The call for social justice now resonates strongly within our communities. The clarion call is also widespread, from not just one group or another, but from many who have felt the chill of neglect or experienced a life limited by mistreatment.
This rise in concern for greater justice is connected to our newer levels of visibility into more corners of our world through the influences of social media and the prevalence of smartphones. As people become more interconnected, our definition of diversity expands as does the discourse addressing social inequity or inequality specific to race, gender, sexuality, religion, and other oppressed groups. In a way, our interconnectedness brings to light our injustices. The issue then becomes how do we address them?
As a licensed social worker and pastor, I believe we can achieve the greatest success in creating social justice change by learning the meaning and practice of cultural humility.
There is an old misnomer that attaining knowledge about a specific culture, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation will make one an expert, and that expert knowledge can be a transformative catalyst in how we react to others who differ from us. However, emerging research supports a more complicated picture: that knowledge attainment by itself is not enough and can often even lead to the development of assumptions and stereotypes. That is simply counter-productive.
To address our social justice issues, it is critical that we move beyond sympathetic responses and practice deeper, transformative empathy. We must transcend from cultural competence, or the “knowing of another,” and strive to practice cultural humility, or the “experiencing another.”
Experts such as social-work educator Peter V. Nguyen and his fellow researchers define cultural humility as an understanding of potential blind spots that can interfere with other-oriented perspectives. In a sense, cultural humility triggers a paradigm shift from awareness to experience; from thinking to being; and from externalization to internalization. While awareness prompts us to become sympathetic to the plight and oppression of others, it is empathy that touches the heart.
The awareness of inequity or inequality allows for one to step into the shared space of emotional connectedness. Affective empathy elicits a compassion that believes it is no longer a “they” problem, it becomes an “us” problem as we are all created in the image of God.
It is through humility, we experience humanity. It is in our humanity, that we can practice the precepts found in Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; patient and bearing with one another in love.”
3 Ways to Foster Cultural Humility
- Cultural humility requires continual self-reflection and bias assessment. Authentic self-examination is key to identifying how worldviews and behaviors are shaped by biases and highlights assumptions that lead to oppressive behaviors toward others.
- Embrace the paradigm shift from self- to others-oriented. Courageously practice diversity awareness, as this is the first step toward encounters and is required to generate new experiences.
- Practice empathic action, which further allows for the co-creating of experiences. Commit to stepping into the space of shared emotional connectedness and exchange compassion and togetherness. We must remember that it is not always about fixing, solving, or offering advice, but the intentional act of being vulnerable in the shared experience and crafting a unifying response that honors humanity as a whole.
Whether this is your first or 15th year as a Saint Leo alumnus or alumna, I challenge you to get connected and get involved. There are a number of ways to meet this challenge. Join an alumni chapter in your area, come to campus for homecoming weekend, suggest Saint Leo to a prospective student, or be a part of the conversations on the alumni social media channels from the comfort of your home. With more than 95,000 alumni worldwide, the Saint Leo alumni community is a network worth your time.
The Saint Leo Career Services office can be a resource to alumni well beyond graduation, helping you find new opportunities and connecting you with fellow Lions:
Dr. Douglas M. “Doug” Astolfi, professor emeritus of history, passed away on June 14, 2018, at his home. He was 75 and had been ill with kidney cancer. He joined Saint Leo in 1997 as vice president of academic affairs, following a progression of administrative and teaching positions at other institutions.
In July, your Alumni Engagement & Sustained Giving team hit the road with the return of the Coming Home to You Tour. With stops in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Hampton, VA, alumni and students had a chance to network and have fun.
