I Committed a Racial Microaggression, Now What?

An Introduction to CPR: The Racial Microaggressions Reparative Response Model

Abstract

Researchers, educators, counselors, and other service providers use microaggression frameworks to describe the subtle, individual, verbal, and non-verbal messages that are intentionally or unintentionally communicated to marginalized individuals, such as Black, Brown, Indigenous (BBI), lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer communities (LGBQ), and transgender people. As research into the phenomenon of microaggressions continues to expand, there is a growing need for effective tools and interventions to decrease the likelihood of committing a microaggression, and foster repair to promote healing and reduce ongoing harm. The following article includes a brief review of the racial microaggressions literature, an account of ongoing barriers to reducing racial microaggressions and introduces the foundational components of a newly developed tool – a microaggression response model called “CPR: The Racial Microaggressions Reparative Response Model” (the CPR model).