Impact of racism project: OnTrackNY participant & family perspectives

June 2022

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Amplify OnTrackNY project summaries provide an accessible overview of projects led by Amplify OnTrackNY, including the goals, actions taken, learnings, and next steps. 

Project overview

What is the goal of this project?

The main goal of this project is to understand how racism and discrimination impact the lives of OnTrackNY participants and family members. We also wanted to learn how people coped with these experiences, how OnTrackNY providers currently support participants, and what suggestions they have for how OnTrackNY can better address their needs. We offered both individual interviews as well as group discussions.

What has happened so far?

The Amplify OnTrackNY team interviewed 26 OnTrackNY participants, graduates, and family members of color about their experiences with racism and discrimination. In addition, they interviewed 10 OnTrackNY providers on various teams about how issues of racism and discrimination come up in care.

What's next for the project?

Amplify OnTrackNY is sharing what they have learned, including these themes and specific suggestions, with different groups like the OnTrackNY councils (Participant/Graduate, Family, and Provider Councils) and the OnTrackNY Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workgroup. 

How will this make a difference?

From these interviews, it is clear that OnTrackNY participants and families have regular experiences with racism and discrimination, and want support from their teams. The feedback and suggestions we received will be used to help improve OnTrackNY in the future.

Exploring OnTrackNY participant & family perspectives

Who was interviewed?

interviewed 14 OnTrackNY participants and graduates, as well as 12 family members about their experiences with racism and discrimination. Everyone we interviewed identified as people of color, over 60% were Black or Hispanic/Latinx. Below are some common themes that came up during the interviews.

Theme #1: Experiences of racism and discrimination

Racism and discrimination are common and occur in many places, like at school, work, or when seeking healthcare, or just being out in public areas. Personal experiences of racism and discrimination included:

• stereotypes and being made to stand out or feel different at school
• unequal treatment in work or healthcare settings
• verbal harassment or abuse in public
• targeted by law enforcement
• negative portrayals in the media

These experiences left people feeling unsafe, mistrustful, and lacking a sense of belonging.  Many also felt powerless or hopeless that racism would end in the U.S.
 

Theme #2: How participants & families cope

To deal with these experiences and their negative impact, participants and families talked about avoiding certain places, activities, or situations, such as school activities or interactions in the community, to limit their potential exposure to racism. Other coping strategies they used included:

• trying to brush off the experience to keep a positive state of mind and not stoop to the level of others
• viewing the experience as “not about me,” but as reflecting the ignorance of others
• educating themselves and others about issues of racism
• drawing strength from their racial and ethnic identities
   

Theme #3: Recommendations for OnTrackNY

Participants and families provided  several suggestions for OnTrackNY:

Resources: Participants and families want more resources on understanding racism and discrimination. They also want OnTrackNY materials in languages other than English.

Conversations: Participants and families want teams to routinely talk about racism and discrimination as part of their care.

Representation: Participants and families want more staff diversity and suggest teams hire more providers from diverse backgrounds.

Community: They also want teams to connect and partner with local communities in meaningful ways.

To learn more about this project, email amplify.otny@nyspi.columbia.edu

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