Day 8 – What Can a Staring Contest Teach Us About Systemic Oppression?

By putting students directly into scenarios where they could feel the weight of unfairness, they could more deeply understand the emotional and psychological impacts of systemic injustices.?

Hey Fam,

Thanks for stopping by.?

In our classrooms, we often pride ourselves on creating environments of learning and growth.?

But many of us (I know I do) struggle with incorporating difficult conversations about race, politics, and religion in our class lessons. This is especially true if the course is focused on something other than those topics. I work to push my edges and try creative ways to introduce the challenges of our society to my students, particularly around race and systemic oppression. In my Hip-Hop Culture and Economy course, I recently lectured on women in hip-hop, which was aligned with Women's History Month.?

The class doesn't sound like race or systemic oppression would be a lecture topic, but stay with me.?

In this lecture, I aimed to unpack this pervasive force upheld by the unspoken agreement to maintain silence. I wanted to illustrate that silence creates the ground where unfairness grows strong.

As educators, the responsibility to break this silence is ours, using the most powerful tool we have: teaching itself.

My journey into exploring this responsibility began with an unconventional exercise in my classroom aimed at revealing the invisible structures of oppression that surround us. I asked my students to participate in what appeared to be a simple game—a staring contest. Eight students from various backgrounds were asked to pair up. The rules were simple: maintain eye contact, and the first to blink loses. However, what they didn't know was that the game was rigged from the start.

Before we began the game, the students were instructed to promise to stay silent throughout (I made them each "pinky swear").

As the game began, I intentionally tapped students of color and then the female presenting students to sit down, regardless of whether they blinked. With each round, the room grew increasingly uncomfortable; a silent tension was building among the students watching their classmates. The final round left only white male presenting students standing, falsely crowned as 'winners.'?

You could feel the unease in the room, but the lesson wasn't obvious yet.?

When asked about the fairness of the game, the students unanimously observed unfair treatment. Yet, when asked further about their silence, they all said they remained silent because they were told to "pinky swear" to say nothing. Then I could see in their faces that it clicked.?

I shared with them that I used the "pinky promise" as a metaphor for the policies our society upholds daily that impact people on the margins, particularly people of color and women.?

This exercise was not about the contest itself but sparking a realization. Many of us are conditioned to remain silent in the face of systemic oppression, following societal norms and policies that maintain injustice. I told my students that this realization is the first step toward dismantling the structures of oppression that bind us.

They got it.

Hip Hop, like many aspects of our society, has a history of silencing the voices and minimizing the roles of women, reflecting wider patterns of systemic oppression. By challenging this silence in our classroom and acknowledging the overlooked contributions of women in Hip Hop, we confront the issues that have kept them in the margins. This act of recognition and reflection mirrors the broader educational responsibility to shine a light on those who have been unjustly ignored, creating a culture of equity and respect in both history and the present.

From this class experience, here's what I learned.

1- Use empathy as a teaching tool.

By putting students directly into scenarios where they could feel the weight of unfairness, they could more deeply understand the emotional and psychological impacts of systemic injustices.?

We should work to develop empathy in our students, making the abstract personal and creating a deeper connection to societal issues beyond the classroom.

2 – Give students space to reflect on their emotional discomfort.?

Encouraging students to reflect on their reactions and feelings opens a pathway to self-awareness.?

Students must recognize their positions within societal structures—whether as beneficiaries of privilege or as individuals impacted by oppression.?

Self-reflection leads to self-awareness, a critical step towards actionable change.

My hope is that by sharing my classroom experience, you will understand how a simple game can open our students' eyes to how society works and its ugly truths.

It's on us, as educators, to get creative and bring these hard conversations into our lessons, no matter what we're teaching. Let's commit to being brave and try new ways to show our students how to be aware, speak up, and create change. When we do this, we're not just teaching academics; we're helping to build a better world that's fair for everyone.

Thanks for your time today. I appreciate you.

Much Love,

Dr. Jae