A Youth Leader's Guide to Building Cultural Competence 

Do you or your family members plan to stay in the U.S. or do you or they hope to return to your ancestral 

country?  

Have you ever visited your ancestral country? With or without family? How did that experience affect 

you?  

Have you ever moved within the United States? 

Political Power 

How well represented do you feel members of your cultural group are in local, state or national politics?  

How many women representing you cultural group hold a political office?  

Is it common for most members of your cultural group to be U.S. citizens? To be registered to vote? To 

vote? To be courted by candidates? If so, how and by whom?  

What advocacy organizations work on behalf of your group? How well do they represent diversity in your 

group?  

How active are members of religious organizations in social movements?  

What is the political situation in your ancestral country? If you or your family are recent immigrants, what 

kind of political participation if any was encouraged? Are elections held? Are they believed to be fair?  

Racism 

What has been the impact of racism on you? On your culture group as a whole? What is it today?  

How do you feel affected by racist attitudes and practices? What about your community? Does it vary for 

men and women? How about children and teenagers?  

How do formal and informal leaders talk about racism now? How did they in the past? 

Do you see yourself as a victim or perpetrator of racism? How and why? What has it been like to try and 

do something positive about racism in your life?  

Poverty and Economic Concerns 

What was the standard of living in your family when you were growing up? Was it similar to other people 

in your community or in your extended family?  

Are you currently employed? What kinds of jobs have you held in the past? Are most adults in your 

community employed? In what kinds of jobs? Do most women work outside the home? How high is the 

average standard of living? 

What is the level of involvement in illegal industries? What is the degree of violence in your community? 

How has that had an impact upon you?