break down the three different types of microaggressions (microassaults, microinsults and microinvalidations) and provide examples of what they look like in action.

• Impact

Learn about how being exposed to microaggressions on a regular basis takes its toll on recipients.

• Coping Mechanisms

This explores three key strategies those who are exposed to microaggressions use to minimise their impact.

• Micro-affirmations

Microaffirmations offer a way of undoing the damage caused by microaggressions. Learn how you can adopt these small acts to begin to make change in your environment.

• Frequently asked questions

This is based on common questions asked during training sessions.