Over the next several months I will be teaching classes on the concepts of equity and inclusion in their relation to living history re-enactment for medievalists in general and for the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) specifically.
In our mission statement we declare that SCA is “devoted to the research and recreation of pre-17th-century skills, art, combat, culture..”
Everyone who wants to take part in this mission is welcome in the SCA. We codify the behavior we expect of all participants in our Core Values:
In pursuing its mission, the SCA is committed to excellence in its programs, communications and activities and to
∙ act in accordance with the chivalric virtues of honor and service;
∙ value and respect the worth and dignity of all individuals;
∙ practice inclusiveness and respect pluralism and diversity;
∙ promote a safe and respectful environment for all SCA events;
∙ act with transparency, fairness, integrity and honesty;
∙ be a responsible steward of SCA resources; and,
∙ be committed to maintaining the trust of its members and participants.
It is the expectation of the SCA that its members and participants, in all events and activities of the SCA, will conduct themselves in accordance with these tenets.“
You’ll notice that we expect our participants to act in accordance with chivalric virtues. The list goes on to include valuing all individuals, practicing inclusiveness, respecting diversity, acting with fairness, and maintaining trust as requirements for participants. In the classes listed below we will cover the concepts of equity and inclusion as they relate to chivalric virtues and upholding our Core Values. The 101 class gives a foundation of concept definitions, examples of behavior that we do not welcome at our events and activities, and techniques for interrupting those behaviors for the benefit of all. The 102 class covers policies on conduct and includes a discussion of the culture we allow in our organization and a module to practice skills that promote equity and inclusion.
Classes
- Equity & Inclusion 101: DEI in the SCA (1 hour course) – Introduction to the concepts of equity and inclusion from an SCA perspective. Learn the terminology of applied courtesy, build skills to promote SCA Core Values, and practice interrupting bias to ensure chivalric virtue in our organization. 101 Class PDF link
- Equity & Inclusion 102: Honoring SCA Core Values (1 hour course) – Learn policy implementation for addressing inequity and exclusion, review the responsibilities of officers and participants, and develop skills to promote SCA Core Values. 102 Class PDF link
The SCA Webpages on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are located here: https://www.sca.org/officers/DEI/definitions.html
Concepts
Inclusivity done right denotes welcoming and valuing diversity amongst participants and cultivating a culture of communal respect, involvement, connection, and engagement —an environment where the wealth of backgrounds and perspectives are appreciated and embraced.
Equity in the SCA is about more than everyone being treated as equal. It is about each of us getting what we need to contribute and succeed in our organization —access to opportunity, networks, resources, and supports— based on where we are on our personal paths and what we want to do in the SCA.
Diversity is the presence of difference. In the SCA it refers to a diversity of identities that have received (and still receive) systematic discriminatory treatment, and create advantages and barriers to opportunity and resources. We want everyone who joins us to study history to be able to without bullying harassment, hate speech, or discriminatory treatment.
These concepts are discussed in detail on the DEI webpages at https://sca.org/officers/DEI/index.html
The first Interim SCA DEI Officer report (containing goals and initial steps) is included in the 2019 April President’s report at http://socsen.sca.org/presidents-report-for-the-april-2019-board-meeting/
Sources
- AAC&U. Inclusive Excellence and the Standards. https://forumea.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Inclusive-Excellence-ForumSeattleWorkingGroupUpdate.pdf
- Damon Williams. Strategic Diversity Leadership. 2013
- Greenhill Article at https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/greenhill-school-photo-project-combats-subtle-racism-sexism-and-other-microaggressions-7136513
- Ingroup Favoritism article at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4327620/#s1title
- LinkedIn. “Autism Hiring Initiatives and the Importance of Workplace Inclusion”. Accessed on 5-19-2019 at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/autism-hiring-initiatives-importance-workplace-inclusion-ciampi/
- SafeZone training toolkit by Meg Bolger
- SHRM article on subtle bias at https://blog.shrm.org/blog/subtle-bias-micro-inequities- and-macro-inequities
- Stanford Social Innovation Review. “What the heck does equity mean?”. Accessed on 5-14-2019 at https://ssir.org/articles/entry/what_the_heck_does_equity_mean
- Training Toolkit USC: A guide to discussing identity, power, and privilege
- Verna Myers. Moving Diversity Forward: How to go from well-meaning to well-doing. 2011.
- Verna Myers on overcoming bias at https://www.ted.com/talks/verna_myers_how_to_overcome_our_biases_walk_boldly_toward_them?language=en
La Bella Donna 
Reblogged this on An Itinerant Scribe.