Scenario: Words like “Oriental” and “Colored”

In a class discussion, a student refers to a group of people by an antiquated name, such as “colored” or “Oriental.”

This is a scenario that happened in the classroom of a member of the Productive Discomfort cohort. The group discussed possible responses, including:

• Show a picture of “colored” water fountains or WWII propaganda. Make their words visual.
• Ask them to what the word means to them.
• Ask if they want to be part of the conversation and point out that this type of language might remove them from the conversation.
• Point out how privileged groups often do not pay attention to what marginalized people want to be called.