The way that we currently think about, talk about, and act on issues of racial bias and other lines of difference in this country is woefully inadequate and it’s incomplete. . . The very robust and compelling evidence that has been coming out of the science community for the past ten plus years suggests that if we want to move to a radically different place—a radically better place—on issues of race and difference in this country, we have to pay attention to something called implicit bias.
Dushaw Hockett is the founder and Executive Director of Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity (SPACEs), a Washington, DC-based leadership development and community building organization dedicated to bridging the gap between what people imagine and what they achieve. He’s the former Director of Special Initiatives for the Center for Community Change (CCC), a 40-plus year old national social justice organization founded in the memory of the late Robert F. Kennedy.
As an outgrowth of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Initiative (TRHT), Dushaw serves as healing facilitator/practitioner. In this capacity, he has facilitated healing circles for numerous organizations including but not limited to the Independent Sector, the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) and the Michigan Council on Foundations.
He has served on the boards of numerous local and national organizations including the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). He currently serves as an advisor to the Perception Institute.
The presentation
Hockett begins his talk by discussing the three characteristics of implicit biases:
They operate at a subconscious level. The nature of implicit bias is that we don’t know that we have it.
They often run contrary to our conscious, stated beliefs and values.
They are triggered through rapid and automatic mental associations that we make between people and the attitudes or stereotypes we hold about those people.
He continues his argument by discussing why we must focus on implicit bias if we are to stop harming entire communities of people. Among these are:
The tools we’re currently using to address bias are insufficient because have been designed to address explicit bias instead of implicit bias.
Implicit bias is predictive. It allows us to predict how people will act based on biases that can be diagnosed using existing tools like Project Implicit.
Implicit bias can also be preventative. It can help us to develop tools—including internal motivation and habitual practices—that can shift us away from our current model of reactive, emergency responses to bias and toward a preventative approach based in part on public health research.
An implicit bias approach helps to reduce the shame and shaming that arises when we talk about bias. An implicit bias approach shifts the essential questions from “Are you racist or not racist?” or “Are you sexist or not sexist?” to “How do we align our actions and behaviors with our consciously held egalitarian beliefs?”
Consider and answer the questions in this learning guide.
Share your best ideas from your answers to the questions in prompts 3 and 4 with your program coordinator. (Ask them if they’d like to receive this information from you via email or another method.)
Seed to Supper in the Garden was a special plant clinic held in April 2024 for new gardeners on a tight budget that want to grow food at home. It was hosted by OSU Extension Master Gardeners and held at Lupe’s Community Garden in Philomath.
The concepts of growing and belonging are essential to the success of the Oregon State University Extension Master Gardener Program. We subscribe to a philosophy of personal and communal growth—in our gardens and ourselves. We offer programs and services that welcome and serve Oregonians interested in gardening, regardless of their income or education level, physical or cognitive ability, age, race/ethnicity, or any other protected aspect of their identities.
None of us are born ready to educate and support such a diverse audience. In fact, mainstream U.S. culture—our media, educational systems, and social and political structures—often nudge us not to think far beyond our families or neighborhoods. Due to human nature, personal comfort, and/or social engineering, we often spend time with people who look, think, and act very much like ourselves.
In addition, the U.S.’s economic realities, social mores, and cultural practices are evolving rapidly. It can be hard to keep up with all the subtle changes in language and appropriate behavior.
Despite these internal and external challenges, Master Gardener volunteers must be ready to welcome and serve participants with diverse interests, experiences, needs, and perspectives. Accordingly, we require all volunteers (new trainees as well as returning) to pursue at least one hour of continuing education each year that will help them support the Master Gardener program in becoming a more equitable and welcoming space for all Oregonians. Because Master Gardener volunteers tend to be intellectually curious, we encourage them to go beyond that minimum requirement, learning about new cultural topics and perspectives that interest them and are relevant to their county’s program.
Every volunteer comes to these learning opportunities with different life experiences, interests, and exposure to the ideas and concepts within Growing & Belonging. To allow each volunteer to scaffold their learning appropriately, we assign each Growing & Belonging opportunity described on this blog to a specific learning level. These are labeled Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4.
These levels aren’t designed to be exclusively sequential. Volunteers need not complete opportunities in Level 1 to advance to Level 2. If you’re a volunteer who has lived experience with these concepts or who has pursued similar learning opportunities elsewhere, feel free to dive into opportunities at Level 3 or 4. If you’re a volunteer who, for example, feels very comfortable being inclusive in one aspect of individual or identity (e.g., gender expression) and would normally tackle Level 3 or 4 opportunities, feel free to pursue Level 1 and 2 opportunities in areas where you’re less comfortable (e.g., disability).
