association of community design conference 

43 RECENTER 

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Often, we utilize vocabulary that includes metaphors, phrases and words that can have roots in violence and racist narratives. While the intention at present use is not always rooted in violence, the nature and existence of a phrase very often can be. This session will facilitate discussion about violence in our language and what we can do collectively to decolonize our working vocabulary. The master bedroom carries a connotation, where primary bedroom or <insert name>’s bedroom do not.

In community design, we may feed two birds with one seed, rather than killing with one stone. Daily, we experience these terms in a variety of contexts between work, academia, our lives at home, social settings, and beyond. Unlearning these phrases and replacing them with intention is a practice. Through conversation, we will revisit our vocabularies and identify potential violent histories and undertones. 

The first portion of the session is a brief introduction that poses a question relevant to community and social justice designers — Why are we “meta” with the language we use, especially in the sensitive spaces many of us often work within? 

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