Microaggressions: The Silent Oppressor
Incidents as the one illustrated in the above video are more common than you might think. This video illustrates how people of color may be subject to microaggressions in their everyday lived experiences. The topic of Microaggressions (the newest diversity buzz word) has received a great deal of media attention in the last few years. I have no interest in continuing the “buzz” about microaggressions but do hope to create awareness about this silent oppressor. For those of you who have never heard of this term- microaggressions (a term introduced in the 1970’s by psychiatrist Chester Pierce and made popular recently through the work of Dr. Derald Wing Sue ) are considered to be a subtle form of discrimination directed at a member of specific social identity groups. According to Sue , microaggressions are brief and commonplace verbal behaviors and messages whether intentional or unintentional that communicate hostile, derogatory slights and insults that potentially h...