David and Lindsay – Facing Implicit Bias

David and Lindsay are volunteer supervisors for a 4-H livestock show in Eastern Oregon. David and Lindsay are called to the central administration site to respond to concerns raised by event attendees. David and Lindsay meet a family from Gresham. The family shared that they are Latinx and bilingual, and while attending the event and visiting various booths and pens, they experienced an unwelcoming and at times hostile attitude from event volunteers. The family shared that when they communicate, they switch between English and Spanish, and they recognized that when speaking Spanish, the non-verbal responses of the volunteers were cold and disapproving. The family shared that when speaking Spanish, they noticed frowning, avoidance and whispering among the volunteers. The family had decided to leave due to the unwelcoming climate but wanted to make sure a supervisor was aware of their experience.

David and Lindsay listen to the family’s concerns and share their regrets for their experience. After the family departs, David and Lindsay discuss. Initially, David feels defensive and begins deliberating reasons why the family may have misinterpreted behaviors of their volunteers as a result of hyper-sensitivity. Lindsay challenges David’s thinking and acknowledges that she recognizes the non-verbal behaviors in the volunteers, and similar behaviors in David and herself, and contends that such behaviors are engrained and ultimately disrespectful and counter to their organization’s values.

David listens and joins Lindsay in her reflection by asserting that hostile attitudes towards Latinx folks and people who speak languages other than English have existed in their community for generations. David acknowledges how those community attitudes may have embedded themselves in his unconscious.

Lindsay offers that the solution to a culture shift at their 4-H events is to make the unconscious conscious, and to acknowledge and interrupt disrespectful verbal and non-verbal behavior when it arises in others and themselves. Together, Lindsay and David debrief with the volunteers and share their commitment to confronting disrespectful behavior toward patrons who speak languages other than English. Additionally, Lindsay and David embed relevant conversations in their volunteer orientations going forward which include their language access responsibilities to comply with civil rights regulations.  

Key Take-Aways
  • he Issue: A family of Spanish speakers feel marginalized at a community Extension event and provides feedback to the volunteer supervisors about their experience with the volunteers’ disrespectful non-verbal behavior.
  • The Deliberation: David works through his feelings of defensiveness, assisted by Lindsay’s own vulnerability and self-awareness. 
  • The Growth: Lindsay and David recognize that their behaviors and the behaviors of their volunteers are culturally embedded. They decided to interrupt the pattern of hostility towards Spanish speakers in their community by confronting disrespectful behavior and shifting the conversations in their volunteer orientations.