September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45

Becoming
CULTURALLY
Responsive
How parks and recreation can cultivate cultural responsiveness
by addressing implicit bias and microaggressions
By Tracee Hall, MPA
D
iscussions about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are
commonplace now. Organizations and industries, such as
NRPA, outline research and best practices to provide services
and amenities in a manner that is fair and welcoming
to all residents and visitors.
Often, DEI efforts consist of performative
measures, such as diversity
statements and celebratory cultural
events, which are important.
However, to instill DEI practices
throughout an agency,
transformative
actions must take place. Instilling
culturally responsive values
and actions is a way to begin transformative
DEI initiatives.
Cultural
responsiveness
begins
with seeking to understand
identities, experiences and values
from various cultures and groups.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(childwelfare.gov) states that
cultural responsiveness
" enables
individuals and organizations to
respond respectfully and effectively
to people of all cultures, languages,
classes, races, ethnic backgrounds,
disabilities, religions, genders, sexual
orientations, and other diversity
factors in a manner that recognizes,
affirms, and values their
worth. Being culturally responsive
requires having the ability to understand
cultural differences, recognize
potential biases, and look
beyond differences to work productively
with children, families, and
communities whose cultural contexts
are different from one's own. "
Organizations can begin their
culturally responsive journey by
helping employees understand and
address implicit biases and microaggressions.
Implicit
Bias
Implicit biases are preconscious
thoughts - and often snap judgements
- that fire off in our brains
faster than we can suppress them.
Our brains process more unconscious
and sensory information than our
conscious mind. Thus, our brains
look for shortcuts and automatically
categorize our unconscious thoughts
in such areas as physical ability, race,
gender assignment or identification,
age, and religion. These thoughts
affect our judgements, actions and
decisions. If they are rooted in any
type of bias, even unintentionally,
a preconscious thought will impact
how we treat others. In matters requiring
rational evaluation, our
brain's implicit bias often is wrong.
The impetus for our bias(es) may be
based on experiences, generational
family values or images portrayed in
the media, but usually are contrary
to our expressed beliefs.
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | SEP T EMBER 2 0 2 3
| Parks & Recreation
45
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF PHOENIX PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT

http://www.childwelfare.gov

September 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2023 - Parks & Recreation

September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 1
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 2
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 3
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 4
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 5
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 6
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 7
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 9
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 10
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 11
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 12
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 14
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 15
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 16
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 17
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 18
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 19
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 21
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 22
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 23
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 24
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 25
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 26
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 27
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 28
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 29
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 30
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 31
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 32
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 33
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 34
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 35
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 36
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 37
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 38
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 39
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 40
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 41
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 43
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 45
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 46
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 47
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 49
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 50
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 51
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 52
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 53
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 54
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 55
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 56
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
September 2023 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com