Agenda

Pre-conference Workshops

In the Body: Racism Trauma, Healing and Sustainable Activism
Thea Lee and Tommy Lee Woon
(9:00-4:00 pm, Sheraton Hotel)

Have you ever found yourself holding the breath or jumping in your seat while watching a scary movie? This common phenomenon offers us a glimpse into how our bodies are wired to mobilize for our protection, even when our mind clearly knows the threat is make-believe. Then, imagine how our bodies react to experiences with racism, no matter how subtle, unintended, personal or systemic. This day-long workshop provides the participants with a new lens for understanding the effects of on-going and historical racism on people of color on the one hand, and the etiology of personal and systemic racism on the other. The participants will also learn skills for self-care that employ the understanding of stress and healing in the body. It is the presenters vision that the awareness of the role of the body and skills for regulating the bodys responses will be an integral feature of all race discourses by 2042. To ensure intimate, experiential and collaborative experiences for the participants, a limited number of slots are available for this workshop. Participants must commit to engaging in a preparatory process that includes introduction of participants via an online social media and completing a survey. For more information, please contact Thea M. Lee at lee.theam@gmail.com.

Social Media Training
Lara Kretler
Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations
(1:00-4:00 pm, Sheraton Hotel)

Lara Kretler, vice president and social media lead at Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations, is passionate about the strategic use of the social web. A career PR pro with both agency and corporate experience spanning more than 15 years, Lara brings over a decade of online community building and social media expertise to her speaking and training work. In this presentation, Lara will look at what other non-profits are doing in the social media realm – what’s working, what’s not – and highlight some new applications and best practices that can help you further your group’s cause and objectives.

Engaging Unconscious Bias in K-12 Education
James Thrasher
California Teachers Association
(1:00-4:00 pm, Sheraton Hotel)

All of us have unconscious cognitive biases that influence how we perceive others.  This 3-hour training workshop raises awareness of unconscious bias and its powerful effects on student learning, parent empowerment and teacher/educator performance.  The training will touch on unconscious bias, categorization and stereotyping, power and privilege, and cultural competency, among other crucial themes. We will explore the perceptual shortcuts we make about people and our environment.  Participants will be required to: (1) be willing to learn, (2) stretch their thinking; and, (3) explore and respect diverse perspectives.  Information presented will challenge what we think we know, and subsequently open doors to self-discovery and hidden attitudes that exist outside our conscious awareness. Not only could this new knowledge enhance our existing skills, it could also ultimately serve as a catalyst to transform our public schools.

Advancing Equitable Policies by Assessing Racial Impacts,  
Jermaine Toney
Applied Research Center
(1:00-4:00 pm, Sheraton Hotel)

Public policies and budgetary decisions have enormous impact—positive and negative—on different racial groups. Instead of reacting to racial disparities on the back end, once discrimination has already occurred, promising new initiatives and practices are addressing racial impacts at the front end–-at the point of decision-making. In this workshop, we will review how organizations around the country are using innovative racial equity tools such as Legislative Report Cards on Racial Equity and Racial Equity Impact Assessments, as well as racial equity policy guides and budget analyses. When racial equity is explicitly and thoughtfully addressed, proposals can be improved to maximize positive impacts, while negative impacts can be predicted and prevented.

An Experiential Exploration of Belonging and Structural Racialization
Terri Karas and Erika Thorne
(1:00-5:00 pm, Sheraton Hotel)

This experiential workshop, led by a social justice activist and a psychologist, offers participatory activities designed to make visible the interconnections between structural racialization, identities, and our human need for belonging. We will build on insights gained from these explorations to imagine outcomes that help us create a true democratic community. You will emerge from this four-hour pre-conference session with new experiential tools for addressing racial dynamics in education or training situations, and primed to creatively play with new ideas as you participate in Transforming Race 2012.  Everyone is welcome to this workshop!.

