Archie Bunker's Neighborhood

Archie Bunker’s Neighborhood SIETAR USA Conference Session Portland, Oregon Thursday, November 14, 2002

Agenda Things to do before the exercise begins: Section and label the floor Post the signs (Jail, Permit Amounts, Building Authority & Secretary signs) Set up the chairs for the jail Distribute money & instructions to the respective communities Give the Building Authority Secretary the Permits Give the Building Authority Manager supplies and markers

11:00am 11:10am

Group Sorting as Participants enter the room • Give the “facilitator’s” their roles to read as you give instructions to the groups. Give instructions for the group participants • Check on the “facilitator’s to make sure they understand their roles.

11:20am

BEGIN EXERCISE

11:50am

Begin Processing Questions 1. Ask the Sheriff’s what the experience was like for them, were they surprised by their own actions or statements? 2. Ask group participants what the experience was like for them. 3. Ask the Building Authority Manager and Secretary to share their experience. 4. Ask all participants how the activity made them feel. 5. Ask if this experience has any similarities to real life and if so, how? 6. Ask participants what they can do within their lives (personal and professional) to positively address issues of oppression. 7. As participants what they are taking away from this activity. 8. Ask for any additional thoughts or comments about the exercise.

12:10pm

- Walk through the Handout packet - Begin to discuss how this exercise can be applied to the work that the participants do. - When they do the presentation make sure the participants are not aware the exercise is a diversity simulation up front – only an exercise on building community

Copyright © K.M. Schingen

1

BUILDING PERMIT Name:_______________________________________________________________________ Community (Circle):

Building Desired:

White/Anglo African-American

Latino

GLBT

Asian

Jewish

Disabled Community Muslim

Church

School

Hospital

Restaurant

Entertainment

Housing

Park Business Establishment

Reason for Building: ___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Group Representative Signature _________________________________________________ Building Authority Signature ____________________________________________________

BUILDING PERMIT Name:_______________________________________________________________________ Community (Circle):

Building Desired:

White/Anglo African-American

Latino

GLBT

Asian

Jewish

Disabled Community Muslim

Church

School

Hospital

Restaurant

Entertainment

Housing

Park Business Establishment

Reason for Building: ___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Group Representative Signature _________________________________________________ Building Authority Signature ____________________________________________________


2

Facilitator Instructions for Archie Bunker’s Neighborhood This is a role-play situation. You will need to say and do things that are contrary to your value system. Try to be realistic in the comments that you make. However, be careful with your antagonistic comments. Some participants, because of their own experiences, may not have felt the impact of oppression in their daily lives. This exercise is intended to put their “feet in someone else’s shoes.” The most important part of this exercise is the process discussion at the end. It is important for the participants to feel comfortable sharing their experiences. The Leader will be facilitating the group during the processing. Please allow the participants to share their feelings; the rest of the facilitation team will probably not need to talk as much. They may, however, need to briefly explain some actions or statements they may have made. Also the rest of the team can be observing the group in case someone needs to talk one-on-one. Facilitation Roles Leader: The leader will put group tags on the participants as they enter the room. They will give a brief introduction to the exercise and ask the groups to read the instruction sheets. They will monitor the happenings in the room and record them; however, they will basically be invisible observers throughout the exercise. Another role the leader can take on is “the government.” In this role they accept petitions and paperwork from inmates and other participants. They will lead the facilitation of processing the exercise at the end. Building Authority Manager: Approve all building permits Show bias by allowing Caucasians to get all paperwork through Be sexist Show bias towards groups (i.e. differently abled people need to redo building plans for ramps and restrooms, Gay/Lesbian/BI-sexual/Transgender need hospitals because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic or churches because they “need” religion and Ethnic groups need schools last and KFC first. Secretary: Monitor who sees the Building Authority Manager Anything slightly illegible send back to have rewritten (all but Caucasians) Ask questions that are already answered on the form Be pessimistic Pass the buck “I only work here” Allow Caucasians to get ahead in line all the time Take five-minute breaks often (especially when ethnic groups are in line) Revised August 14, 2002 By K.M. Schingen


3

Social Worker: Attempt to help oppressed groups Ask people to complete forms (lots of forms) Be vague, but compassionate Listen to problems (tell them their problems are Freudian) Attribute system problems to red tape Tell people there is little you can really do to help Sheriffs: Ensure builders have permits Keep the peace Patrol the areas so that people stay within borders Ask people going to an from the Building Authority what there purpose is Ensure that troublemakers become the “representatives” of the group People who cause trouble go to jail Have the deputy’s assist in watching the jail and taking care of unruly people. Deputies: Support the sheriff Assist Sheriff in patrolling Monitor Jail Generally harass people (take bribes) Parole Officer: Monitor paroled jail inmates Talk with people as they leave jail Set unrealistic expectations for following up (i.e. check in with me five times a day) Assign ethnic groups to assist the Caucasian group (work release program in the white community)

Revised August 14, 2002 By K.M. Schingen


4


5

ARCHIE BUNKER’S NEIGHBORHOOD Purpose This activity is designed to give participants exposure to a simulated environment of bias and prejudice. Participants who have in many cases never been part of any underrepresented group are asked to take on such a role. The extreme oppressiveness of the simulated activity soon becomes an emotionally frustrating experience for participants, who get very involved in the activity. The simulation serves as instrumental ground work for the discussion that follows. Simulation Participants are divided into different groups upon entering the room. Group Identity Nametags are distributed for participants to wear that places them with a particular group. Identifiably ethnic, religious; disabled; and “out” persons from the GLBT community should be placed primarily in the group of White/Anglo people though numbers may dictate that some may need to go into other groups. It is most important to try and place people in groups that they do not personally represent. Also two or three individuals need to be selected as sheriffs. These individuals need to be issued badges to wear as identification and toy guns as weapons. Prior to anyone entering the room, the room should be arranged similar to the diagram below.

