Cultural Competency Continuum

Cultural Destructiveness
At the cultural destructive level, the attitudes, policies and practices which are evidence of cultural destruction are seen throughout history.
In Hawaii’s history, the Polynesians were worked literally to death on the pineapple plantations because they were not capable of the long hours required to work the fields having evolved as a people who didn’t have the need to work long hours as food was readily provided by the sea and lush climate of the islands (Michener, 1967). Chinese and Japanese were imported at a time when many wanted to migrate to other countries because of famine, over population and political problems in the Orient (Boose, 1995).
The evolution of the people in Hawaii includes the cultural destruction of several minority cultures. There are very few pure Hawaiians left. Thousands died of an epidemic of chicken pox that Hawaiians had not built up immunity to. White plantation owners encouraged Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiians to interbreed. The product of this combination of genes is a strong, beautiful people who have the physical capabilities of the Chinese and Japanese combined with the height of the Polynesian and the beautiful complexion of the combination. Government policies included the assumption that peoples not of caucasion descent were incapable of owning property and the distribution of land was to whites only.


Cultural Incapacity
Cultural Incapacity is illustrated in the popular novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. In this story a young doctor and father places his downs syndrome daughter in the care of a nurse with the direction to institutionalize the infant for life. He then tells his wife the child died.
A modern example of cultural incapacity is demonstrated in a present day experience of a substitute teacher. It was a classroom of first graders. Most of them were six-year-old and white. There were a few African-American children in the mix. The story is told from the perspective of the teacher:
“We did a few opening activities and the children were getting a little keyed up. One little boy raised his hand and asked if he could go to the bathroom. I said he could and became involved with some other children. A few moments later I noticed this little boy writing on the chalkboard. I angrily asked him what he was doing and did not wait to hear the answer but put him on “time out”. Several minutes later, another child informed me that the regular teacher had a rule that the children must put their name on the board before they left the room to go to the bathroom. I realized my mistake and asked the boy on time out if he was merely writing his name on the board. He angrily replied, “Yes”. I apologized to the little boy and expressed not only my remorse but also reflected his frustration at the substitute teacher’s ineptness.”
It wasn’t until much later the teacher realized she had responded in a racial way. If it had been a white girl who was writing on the board she may not have responded with the knee-jerk reaction of anger and expectation of disobedience. It helped her recognize the most prominent difference among the races is the cultural experience. Part of that experience, from this child’s perspective, was an expectation of misbehavior. Children of minority cultures may feel powerless within their culture and communities (Gordon, 2005).

Cultural Blindness
Cultural blindness is represented by the belief that there is no difference in race and skin color and culture does not matter. It entails the idea that all people are the same. Individuals of minority cultures are presumed to hold different behaviors and values because of lack of desire to achieve or a deficiency within them as people. Members of the most assimilated culture may not recognize the privilege that comes from being a member of the dominant group. Rather than assuming that all mankind behaves in similar ways, those among the majority must learn to respect the differences in members of minority races (Williams, Evans-Winters, 2005).
Examples of cultural blindness are found in everyday life. A mother expected her white daughter to play the role of Abraham Lincoln and recite the Gettysburg Address in a Black History Month celebration. When her daughter was denied a part in the assembly, her mother attempted to advocate for her. The African American committee in charge of the celebration denied the Caucasian girl a role in the event stating that the celebration was about honoring African Americans. It took several years for the mother to understand the cultural blindness she was exhibiting by desiring her daughter to play the role of a white leader at an event where children of a completely different and minority culture were attempting to honor their culture’s heroes.

Cultural Pre-Competence
In the desire to provide a more fair and equitable treatment of people of African descent, a high school drama director decides to produce the play Finian’s Rainbow in which the story of a small southern town’s prejudice behavior is portrayed. Because the high school has few if any individuals of the African American race, white students playing roles of black characters are painted with dark stage make-up. In the climactic scene of the play the white leader of the prejudice ideas is ‘turned’ into an African American and his skin is darkened.
The director feels he has made a difference within the community, however small, in spite of individuals playing African American roles depicting stereotypical behavior and making fun of the individuals they represent.

Cultural Competence
Cultural competence is represented by acceptance and respect for differences and continued self assessment of other cultures including your own. A high school teacher asks an exotic looking teenage girl what her nationality is. The girl bows her head and in an ashamed manner, explains that she is Mexican. The teacher takes the time to tell her that anciently her ancestors were a group of strong, beautiful people known as Aztecs. The history of these people are explained and the evolution of their culture is noted. Contributions of Latino culture was expounded on at a later teaching situation where the teacher chose to highlight many of the contributions of the ancient Aztec civilization as well as modern Latino culture.
This teacher demonstrated cultural competence by accepting and respecting the culture of the girl. Providing cultural knowledge and resources with an attitude of respect may begin to open a stronger self image and desire to better understand diverse cultural backgrounds in the girl and her friends and family. Providing information to further accommodate understanding of Hispanic society fosters greater understanding and may lead to adaptation of policy and practice.

Cultural Proficiency
This level of cultural understanding invites both dominant and subordinate group perspectives. To an individual who has achieved cultural proficiency, differences are not only respected, they are viewed as positives and valued as sources of strength. Removing barriors and ascuiring resourses including money, power, time, knowledge, access and influence are activities indicative of the culturally proficient individual. All forms of oppression are recognized as unhealthy and battled against with resistance by individuals who are proficient in multi-cultural living.
In the popular novel The Secret Life of Bees the author creates a complex character in a young caucasion girl runs away from her abusive father and lives with a family of African American women who without question take her in and treat her with love, kindness and acceptance. Her minority status as a female
The young girl becomes a member of the African American community around her. The strong women include a group of African American sisters among them, a sister who is mentally handicapped. This woman was respected for what she could contribute and was not expected to give beyond her personal ability.
The people I have known personally who have achieved cultural proficiency are often mentally handicapped in some way. My downs syndrome sister, my son with Asperger’s Syndrome and Forrest Gump. I love the scene from the movie where Forrest is singing in an all black choir and doesn’t seem to realize he doesn’t quite fit in. Because of his acceptance, he does fit. I know he is a character, but I find it ironic that an individual depicted as culturally proficient is also depicted as less than intelligent.
As a social worker with the goal of being culturally proficient, I have to fight against the objectification of any group of people. I I were to place myself on the scale I would probably be culturally pre-competent. I know I need to move past the feelings of being overwhelmed by the responsibility and the efforts needed to achieve cultural competence and someday, hopefully, cultural proficiency.