social-justice

Introduction to Justice and Equity

JumpStart: Lesson 0

Ada Developers Academy is as much a social justice organization as it is a school where people learn to program. Our core values at Ada are building and contributing to a supportive community, creating and advocating for inclusivity, and teaching and practicing lifelong learning, all within Tech. Having a basic understanding of social justice is crucial to upholding these core values.

In this lesson you’ll be asked to read and think about issues of identity, privilege, oppression, and social justice. This may be new to you, or it may be a huge piece of your daily, lived experience. Our goal here is to build some of the linguistic and conceptual skills that will start the work of having safe, productive, community-affirming conversations about systemic inequities.

Learning Goals

• Gain some tools for thinking critically about power and privilege in tech communities
• Begin approaching tech diversity initiatives with an intersectional lens
• Gain familiarity with the concept of microaggressions, and develop some initial strategies for intervention

Ada's statement of inclusivity

Students, staff, volunteers, TA's, and reps from our sponsor companies come to Ada Developers Academy with an incredible diversity of identity and experience. We strive to make Ada an inclusive, safe, and equitable space for every member of our community. We recognize and celebrate difference along many axes including, but not limited to, sexual orientation, gender identity and presentation, age, race, ethnicity, class, religion, physical appearance, ability, national origin, educational background, and parental status. Our community includes women and gender diverse people (people who identify as trans, non-binary, gender queer, gender fluid, and gender non-conforming).

Introduction to social justice

Start by reviewing our glossary of social justice terms.

Then read and reflect on these articles

1. #FFFFFF Diversity by Erica Joy
2. What Being Non-Binary in Female-Centric Spaces Is Like – And How to Be More Inclusive by Sam Escobar
3. Allies and Microaggressions by Kerry Ann Rockquemore

Reflection

We suggest that you do some personal journaling, or explore these topics in conversation with a close friend or family member. Your responses to the following questions or to the articles themselves may be personal, and we don't ask that you share you thoughts with us. However, if you would like to be in conversation with us or have any follow-up questions, you can reach out to Sarah via email or slack.

Reflection questions

We are including a few reflection questions which you can use as a guide if you are having trouble getting started. You can address all of our prompts, choose only a few, or come up with your own.

• What, if anything, was new to you here? What additional questions does this raise for you?

• After reading Joy's article, what is one way you would like to see tech companies or organizations champion diversity and inclusion beyond "women"?

• Microaggressions are not explicitly defined in Rockquemore's article. Based on the context or on previous experience, how would you explain what a microaggression is in your own words? What are some examples of ways you can practice "micro resistance" in your own life?