Ask Us a Question!
Do you have questions about racial justice work? We know these are complex issues with no simple solutions, yet many of us don't know where to begin. Whether your question is workplace related or personal, Ilsa, our co-Founder, and Dr. Anderson, our Racial Equity Consultant, will offer their best thinking and hopefully invite deeper reflection.
Email your questions to Judy Lee, our Projects Manager, at judy.lee@culturesconnecting.com with "Ask Us a Question" in the subject line. Please note that we're trying something new and we may not respond to all questions. When we do, our response to your questions will be published on our blog and social media channels. You can choose to share your name or request to keep it confidential.
Learning from Our Mistakes
DEIBelonging work requires a lot of learning and sometimes we make mistakes. This happened with our last newsletter issue when we talked about Autism Acceptance Month. Some of you were kind enough to provide us with a learning opportunity by pointing out that the term Acceptance is preferred over Awareness (we had used both). We also learned that the puzzle piece is no longer used to represent the month because of its harmful messaging and that the infinity symbol is used instead.
Here are some resources others have shared with us about Autism Acceptance Month:
Caprice Hollins on The Ladies Who Lead Podcast
Our co-founder Dr. Caprice Hollins was a featured guest on The Ladies Who Lead Podcast with SK Vaughn.
In this episode, Dr. Caprice Hollins shares her journey from racial awakening to empowering others to dismantle institutional racism.
My Name Story Exhibition Opens in Honor of AANHPI Heritage Month
Judy Lee, our Projects Manager, is an artist and will be premiering an art exhibition on her project My Name Story in honor of Asian American Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month.
My Name Story is a portrait-video project that examines the AANHPI experience through the lens of names at the intersection of race, gender and class. This project explores themes of identity, belonging, and reclamation in a country that oftentimes labels AANHPIs as the other and perpetual foreigner.
In addition to My Name Story project, the exhibition will also feature the name stories from the greater Seattle community, as well as a curated art show by other artists.
The show will open during Pioneer Square Artwalk and be exhibiting for all of May. There will be special community events weekly throughout the month including a Story Sharing Circle, Workshop, and AANHPI Market Day.
5/02: Opening Reception @5-8pm
5/11: Storysharing Circle @1-3pm
5/18: Workshop (TBA)
5/25: AANHPI Market Day (TBA)
5/30: Closing Reception + Panel Discussion @5-8pm
The exhibition will be at Nino Studio in Pioneer Square at 316 1st Ave, Seattle. If you have questions, please reach out to Judy at webelongseattle@gmail.com.
Don't forget to register for What's Up with White Women? Unpacking Sexism and White Privilege Over Lunch. Register today!
5/03: It's All too Much
5/10: The Role of Goodness in Anti-Racism Practice
5/24: Leading While White
5/31: Navigating Ambiguity When Taking a Stand
On June 20-21, Facilitator James Boutin and the Network for Edwork are hosting a two-day in-person training at the Bethaday Community Learning Center in Seattle.
Social Justice Stewardship: Relational Skills for Sustainable Change is ideal for folks who feel tired and saddened by the way social justice efforts often lose power due to infighting, burnout, and siloing. Participants from various sectors (food access, education, health care, law, etc…) will come together to ask how we can work well with the challenging dynamics of social justice work. In other words, how can we become better stewards of it?
Participants will gain…
Skills for stewarding social justice work over time.
Networking opportunities with like-minded people.
A framework for understanding systems of oppression that humanizes everyone AND points toward effective interventions.
Practices for tapping into an inner capacity for the responsible and effective use of power.
Registration is $400 until May 1, and $500 after. You can learn more and register here.
Upcoming DEIB/Social Justice Events
For details on these and other events, workshops and conferences, visit our Events Calendar. If you have an event you would like us to share, please reach out to us!
04/15: The Tender Work: Acknowledging White Responsibility in a Racialized World
04/15: Undoing Racism Organizing Meeting
04/16: Race Forward: Building Racial Equity: Foundations
04/16: People+Culture: Elevate Your Workplace Practices
04/16: NAMI BIPOC Support Group
04/16: Cultivating Ground: Foundations in Mindfulness
04/17: Capacity Building Workshops to Foster Justice & Belonging
04/18: Race Forward: Decision Making for Racial Equity (Level 3)
04/18: SURJ Abolition Action Hour
04/18: NAMI LGBTQ+ Support Group
04/20: Sacred Saturdays Community Healing Live Learning Series
04/20: Columbia City Night Market
04/21: Aware LA: Third Sunday Dialogue
04/22: Race Forward: Facilitating Racial Equity
04/23: The Equity Consortium: Stop Weaponizing Our Language
04/24: Navigating Conflict and Polarizing Global Events
04/25: Seattle Black Film Festival
04/25: Othering & Belonging Conference
04/25: Working with the Live Wire of Oppression Virtual Intro
04/25: Step Up Conference: Moving Racial Equity Forward
04/27: Spring Native Art Market
04/30: Expanding Horizons: Integrating TGX+ Perspectives in the Evolving Workplace
...and more!