Targets & agents: Exploring Our Role in Oppression

In her book Beyond Inclusion, Beyond, Empowerment, I like how Leticia Nieto and her colleagues present that each of us is a combination of “agent” and “target”, all the time. These terms feel more nuanced and approachable to me than “oppressors” and “oppressed”, and I like the self-reflection the terms evoke in workshop and caucus participants.

I recommend the questions and exercises the authors suggest for exploring these roles and feel more clear about the ways I am both, in different balances, at different times.

The book has many, many other useful concepts, engaging suggestions, and evocative insights in the realm of anti-oppression, anti-racism, and liberatory pursuits.

April 2023 Back to Blog Home

Get recommendations like this each month by signing up for my newsletter.