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Dr. Caprice Hollins: Uncensored and Undaunted
By Kevin P. Henry

Talking with Dr. Caprice Hollins, one would never think she was once banned from the radio. Well, actually, an interview conducted by a local radio station earlier this year with the 39-year-old native of Seattle never aired. She thinks she knows the reason why.

“I guess they didn’t feel their listeners wanted to hear what I had to say,” she says.
It is hard to imagine the congenial Hollins saying anything that would be too hot for radio, especially given the media's craving for controversy. Hollins' almost casual, nonthreatening demeanor does work in her favor in a job where her words must sink in and influence people.

This can be particularly challenging when you are trying to educate people about the sticky subject of racism.

In the last four years, the Seattle public schools have become more diverse. White students now make up 40.7 percent of the total students, while Asians make up 23 percent, African Americans 22.8 percent, Latinos 11.2 percent and Native Americans 2 .3 percent. The district currently has 3,308 teachers and 8,443 total employees.

Today, Hollins is dressed casually, perched in her office at the John Stanford building in South Seattle. Since 2004, she has been the director of equity and race relations for the Seattle Public School District. She is responsible for developing ways to create systemic change within the schools and, in the process, addressing institutionalized racism. One focus is on increasing cultural competence of all staff on all levels of the district. This includes getting white teachers and administrators to examine and recognize the effects of their own “white privilege.”

Hollins certainly has the background to qualify for this mission. A licensed clinical psychologist, before her current appointment, she worked as an independent contractor at the African American Academy, a K-8 school in Seattle, providing individual, family and group services to students, parents, families and staff. She is a graduate of Franklin High School in Seattle with a B.A. from Seattle University and an M.A. and PsyD from Alliant International University – Los Angeles. She is also biracial and has a wealth of first-hand experience with racism.
Hollins clearly has a passion for her job, and when queried, responds with well thought out answers, often punctuating them with humor, while revealing a range of emotions.

She has her work cut out for her though. As city demographics continue to become more diverse on cultural, racial, socioeconomic and religious levels, the need for culturally relevant professional development in the school district increases. Diversity trainers will tell you that institutions should reflect the community they serve, and when issues are not resolved, often this creates friction, and sometimes lawsuits.

In the Seattle Public School District, there are 10 high schools, 10 middle schools, 62 elementary schools, and 22 alternative schools and special programs. There are approximately 44,000 students attending each year. Hollins recognizes there are many internal reasons contributing to tension between students and teachers, among staff and between staff and community. For example, in the last two years, there have been several lawsuits from parents and families who felt their children were disciplined unfairly due to racism, and there have been glaring gaps in achievement test scores between white and minority students. There are many opinions about the test scores, including that teachers are not culturally equipped to understand and effectively teach minority students.

Is racism another cause? And just what is cultural competency and institutionalized racism?
Hollins offers her definition, adapting the basic theories of Derwald Sue and David Sue, two Chinese-American psychologists. She describes a culturally competent professional as one who is actively in the process of becoming aware of his or her own assumptions about human behavior, values, biases, preconceived notions and personal limitations.

When it comes to institutionalized racism, Hollins likes the definition attributed to the book, Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (1997 ed. Adams, Bell & Griffin). According to that definition, “There is a network of institutional structures, policies and practices that create advantages and benefits for whites, and discrimination, oppression and disadvantages for people from targeted racial groups. The advantages created for whites are often invisible to them, or are considered ‘rights’ available to everyone as opposed to ‘privileges’ awarded to only some individuals or groups.”

Although many in the school district would like to think racial issues are sporadic and minor, Hollins feels teachers and administrators do not always accurately view and appropriately interact with students of color. In addition, she says, bringing in culturally relevant instructional materials would also allow students of color to see themselves reflected in a positive way throughout history and in proper context.

“We need to see ourselves (people of color) reflected accurately; if not, we are reinforcing institutionalized racism,” she says. “We don’t want to send students of color the message that the only way you can be successful is by being a rapper or an athlete – role models are important. Our students need to see themselves in positive diverse roles – roles that honor who they truly are. They also need to learn their history from the diverse perspectives of different groups, within context, not just from a dominant Eurocentric perspective.”