Level 1: Foundational Awareness
Audience: Master Gardener volunteers new to specific Growing & Belonging concepts
Description: Level 1 opportunities support volunteers in developing an understanding of the elements necessary to fostering welcoming and inclusive learning environments. Level 1 learning opportunities raise volunteers’ awareness of common barriers to inclusion and introduce them to fundamental terms and ideas. Such learning opportunities include, but aren’t limited to:
recognizing and addressing implicit bias
understanding privilege of various kinds
identifying and remediating microaggressions
understanding the difference between equality and equity
using contemporary language related to aspects of individual identities, such as gender expression and disability
Resources at this level provide a gentle introduction to these concepts, with an emphasis on personal reflection and foundational knowledge.
Level 2: Building Understanding
Audience: Volunteers with some familiarity with Growing & Belonging concepts who are ready to deepen their understanding and connect Level 1 concepts to our programs and services
Description: This level goes beyond the basics to explore the impact of Growing & Belonging on communities and organizations. These learning opportunities may include opportunities to grapple with such topics as:
systemic inequality and its impact on volunteer programs and access to garden spaces, knowledge, and tools
the history and impact of discrimination in horticulture
strategies for promoting equity in gardening and community spaces
Resources at this level encourage critical thinking about one’s role in perpetuating or challenging inequality. Volunteers will learn simple, beginning strategies for engaging in inclusive practices within garden education and the Master Gardener program.
Level 3: Advanced Exploration
Audience: Individuals who are well-versed in Growing & Belonging concepts and eager to explore more complex and nuanced subjects
Description: This level delves into advanced and emerging topics, encouraging volunteers to engage with challenging and innovative ideas. Opportunities may include such topics as:
queer ecology,
decolonization in environmental practices
traditional ecological knowledge
intersections of identity, power, and nature.
Resources at this level invite deep reflection, discussion, and exploration of how these concepts can inform and transform gardening practices and community engagement.
Volunteers pursuing opportunities at Level 3 should be familiar—through focused learning or lived experience—with relevant foundational concepts expressed through Level 1 and 2 opportunities.
Level 4: Applying Growing & Belonging Principles
Audience: Volunteers with a solid understanding of Growing & Belonging concepts who are interested in applying these principles in their work and community engagement
Description: This level focuses on practical application, exploring how Growing & Belonging principles can be integrated into everyday practices and decision-making. Topics may include, but aren’t limited to:
inclusive community engagement
allyship
creating accessible gardening spaces
addressing environmental justice
Resources at this level provide case studies, best practices, and actionable steps for incorporating equitable and inclusive practices into gardening programs and outreach efforts.
Selecting your opportunities and getting credit for them
Some of these topics may be very familiar and relatable to you because of your lived experiences. We always welcome your perspectives on how these are explored through horticulture and the OSU Extension Master Gardener Program. If you have thoughts or feedback you’d like to share, please send them to Leslie Madsen, the statewide program manager.
We encourage volunteers to select Growing & Belonging topics with which they are unfamiliar, then grow from there. It’s normal to feel a little uncomfortable when you’re first learning about different aspects of human identity. These zones of discomfort, if we enter them with genuine curiosity and more than a little humility, are where the most learning and growth happen.
Remember, the levels aren’t designed to be strictly sequential. If you have a background with people experiencing homelessness, for example, you might feel ready for a Level 4 workshop related to gardening with that population. At the same time, you might get more out of a Level 1 webinar on language around disability, gender, or race.
After each Growing & Belonging learning opportunity, reflect on how the topic connects to the Master Gardener program in your county. Share with your program coordinator any topic-relevant ideas or suggestions for growing or improving the Master Gardener program in your county. To get continuing education credit for the Growing & Belonging opportunity, you must share this take-away from your learning with your program coordinator. (Ask your coordinator whether they prefer to receive this information from you via email or another method.)
For your annual Growing & Belonging education credits, you aren’t limited to the opportunities curated by the statewide program. You’re welcome to find your own opportunities. However, after each learning opportunity, you must provide ideas or suggestions as detailed in the bullet point immediately above.
If you come across excellent learning opportunities you believe should be showcased by the statewide Master Gardener program, please email Leslie Madsen, the statewide manager, to let her know you’d like to see them included.