Facilitation Skills for Racial Justice Work
Cynthia Parker and Melinda Weekes
Interaction Institute for Social Change
(1:00-4:00 pm, Sheraton Hotel)

Come to this workshop to explore strategies for facilitating conversations about racial justice lead to genuine understanding and solid agreements. We will practice skills and tools for designing and facilitating conversations and meetings about racial justice work that build understanding and agreement; dealing with challenging situations in meetings about racial justice work; making strategic choices about when to use process facilitation tools and when to introduce racial justice concepts to address challenging situations. The session will be short on presentations and long on group discussion and practice. In the session, we will discuss challenges we face in facilitating conversations, meetings and collaborative processes focused on racial justice; distinguish between the process and content of meetings and explore the implications for the facilitator’s roles and responsibilities; practice process facilitation skills and tools for working through challenging situations; and explore when to introduce racial justice concepts rather than use process interventions in challenging situations.

Conference Sessions

FRIDAY (10:30AM-12:00PM)

A Productive Conversation about Race – Imagine That!
Cynthia Parker & Melinda Weekes, Interaction Institute for Social Change

Opportunity Communities
Jason Reece & Christy Rogers, The Kirwan Institute

From Reform to Revolution: Eradicating the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Jason Langberg & Barbara Fedders, Legal Aid of North Carolina, UNC Law

Race and the Future of Social Justice Philanthropy
Meg Gage, Proteus Fund

Reconceptualizing Whiteness
Paul Madden & Susan Naimark, Community Change Inc.

Building Bridges to Cross the Racial Divide: 
Tools for Achieving Racial/Ethnic Equality by 2042
Delia Carmen, Race Matters Institute

Race and Science
Dorothy Roberts, Northwestern University

FRIDAY (2:15PM-3:45PM)

"What is it about Games?" Transforming K-12 Education
Robert Torres, Gates Foundation

A Vision for Racially Equitable Community Problem Solving
Martha McCoy, Everyday Democracy

The End of Gentrification?: Strategies to Create and Stabilize Diverse and Integrated Neighborhoods
Saba Bireda, Poverty Race and Research Action Council

Democratic Merit
Susan Sturm, Columbia Law School

When Our Children Fare Well
Carol Mizoguchi, Casey Family Foundation

Paths to Freedom: All Souls on the Ship
Crystal Hayes, YWCA Greater Triangle

FRIDAY (4:00PM-5:30PM)

Structural Racism: What Do You Mean?
Andrew Grant-Thomas & Melinda Weekes, The Kirwan Institute & Interaction Institute for Social Change

Dismantling Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander, Kirwan Institute/Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

Achieving Educational Equity in the 21st Century
Steve Menendian, The Kirwan Institute

A New Place on Race
Dushaw Hockett, SPACES

The Future of Detroit
Laura Trudeau & Wendy Jackson, Kresge Foundation

The Color of Wealth
Anne Price, Insight Center

Ending the Food Industrial Complex
Charlotte Williams, Center for New Community

SAT (9:00AM-10:30AM)

Imagining Equitable School Systems of the Future
Cynthia Parker & Melinda Weekes, Interaction Institute for Social Change

Opportunity Communities
Jason Reece & Christy Rogers, The Kirwan Institute

Making a Nation Indivisible: Using Tools Engaging People and Building Structures To Sustain It, Susan Eaton, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute

"What It Look Like": Race, Disability, and the Entertainment Industry
Lynn Manning, Independent Poet and Playwright

Reproductive Justice
Vanessa Daniel, Groundswell Fund

Envisioning the Next Conversation in Racial Justice
Tuesday Ryan-Hart, The Art of Hosting

Race and Islamophobia
Deepa Iyer, SAALT

Eliminating Disparities in Child Welfare Outcomes
Tanya Rollins & Jon Olson, Texas Child Protective Services

SAT (10:45AM-12:15PM)

Race, Drug Abuse, Treatment and Punishment
Hannah Cooper, Public Health, Emory

Leading at the Intersections: An Intersectional Approach to Policy and Social Change, Nicole Mason, Women of Color Policy Network

Public Discourse, Racial Justice, and Alliance-building
Juhu Thukral, Opportunity Agenda

REACH[ing] beyond Diversity and Inclusion
Toni King, Denison University

Homeowner: Achieving Stability, Financial Security and the American Dream
Jane Holzer, Foreclosure Relief Law Project

Charting a Path Toward 2042
Julie Ajinkya, Center for American Progress