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CROSSING  THE  LINE:    POWER  &  PRIVILEGE  ACTIVITY  

Facilitator’s  Guide  

Purpose  of  this  Guide    This  Facilitator’s  Guide  was  designed  with  youth  mentoring  practitioners  in  mind.  

Practitioners  can  use  this  guide  to  support  staff, mentors,  volunteers,  and youth  in  learning  about  power  and  privilege.  In  order  to  offer  an  effective  mentoring  program  for  youth  facing  barriers  to  success,  it  is  important  to  empathize  with  their  experiences  of  disempowerment  while  also  

acknowledging  and  appreciating  the  role  a  leader’s  power  and  privilege  plays  in  the  mentoring  intervention.  This  guide  will  offer  step-by-step  instructions  on  how  to  implement  the  activity  and  

how  to  debrief  with  participants.  

This  document  was  prepared  in February  2016  by  Vanessa  Chase,  MCA,  and  Melanie  Bania,  PhD,  as  research  consultants  for  the  Ontario  Mentoring  Coalition.  This  document  and  other  affiliated  

documents  were  developed  for  the  Mentoring  Resource  Development  Project  funded  by  the  Ontario  Ministry  of  Children  and  Youth  Services.    

www.ontariomentoringcoalition.ca  

• Support  participants  in  reflecting  upon  theirexperiences  with  feelingempowered/disempowered.

• Help  participants  empathize  with  youth  theywork  with  who  face  barriers  to  success.

• Allow  participants  to  brainstorm  ways  toreduce  their  power  and  encourage  areciprocal  relationship  with  youth.

• Help  participants  connect  with  one  anotherand  build  rapport.

Objectives   Desired  Outcomes  • Participants  have  a  greater  appreciation  for

the  experiences  of  marginalization  that  youthmay  face.

• Participants  understand  how  experiences  ofmarginalization  may  affect  how  youth  engagein  a  mentoring  program.

• Participants  understand  how  their  power  andprivilege  can  impact  a  mentoring  relationshipwith  youth.

Effective  Mentoring  for  ‘High-­‐Risk’  Youth   Ontario  Mentoring  Coalition  

This document was prepared February  2016 by  Vanessa Chase, MCA, and Melanie Bania, PhD, as research consultants forthe Ontario Mentoring Coalition. This document and other affiliated documents were developed for the Ontario Ministry of

Children and Youth Services  – Mentoring Resource Development Project.

www.ontariomentoringcoalition.ca

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Logistics  Materials  Needed:  

For  this  activity,  you  will  need  the  list  of  Crossing  the  Line  statements  and  the  debrief  questions.  

Time  Needed:  

You  will  need  15-­‐20  minutes  for  the  activity  and  the  debrief.  

Room  Setup:  

The  location  must  have  enough  space  for  all  participants  to  line  up  side-­‐by-­‐side  and  they  have  room  to  walk  backward  and  forward.  This  is  very  important,  as  the  participants  must  begin  the  activity  on  a  level  playing  field.  

Facilitator  Instructions  1. Introductions

• Introduce  facilitators  and  welcome  participants.• Outline  the  objectives  of  the  activity.• Explain  that  power  is  basically  “the  ability  to  get  what  you

want”.1  This  means  that  folks  who  have  power  are  thosethat  have  limited  barriers  to  achieving  success  and  are  thusmore  privileged.  For  example,  in  a  school  setting,  adultshave  more  power  in  that  setting  to  make  decisions  andlead.

• Then,  ask  participants  to  reflect  on  experiences  they  havehad  where  they  felt  powerful  or  times  they  did  not  feelthey  have  any  power.

2. Crossing  the  Line  Activity• Ask  participants  to  line  up  across  the  floor  side  by  side  in

one  line  and  hold  hands  with  the  person  next  to  them.  Askthem  to  remain  silent  during  the  activity.

• Tell  them  that  during  the  activity  you  will  ask  a  series  ofquestions  and  then  they  will  follow  the  instructions  tostep  forward  or  back.  Ask  them  to  hold  on  to  the  hands  ofthose  beside  them  for  as  long  as  possible.

