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The Time is Now
This fall is a great time to learn about the pursuit of racial equity – check out the
big list to the right of upcoming opportunities to engage, learn and evolve
, especially through the Humboldt State University (HSU) Campus Dialogue on Race events. In September, around 200 people came to hear a team from the
Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) share their experience and their recommended practices for advancing equity
at two public talks. Slides from these talks are posted on the Equity Alliance
website on the Events & Workshops Page > Past Events
under Advancing Equity through a Racial Lens: Putting Theory into Action. We are also working on sharing video from both the public talk with john powell in May and this most recent talk through Access Humboldt. We will post the viewing schedule on the Equity Alliance website. Thank you to all of you who attended!
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Recent Learning
One experience we learned from with the GARE public talks included
group participation and discussion around a
set of questions
to help us consider and identify whether we agreed or disagreed (somewhere in between or in the moment) by physically placing ourselves along a spectrum to address:
- People who engage in public meetings are the ones who care most about the issues.
- Hiring and promotion decisions should be based solely on merit.
- I believe we can end racial inequity.
Where would you put yourself on the spectrum? What could be learned by understanding your and others' perspectives on these issues?
A useful process learned by seven groups who attended the first of a 15-month “Advancing Racial Equity” coaching series might help you prepare for
Thanksgiving family discussions
. The GARE trainers introduced the “ACT” model to transform conversations about racial equity when approached or asked, "Why racial equity?":
- Affirming the person’s concern with empathy, explaining why we’re in this together;
- Countering with a few clear and simple reasons why racial equity problems need to be overcome; and
- Transforming the conversation by re-framing assumptions about winners and losers, ending with empathy and a solution or invitation.
When could this model have helped you? How might you prepare yourself to use in conversations in the future?
The coaching session also presented a
PBS video we recommend
to develop a better understanding of how racial bias became embedded in our civic, economic and social systems and how institutions have perpetuated the bias. The film is one of a three-part series, available on YouTube;
Race: the Power of an Illusion, Video 3 - The House We Live In
. One note about this video: it lacks substantive reference to Native peoples’ experiences, which for this region and the country are a significant part of the story of systematic racial bias. For more on the place of Native peoples in the history of race, see Video 2 - The Story We Tell of the same series. And while you're at it, you might as well watch Video 1 - The Difference Between Us!
Thank you for your interest in learning and applying new information in your lives and your work!
- Equity Alliance of the North Coast Team
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Upcoming
Community Events
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HSU Campus Dialogue on Race
- Film Screening: Slavery by Another Name on Monday, October 31 - 11am-1pm, HSU Goodwin Forum, Arcata
- "Exercise Your Right: Elections 2016" on Monday, October 31, 1-5pm, HSU UC South Lounge
Lecture Featuring Benjamin Madley, UCLA Associate Professor of History:
- Lecture on Tolowa Genocide on Wednesday, November 2 - 11am-12:30pm, HSU Native American Forum, BSS 162
- The Question of Genocide in American History on Wednesday, November 2, 5-7pm, HSU Native American Forum, BSS 162
- Benjamin Madley Book Talk, Q&A on Wednesday, November 2, 5-7pm, HSU Library, 2nd Floor, Authors Hall
Keynote Speaker Ian F. Haney López:
- Anger in Politics: Exploring the Connection between Race, Democracy and Economic Inequality on Thursday, November 3 - 6-8pm, HSU Kate Buchanan Room
Other Events
National Alliance on Mental Illness Humboldt (NAMI) & League of Women Voters of Humboldt County (LWVHC): Panel to Address Intersection of Criminal Justice and Mental Illness on Wednesday, November 2 - 7-9pm, United Congregational Christian Church, Eureka
Exploring Our Prejudices on Saturday, November 19 - 9:30am-12:00pm, Eureka First United Methodist Church, Eureka - Registration Required; $5-20 Suggested Donation (click below for more information)
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