Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggression  is something that I do not notice too much.  Most the time I am busy ushering my children in and out of stores, church, etc. that I do not have idle conversation.  As I reflected this week, I can recall a few instances of microaggression.  The first instance I can remember, occurred when I was a young child.  I can remember my grandfather’s comments about how girls could not handle tasks meant for boys.  I had no idea what he was even talking about, but I do remember my mother getting pretty upset with him and my father for the comments.  Another instance I can recall happened later in life when my husband and I first began dating.  His parents were very harsh towards my race and would always tell me that I could not understand their ways because I lacked culture.  I was always puzzled by their comments especially since I knew everyone had culture.  I was very hurt by their comments and still hold some resentment towards the negativity they showed me throughout our newlywed years. 

Because of these experiences I have more sensitivity towards others.  It does not feel good when others display microaggression and it makes you second guess yourself when exposed to these types of comments.  This week’s resources in class have given me good resources to justify my feelings about microaggression and to support my strategies for my students to overcome prejudices such as these.