Tools For Change:How Bystanders Can Help Sustain
More Diverse and Inclusive Environments
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our
friends.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Facilitators:Joshua J. NelsonZara H. Nizami
Introduction: Warm-Up Exercise
Who is a bystander?
Why are we here?
Dimensions of Change
The Bystander Effect
Bystander Intervention
Bystander Strategies
Bystander role and me
Active Bystanders: A tool for change
Closing reflection
Agenda
Stand up if you…Speak more than one language fluentlyGrew up with grandparents living in your homeHave participated in a diversity training in the pastHave been known to watch: American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Real Housewives, or other reality showsPlayed organized sports while growing upConsider yourself an extrovertWere the first person in your family to go to collegeGrew up someplace other than MassachusettsConsider yourself the majority
Introductions: Who is in the room?
What is a Bystander?
- Anyone who witnesses offensive or hurtful behavior- A person who is present at an event or incident but
does not take part
“Mount Holyoke College reaffirms its commitment to educating a diverse residential community of women at the highest level of academic excellence and to fostering the alliance of liberal arts education with a purposeful engagement in the world.”
Why are we here?
Dimensions Of Change
Internal
Relationship with yourself
Institutional
Relationships between decision
making and resource
allocation roles
MISSION
Cultural
Relationships across cultures and worldviews
Interpersonal
Relationship
Between
individuals
• An active bystander is a(n).. – Ally
– Leaner
– Friend
– Facilitator
– Humble questioner
– Stakeholder
– Mediator
– Concerned party
• An active bystander is not a(n)…– Judge
– Avenger
– Rescuer
– Enforcer
– Fixer
– Hero/Heroine
– Final Authority
– Know-It-All
– Educator
– Activist
A Bystander is/is not
“The bystander effect or Genovese syndrome is a phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present”
The Bystander Effect:Kitty Genovese
Latane and Darley conducted an experiment in 1969 in which subjects were asked to fill out a questionnaire and smoke started to fill the room…
Bystander Intervention Experiment
Bibb Latane and John Darley:Bystander Intervention
Diffusion of Responsibility
Fear
Loss of respect
Ease
Comradeship
Silent disapproval
Vulnerability
Overreaction
Uncertainty – FREEZE!
Typical Bystander Reaction
Inclusion
Discovery
Cooling Things Down
Heating Things Up
Body Language/Signaling
Bystander Strategies
Invite someone to the conversation
Be an ally for someone taking a risk
Ask for the opinions of someone who has been quiet
Bystander Strategies: Inclusion
Emotions surfacing
Expressing how the situation is making you feel
Point out the elephant in the room
Bystander Strategies: Heating Things Up
Stand Up / Turn Away
Raise your hand
Laugh, lean forward, touch the table, interrupt the flow
Say “ouch”
Bystander Strategies: Body Language/Signaling
Racism In America
Fallen Customer?
WWYD:What Would YOU Do?
Reflect on a time when you….
Wish you had been an active bystander?
Wished that an active bystander had spoken up?
*Write down the scenario on an index card
The Bystander Role and Me
IndividuallyCheck in with parties “off-line”Call ombuds office or other resourcesContinue your work
CollectivelyWork with employee affinity groupsEncourage participation and inclusivityAttend additional training
SystematicallyChange policies and practicesAdd the bystander role not only to trainings but to everyday conversations
Be An Active Bystander
Notice that a situation has happened
Interpret it as a situation where help is needed
Assume personal responsibility
Decide what to do
Just do it!!!
Antidote to Bystander Apathy: Civil Courage
“First they come for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they come for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Unionist
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me”
-Pastor Martin Niemoller
Closing Words: Speaking Out
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