• Tell  the  participants  that  the  questions  will  be  verypersonal  and  may  make  them  uncomfortable.  Tell  themthat  they  do  not  have  to  move  for  any  of  the  statementsand  they  do  not  have  to  “out”  themselves.

• Remind  them  that  anything  they  learnabout  other  participants  must  remainconfidential.

• Ask  them  to  also  remember  how  they  feltin  the  activity  as  this  will  be  used  for  thedebrief.

• Note  that  if  there  should  not  be  anyobservers  in  the  room  as  the  informationcan  be  very  sensitive  and  requires  mutualvulnerability  amongst  participants.  Ifindividuals  are  not  interested  inparticipating,  you  may  ask  the  group  if  itis  ok  for  them  to  stay  or  ask  them  to  stepoutside  of  the  room  for  the  statementportion  of  the  activity.

• Continue  by  asking  the  questions  listedbelow  in  Section  A.

3. Group  Discussion/  Debrief

• Once  the  statements  are  completedthank  the  participants  for  sharing  andparticipating.

• Ask  participants  to  remain  where  theystand  and  observe  where  others  arestanding  without  judgement.  Let  themknow  that  the  people  closet  to  the  frontdo  not  necessarily  have  the  most  powerand  those  at  the  back  do  not  necessarilyhave  the  least,  but  that  for  thestatements  that  were  given  that  iswhere  they  ended  up.

• Refer  to  Section  B  for  a  list  of  questions.

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§ If  you  learned  positive  things  about  yourethnic  ancestors  in  school,  take  one  stepforward.

§ If  you  have  ever  been  afraid  to  walk  aloneat  night,  please  take  one  step  back.

§ If  you  have  been  told  that  you  are  beautiful,smart,  and  capable  of  achieving  yourdreams,  take  one  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  ever  thought  that  you  were  fat,stupid  or  ugly,  take  a  step  back.

§ If  you  celebrate  Christmas  and  Easter,please  take  a  step  forward.

§ If  you  ever  had  to  skip  a  meal  or  go  hungrybecause  there  was  not  enough  money  tobuy  food,  take  one  step  back.

§ If  you  can  identify  with  people  you  see  inthe  media  (on  TV,  in  magazines,  inadvertising),  please  take  one  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  ever  felt  limited  in  your  actionsdue  to  your  gender,  take  a  step  back.

§ If  you  completed  post-­‐secondary  education,take  a  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  ever  felt  abused  (verbally,physically,  or  sexually),  take  one  step  back.

§ If  your  first  language  is  English,  take  onestep  forward.

§ If  you  have  ever  been  diagnosed  with  alearning  disability  or  mental  healthdisorder,  take  a  step  back.

§ If  you  have  ever  felt  objectified  or  sexuallyharassed,  take  a  step  back.

§ If  you  own  your  home,  take  one  stepforward.

§ If  you  or  your  parents  were  born  outside  ofCanada,  take  a  step  back.

§ If  you  have  ever  been  unemployed  or  laidoff,  not  by  choice,  take  one  step  back.

§ If  you  have  always  had  access  to  physicalhealth  services  you  have  needed,  take  astep  forward.

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§ If  you  have  ever  had  difficult  enteringbuildings  or  physically  getting  around  inyour  community,  take  a  step  back.

§ If  you  have  ever  been  stopped  by  the  policefor  reasons  that  were  unclear  to  you,  take  astep  back.

§ If  you  feel  comfortable  talking  about  yourpartners/  dating  relationships  and  sexualorientation  with  your  friends  andcoworkers,  take  a  step  forward.

§ If  you  feel  like  you  are  a  contributingmember  to  your  community,  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  ever  felt  uncomfortable  sharingyour  religious  beliefs  or  atheism,  stepbackward.

§ If  you  feel  connected  with  your  familymembers,  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  ever  seen  someone  beingattacked  or  bullied  and  did  not  intervene,step  backward.

§ If  you  have  had  a  mentor  or  role  model  inyour  life,  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  not  been  able  to  participate  inrecreational  activities  due  to  financialconcerns,  step  backward.

§ If  when  you  go  shopping  you  are  oftenfollowed  or  harassed,  take  a  step  backward.

