Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds
Welcome to the Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast—an inclusive space for educators, DEI practitioners, and all individuals eager to foster diversity and understanding! If you're seeking a vibrant, authentic podcast to guide you in implementing Multicultural Education, look no further. Are you yearning for inspiration to cultivate a truly inclusive classroom community? Join us on a journey filled with insightful resources, practical tips, and a touch of humor, all led by the knowledgeable educator, Jebeh Edmunds.
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Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds
Season 5 Episode #22 I Made My Own TED Talk!
Ever wondered how a simple question about a name can reveal deep-seated cultural biases? Join me as I recount a surprising encounter with a hiring manager that sparked a deeper understanding of cultural competency. Through personal stories and real-life examples, this episode explores the profound impact of language and microaggressions. You'll gain insight into why continual learning and unlearning are crucial for us to become culturally competent leaders, and how my multicultural background fuels my mission to foster respect and inclusivity.
Reflecting on our actions and their effects on others is a powerful tool for change. By tuning in, you'll learn about the importance of self-reflection and the collective effort needed to promote a truly inclusive environment. We'll discuss how sharing personal narratives and understanding the significance of names can build connections and mutual understanding. This episode is a call to action for building a community where everyone feels seen, valued, and heard. Don't miss out on practical strategies you can implement in your daily life to contribute to a more inclusive world.
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I have my TED Talk style presentation that I created for myself to apply for the real TED Talk and TEDx platforms. I am so excited. I've been planning this for six months and the day has finally come. So buckle up.
Speaker 2:Here we go. Hello, my name is Jebe and some people outside of my culture find my name offensive, uncomfortable and downright confusing. It got to the point where I had a hiring manager at an interview that looked at me and looked at my name and said what's a Jebe? Now I want you to imagine a time when someone said something to you that was offensive or insensitive. You could feel your pulse racing, your you know your stomach in knots and you can also see and feel hurt. So imagine how I might have felt when I had that question to me, how I might have felt when I had that question to me. So the word, what's the sentence, what's a Jeba? Still makes me feel that they don't know my whole story, my whole journey and I'm not going to show you what Jeba is, but who Jeba is.
Speaker 2:I have been on this multicultural educational journey my whole life. I am a multicultural educator, a strategist, a businesswoman. I have my own cultural consulting firm and it has been my lifelong mission to share and teach and educate on what it really means to be culturally competent. Now, when we have been in situations before and you've shared something with somebody and it got lost in translation. So, for example, the American phrase of we're going to table that discussion in our lens means we're going to table that discussion at a later time, but that same phrase spoken in Great Britain means we're going to have this discussion right now. There's so many intercultural misunderstandings that happen to us every day, and trying to understand and learn both the historical and the social context of things will really make us in a more positive community. So I'm going to share with you some really interesting goals and strategies that you can use in order to keep moving forward.
Speaker 2:So what is cultural competency? Well, cultural competency is the study and learnings of people of all different cultures. We all know that people exist in all walks of life, but the understanding of our behavior and our language and honoring each person's behavior and language really makes us go far. Cultural competency is not tolerance, it's the expectation of respect and value. A lot of us, when we're talking about this movement, is thinking that if we can push things under the rug, that that's the reason why we're here today. But that's not the case. Cultural incompetence, on the other hand, is the lack of understanding of people from various backgrounds and the lack of even wanting to learn. So the question what's a Jebe.
Speaker 2:My name has had many layers of my own diverse story. I was named by my Liberian parents, emmett and Bai. We emigrated to the United States in 1982 and I was named in honor of my aunt, chief Jebe of the Vi people. When you have your name, it has a story and a lot of our stories are connected with our names from the perspectives of your area and also through time. As you see, how does a name connect us through time? Let's take, for example, our traditional American names. You can go back decades to kind of understand the context clues of where people were born and what groups of people that they belong to. So with my name, jebette has that story through time of my aunt, who was the chief that ruled our people for over 20 years and got that name bestowed upon me when I took my first steps onto her land, when they were saying Jebe. That's when I knew that this was something in me to share, being an educator for nearly 20 years.
Speaker 2:A lot of us think about our words that have power and our words that can elicit pain or joy. Language matters the reason why we are here today and wondering when things come around and see how our names can elicit that same amount of power and pride. It also shows us that we need to be careful with our language and our words so we are preventing further harm. When we prevent this harm, we need to also recognize that we are going to slip and make some mistakes. We are going to have those microaggressions and the examples of microaggressions that do inflict harm with our colleagues and our neighbors.
Speaker 2:You might be familiar with some of these. You're so articulate. Are you sure that you're qualified for this position? You changed your hair. Can I touch your hair Now? Some of you might be a little confused about saying that as a microaggression. Some of you might have felt that you might have said that to somebody before. But let me break it down to you as a black woman. In our society, black women have to conform to these societal norms and outdated office policies. So when somebody approaches somebody that looks like me in the workforce and commenting on my hair, it's very invasive. And commenting on my hair, it's very invasive and it also shows me by saying, oh, you're so articulate to know the context of that in my lens to say, wow, your eloquence is an exception rather than the standard. So, taking the time to learn and relearn and unlearn and disrupt will really make you that culturally competent leader. Why that is is because of our own biases, our own prejudgments of other people. It's human to judge people without knowing them first and foremost. But taking the time and stepping back to learn and figure out what is the best way to make people like Jebe feel more comfortable.
Speaker 2:I met my husband in UMD and, just like other couples, we had hopes and aspirations and blended a wonderful life together. We come from two different cultural groups and that understanding has helped us learn from each other. So when we were newly married, starting out into the workforce, he had his path to go on to the professional world and my path sort of diverged when he got offerings to his corporate jobs. And I got my offerings seemed to be more of a debate. My name on my resume was confusing, my qualifications on my resume was questioned, down to the fact where it was questioned of my name, my gender and my cultural background. So why is that? Why are people still trying to figure out, because of people with ethnic names and ethnic sounding names, that why we still aren't as diverse as we should be in the workforce? We don't focus enough on cultural competency. In this country, we focus on the mainstream societal norms and anything different is either dismissed or ignored. Did you know that 50% of ethnic sounding names on resumes are rejected? And that's why our mirror has been in our culture of people working in the workforce.
Speaker 2:It is time to now embrace diversity for who it is and meet people for where they are. So what can we do to become culturally competent? First and foremost, listen Actively. Listen to your BIPOC colleague and friend. It is not your job to insert your questions. Let them share what they're comfortable with you. Also, I want you to learn Research, look at the context of our historical atrocities and our social misgivings. That way, you'll be more equipped to understand your BIPOC friend and their worldview.
Speaker 2:And then I want you to pause and reflect. I want you to ask yourself questions of you know, did I make Jeba feel seen in this space? Did I make her feel that she belonged? Oh, you know, maybe that comment is not something that is healthy for her. That's the types of things I want you to reflect on Now. This space of cultural competency is a work in progress. This isn't a flavor of the month, it's a movement, and the more that we are working together as a people to promote positive change is exactly what we'll need to do to go further. So when you come across somebody that says what's a Jebed, you will have that invitation to share your own cultural narratives and stories and listen to them and how they got their name and the power of the connection that they have, which will also, in turn, lead you to share your own understandings and also learn from theirs. Thank you,