ABSTRACT
This essay is organized around an art exercise developed by Lawrence (1998) to illustrate the thorny concept of structural injustice as discussed by McIntosh (1988). I add to the structural analysis a discussion of how individually held cognitive biases interact with and perpetuate structural levels of injustice. I weave together the structural and cognitive processes using a relatively new framework called Peace Literacy (Chappell, 2017). For Chappell, peace requires not only an accurate understanding of structural injustice and cognitive biases, but also an accurate understanding of our shared psychological needs, such as self-worth and belonging, and of the ways that injustice and bias mask our ability to see those needs in others. Peace also involves a skillset–new habits that we all need to practice to effectively dismantle structural injustice. Finally, peace requires the development of capacities like empathy, conscience, imagination, and hope that make those new habits and skills more effective. Taken together, Peace Literacy provides teachers and students with the strategic understanding, skills, and capacities needed to learn about and work to dismantle structural injustice.
