Cultural racism occurs when a racially dominant group defines cultural values for all multicultural societies with minority communities. For example, recognizing a statutory holiday of a certain culture and not recognizing other commonly observed holidays.
Institutional racism occurs when institutional practices have a disproportionately negative impact on racialized minorities. For example, school systems may adopt a curriculum that is based on a specific ethnocentric perceptive of history, without considering experiences of minority communities.
Individual racism occurs when prejudices and discrimination happen against an individual based on their perceived identify. For example, during health appointments, stereotypes about a person's cultural clothing, ethnic background or their identity cause a feeling of shame, discouragement and distrust.
Deliver cultural competency and antiracism training to raise awareness and touch on concepts related to racism and discrimination for different populations.
Although cultural competency is used here, it is part of the cultural spectrum which includes: cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, cultural competency and cultural humility. The goal is to practice cultural humility which is an ongoing process of self-exploration and self-critique combined with a willingness to learn from others. It means entering a relationship with another person with the intention of honoring their beliefs, customs, and values. It means acknowledging differences and accepting that person for who they are” (University of Oregon, n.d.).Deliver cultural competency, questions for culturally safe health care and relational accountability workshops for health care staff.
Create partnerships with stakeholders from minority communities and hold space for meetings with those community organizations on antiracism.
Prioritize diversity and antiracism initiatives and policies with support and commitment from leadership. Raise awareness and promote antiracism through diverse venues (e.g., workshops, newsletters, public relations campaigns). Collect data on sociodemographic characteristics and use it for evaluation and decision-making purposes.
The Ontario Common Assessment of Need (OCAN) and The First Nations Principals of OCAP are examples of quality improvement initiatives connected to sociodemographic data collection.
Promote accountability and transparency while adopting equitable and diverse human recruitment and retainment strategies. Mandate specific targets for people of minority backgrounds.