Saint Leo has made its mark in New York City and Tampa—what cities will be next? Alumni chapters provide a great opportunity for Saint Leo alumni to come together to network, help spread the word to potential new students, complete community service projects, and have fun—all in their own backyards. To find out how to start an alumni chapter in your area, visit 
Do you have a unique, special, or just plain wonderful pet? Please send us your photos (high-resolution, print quality if possible) for possible inclusion in an upcoming issue of Spirit magazine. Dogs, cats, pigs, horses, iguanas, parakeets, and more—all are welcome! Be sure to supply: your name and class year, the pet’s name and breed, and what makes your pet great. Send to news@saintleo.edu, subject line: Saint Leo Pets
Marc Newberry, a University Campus rising junior who was majoring in management, passed away on April 28, following a boating accident near his home in Naples, FL. Marc was well known in his hometown for his talents as a high school football player. The Naples community remembers him as “the man with the hard hit and the big heart.” Regarding the accident, Marc’s father, John Newberry, explained, “He died doing what he loved to do, and that’s out and about having fun with his friends.”
Roberta Frazier Wright, a business administration student at the Savannah Education Center, passed away on March 23. She had been a Saint Leo student since summer 2015. Her daughter, Malaysha Hall, also is a Savannah Education Center student.
Griffin Clark, 21, a sophomore criminal justice major and member of the men’s golf team, passed away on July 4. He was involved in a car accident near his home in Chesterfield County, VA. Griffin helped lead the golf team to its recent NCAA Division II National Championship, in Denver, CO, playing in the final match-play pairing against Chico State (CA) and winning by three strokes.
Frederick “Fred” William Colby Sr. ’84, registrar emeritus, passed away on July 7. A decorated veteran of the U.S. Navy, he served from 1952 to 1979, including tours of duty in Singapore and Tokyo, as a Naval intelligence specialist. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Saint Leo College and was a member of the Saint Leo staff for 24 years, retiring as registrar.
Dr. Diane Johnson passed away on May 10. She was an assistant director of the Center for Online Learning from 2005 to 2014. After retiring from that administrative role, she continued to teach as an online adjunct professor. She is remembered for being supportive of Saint Leo’s students and guiding them through their educational development.
On May 20, Dr. Kurt Van Wilt passed away at his home. A humble and devoted English professor, he dedicated his life to the education of Saint Leo University’s students, to their spiritual and intellectual growth and development. A respected poet, he was the master of the sonnet, a form that appeals to the kind of artisan who enjoys the rigor of structure, the triumphs achieved through simplicity. An expert in comparative mysticism and Native American literature, he authored three critically praised books for Millichap Books. He was also a co-founder of The Sandhill Review literary arts magazine, The Lightning Key Review electronic journal, and The Green Rabbit chapbook series.
Dr. Teresa Harrell, instructor of speech and senior academic advisor at the Langley Education Office, passed away June 26.
Dr. Scott R. Homan, associate professor of management at the Savannah Education Center, passed away on June 23. He graduated from Purdue University in 1988 with his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and supervision; he earned his master’s degree in the same discipline the following year. After a stint at Anderson Consulting in Chicago, he decided to pursue his love of teaching and completed his doctorate degree from Texas A&M University. He joined Saint Leo in Spring 2013 and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in business management.
John “Jack” Reynolds, who served on the Saint Leo Board of Trustees from 1990 to 2012, passed away on April 17. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University at night and his Master of Business Administration at the Stern School of New York University (also at night) and attended the advanced management program at Dartmouth College. He was employed for 10 years by W. R. Grace and for many years by ITT, rising to the position of corporate vice president and division president. He was a trustee emeritus at the time of his death.
Walt Riddle, retired Saint Leo University and Sunshine State Conference (SSC) publicist, passed away on May 7 after a lengthy illness. Celebrated as a gifted writer and a transformational figure for both Saint Leo University athletics and the SSC, Riddle first came to Saint Leo’s University Campus in 1989 as the sports information director and special events coordinator. The following year, he assumed the duties of SSC assistant commissioner and sports information director, and helped the conference establish its first central office. Under Riddle’s guidance, the SSC developed one of the nation’s largest NCAA Division II television packages.
Dr. Burt Rosenbaum, for nine years an adjunct professor at Saint Leo College, passed away on March 30. After graduating from the College of the City of New York with a degree in mechanical engineering, he began his career at NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), which became NASA, and published about 30 applied mathematics research papers with emphasis on statistics. Several of his papers contributed to NASA’s successful Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, for which he received the Apollo Achievement Award.