Building Auth.

Latino/Spanish Speaking Community

Secretary Table

Entrance

GLBT Community

Jail Asian Community

White/Anglo Community

African American Comm. Disabled Comm.

Jewish Comm.

This exercise is an adaptation of “Archie Bunker’s Neighborhood” By Robert M. Gonyea and Michelle Tanaka, University of San Francisco


6

All sections should be taped off on the floor to separate groups. The White/Anglo section should be visibly bigger and located closest to the conveniences of the room (e.g. windows, art, restrooms, water fountain etc). The jail should be sectioned off with chairs around the perimeter so criminals cannot escape (it should also be located closest to the Latino and African American sections). Each group area should have an instruction sheet, a stack of index cards, masking tape or scotch tape, paper clips and play money. Money should be distributed as follows: White/Anglo $75,000 and all other groups should be given amounts between $25,000 and 35,000. There should be a sign identifying the Building Authority, the Secretary and the Jail. At the Building Authority table, there should be a sign posted that lists the Permit Prices according to the following: Permit Prices Apartment/Housing Schools Churches Business Establishment Park/Recreation Places of Entertainment Hospitals Other

$10,000 $5,000 $2,500 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $7,500 Building Authority discretion

Ideally, there should be three facilitators present, one to explain the activity, one as the Building Authority Director, and one as the Secretary to the Director. As participants enter the room they should be equally divided among the groups. All areas should be small except the White/Anglo area so there should be an overcrowding effect for the under-represented groups. The Sheriffs, Deputies, Parole Officer and Social Worker should be instructed as to their role (see Facilitator’s Instructions handout). The Sheriffs should condone any actions the White/Anglo groups do and be extremely helpful with their needs. All other groups need to be closely monitored – they are not to be trusted. They need to remain in their sections, not stepping over any lines, unless given permission to do so. Treat these groups stereotypically. Asking them for bribes is perfectly acceptable especially just before allowing them to go see the building authority for permits. If these individuals get unruly, as they often do, do not hesitate to place them in jail. At times these groups want to remove tape from the borders – this is not to be allowed these groups may be even harder to control in larger numbers. You can permit the White/Anglo group to do charity work by hiring individuals from the “less fortunate” groups to do building for them or to allow them to take prisoners for early parole and assist them in getting their lives back together. The Sheriffs should use their own discretion in monitoring the activities of the groups. Approximately four individuals should be assigned to each group for the activity. The facilitator should have people read the instructions first. Then he/she should indicate that one person should be selected as the representative for the group to seek building permits. This person is the only individual that should leave the groups area (of course the White/Anglo group would be


7

allowed certain privileges in regards to this). The groups need to decide how they are going to build and then proceed to the Building Authority’s office to secure a permit. People need to be aware that there may be some obstacles to building at time (natural disasters). Identify the Sheriffs so that the groups understand who are the city enforcers. Explain that their task is to build the perfect community for their group’s people, and the leader of the exercise will choose the best community. They should not be told this is a diversity simulation, only a simulation on building community. Tell them to have fun and then let them go to it! As individuals proceed to the Building Authority’s Office, Sheriffs can secure bribes as can the office itself (in the guise of processing fees) from the under-represented groups. The secretary should always wait on White/Anglo’s first and everyone else later. Under-represented groups should be asked to sit and wait and then should have them fill out the lengthy permit application. White/Anglo’s probably would not need to complete the form as they are known by the Building Authority and have relatives in the mayor’s office. Credit can easily be extended to the White/Anglo group for additional building as they have a credit history. Under-represented groups would not be allowed credit. They should apply for a loan through the secretary and have to do nothing short of giving up their first born for collateral. The African American group should be encouraged to build a Kentucky Fried Chicken since they really like Chicken, The Latino’s should open a dance school to teach those sexy Latin dances, the GLBT community needs hospitals and churches since they’re dying from AIDS etc. I’m sure you get it by now. Generally the White/Anglo community should be given a lot of freedom to build and the other groups should be way behind in their community development. Processing Allow 15-20 minutes for processing the activity. Some of the following question could be asked to get the ball rolling: • • • • • • Time

Ask the Sheriff’s what the experience was like for them. Were they surprised by their own actions? Ask individuals from the under-represented and the White/Anglo group what the experience was like for them. Ask individuals how the activity made them feel. Ask participants if this experience has any similarities to real life and if so, how? Ask participants what they can do within their lives (personal & professional) to positively address issues of oppression. Ask participants what they are taking away from this activity. Basic Requirements 1 hour • 10 minutes for group assignments and briefing • 30 minutes for the simulation • 20 minutes for the debriefing


8

Players

6 - 200 (The best game involves 25 – 50 players) • If you separate the groups into three classes (upper, middle and lower) instead of ethnic and cultural groups, you can go as few as 6

Handouts

Each group receives an instruction Sheet, money and supplies (paperclips, index cards and tape)

Equipment

A role of Duct or Masking tape to section the floor • Two tables or one 6 foot table for the Building Authority and Secretary • Signs for the Building Authority, Jail, Secretary and Permit Prices • A “Back in 5 Minutes” sign for the secretary • A whistle and a timer

HAVE FUN AND HAPPY COMMUNITY BUILDING!

This exercise is an adaptation of “Archie Bunker’s Neighborhood” By Robert M. Gonyea and Michelle Tanaka, University of San Francisco


9