Another issue facing teachers and administrators involves cross-cultural communications. Many children in the school district have parents and families who are immigrants and who have cultural traits that are different than American cultural norms. Teachers need to ask questions like: how do Vietnamese parents feel about coming into the classroom and interacting with the teacher? Language barriers also contribute to miscommunication and frustration on the part of parents, families, administrators and teachers.

But while cultural education is a valid cause, not all teachers are enthusiastic about exploring these sensitive issues.

Many teachers attended a recent “Courageous Conversations” session where they talked about and wrestled with the subject of race and culture. These conversation groups are growing in popularity and are designed to create a safe zone for people to examine their biases and share their experiences. These events are designed to plant the seeds of unity, and in the process rip away the façade of political correctness.

The feedback for this event was mostly positive, says Hollins, but some comments were indicative of the kind of resistance present in some corners of the district.

“One angry teacher wrote in an evaluation that she treats all students the same, regardless of their color,” says Hollins. “And that is the problem – people want to remain color blind and think they’re doing the right thing. When people say they don’t see color, then they don’t see me.”
So symptoms of color blindness include avoiding conversations about race, and not acknowledging racial and ethnic differences.

Nevertheless, Hollins says an enormous number of people are open to “doing this work.”
Doing the work though means stripping away the layers of political correctness, a sometimes cathartic, albeit emotionally draining, and even frightening process. Many companies and institutions want the quick diversity fix: a two- or three-hour workshop once a year. Like a flu shot, they can then assume they are covered for the year.

“This is lifelong work. It requires that we look at ourselves,” says Hollins. “We often see ourselves as kind, loving, caring people but we define that as not seeing people as different, and saying things like ‘I don't notice the color of your skin.’ We must see people in all of who they are. If you are a black man, I need to see you as a black man, but that also means a white person must deal with their own stereotypes and fears about black men. Then they can have an authentic relationship.”

And while many people are willing to explore themselves and others as racial beings, there are still people who superficially interact socially on the job and then go home to their real comfort zone, living with neighbors and friends who look and think like them. Until there is an incident, or in some cases a lawsuit, people and organizations often do not worry about race relations.

“Many white people can think their daily conversations with people are great, but have no idea of the ways in which they have inadvertently offended a person of color,” says Hollins. “If people are really willing to do this work, they have to hear what I am telling my husband, willing to hear about my pain. They have to be willing to go deeper. As a white person, you have to show me you are willing to hear me despite your discomfort. We are a society that doesn’t like to be uncomfortable.”

Completely willing to reveal her vulnerability, she has made an indelible impression on students at Mars Hills Graduate Seminary School in Bothell where she taught a course on Social and Cultural Foundations from 2001 to 2004. This course examined how psychology students could learn how cultural differences can impact the theory and clinical practice of psychology.

One of her former students, Erika Baxter, says of Hollins: “She is not afraid to be vulnerable with her students and she is not afraid of people’s emotions. I have seen her cry freely in front of a group of students, and it didn’t matter if there were eight or 80 people in the room.”

Growing up biracial in Seattle, Hollins recalls the jarring reality of racism as a child. Her father is black, and her mother is white. Her mother always emphasized loving people for who they were despite their differences. However, as Hollins grew older, she felt the sting of racism. Other kids would say cruel things to her, and there were even times when her mother, while trying to rent an apartment, would not bring her and her younger sister along to an interview with a white landlord for fear she would be discriminated against and not get the apartment.

Today, society continues to avoid addressing differences, preferring to embrace the “melting pot” concept. However, it is time, Hollins says, that “we all look at how we have been socialized to not talk about race. Talking about race means we value and honor the diversity that exists within our society.

“We must start with ourselves and teach our very young children to see race differently than what we were taught – teach them to view the world through a racial lens.”

Although Hollins admits to feeling emotionally tired at times, she relishes the significance of her work, and her passion for it has only increased over the years.

The most satisfying aspect of her job?

“When I see other people going through the same process I did of understanding themselves and others as racial beings, and then beginning to make sense of their experience. Then seeing them find the words to express their current and past experiences and knowing that I had something to do with it.”

Kevin P. Henry has been the cultural diversity coordinator for the City of Bellevue since 1994, producing cultural events and education workshops. He is also the host of Voices of Diversity, on KBCS-FM, 91.3.

©2005 Caliope Publishing Company