§ If  you  have  gotten  a  job  or  promotion  thatwas  based  on  your  merit,  take  a  stepforward.

§ If  you  have  ever  been  asked  to  speak  foryour  race/gender/sexual  orientation,  takea  step  backward.

§ If  you  feel  comfortable  sharing  yourpolitical  opinions  with  your  friends  andcoworkers,  take  a  step  forward.

§ If  you  have  caught  yourself  judgingsomeone  before  getting  to  know  them,  takea  step  backward.

These  statements  were  designed  to  be  used  with  mentoring  program  staff,  mentors,  and  other  interested  adults.  To  appeal  to  younger  youth,  for  example  mentors  in  peer  mentoring  programs,  it  may  be  helpful  to  alter  the  statements  to  make  them  more  relevant  for  the  group.  Alternative  

questions  can  be  found  by  doing  an  online  search  for  “Crossing  the  Line”.  

A. Crossing  the  Line  Statements

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Effective  Mentoring  for  ‘High-­‐Risk’  Youth   Ontario  Mentoring  Coalition  

References  &  Resources  

B. Process  QuestionsThese  questions  can  be  used  to  debrief  as  a  group  or  participants  can  pair  off  and  reflect  on  the  

activity  using  the  questions  below.  1. How  are  you  feeling  right  now?2. What  happened  in  the  activity?3. What  did  this  activity  make  you  think

about?4. What  did  you  learn  in  this  activity?5. Did  anything  surprise  you  in  this

activity?6. What  did  you  observe  in  this

activity?7. How  did  it  feel  to  step  forward  or

backward  when  others  were  notmoving?  How  did  it  feel  whenothers  moved  and  you  did  not?

8. Did  you  want  to  be  a  part  of  thegroup  moving  forward  orbackward?  Why?

9. Which  statements  were  hard  toadmit  to?  Which  ones  were  easy  toadmit  to?

10. Is  there  anything  you  would  like  to  sharewith  thegroup?

11. What  might  we  draw  from  this  exercise  that  might  help  us  in  the  work  that  we  do  asleaders?

12. How  can  you  apply  what  you  learned  here  to  the  work  you  do  with  youth?  How  do  you  thinkmentors  can  use  this  information  to  support  their  work  with  mentees?

13. What  did  you  like/dislike  in  this  activity?

Alternative  Activities  There  are  many  different  versions  of  this  activity.  One  example  that  can  be  used  for  mentors  can  be  found  in  the  Deep  Mentoring  

Training  manual  (pp.  23-­‐25)5  and  one  for  children  can  be  found  in  the  handout  titled  “Session  2”  by  Hope  

Alliance.2  

1  CEE.  (n.d.).  Ignite:  An  antiracist  toolkit.  Retrieved  from  http://antiracist-­‐toolkit.users.ecobytes.net/?page_id=124#sdfootnote3sym  

2  Hope  Alliance.  (n.d.).  Empowerment  activity.  Hope  Alliance.  Retrieved  from  https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwinkKzSoOfKAhWC2R4KHVKRDZ4QFggbMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhopealliancetx.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F11%2Fcross-­‐the-­‐line1.doc&usg=AFQjCNGc4wahm48pz2OgoeEwvkrxonu-­‐xg&sig2=GPqx7LtXIhaBAFRlm5bNdA&bvm=bv.113370389,d.dmo  

3 McKintosh, P. (1990). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Independent School. Retrieved from http://ted.coe.wayne.edu/ele3600/mcintosh.html

4 Merberg, E. N. (n.d.). Crossing the Line Activity. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjp64G5lOfKAhXEPRoKHUjWBfsQFggbMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fos_extranet_files_test%2F7896_9546_div_privilege3.doc&usg=AFQjCNGbn3RhEISNH1xANKgw2WCVz-3F_g&sig2=IQjC3EVIVW70k21l71JQOg&bvm=bv.113370389,d.d2s

5  Public  Profit.  (2012).  The  Eisenhower  Foundation:  Deep  mentoring  training.  Retrieved  from  http://www.issuelab.org/permalink/resource/16442