IDEAS CenterInclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access & Social Justice Center

Parking

• BUSSES – If you are bringing a Bus, please email me. Your bus will need to drop you off on Highland Ave. (by lot 9 https://myatlascms.com/map/?id=1057&mrkIid=204402) and then go park up at the football field (directions here: https://myatlascms.com/map/?id=1057&mrkIid=204655)
• Vans – there will be “Conference Parking” signs.
  • Lot 27 https://myatlascms.com/map/?id=1057&mrkIid=204392
  • Lot 13 https://myatlascms.com/map/?id=1057&mrkIid=204389

Workshops

WORKSHOP SESSION 1: 9:30-10:30AM

Over the course of our lives, we have each gained lenses intentionally and unintentionally. Those we have taken on intentionally may be our field of study, religion, or political affiliation, while unintentional lens include our country of birth, gender, age, and ethnicity. Every day we determine the extent to which we will allow these lenses to guide our thoughts and actions. Similar to an oculist who uses trial-and-error to determine the correct magnification for your eyes, you use these lenses to identify, understand and tackle the issues of today’s society. But, how do we identify these lenses? By Going Back to Our Roots.

This workshop will help students analyze their roots, the circumstances that have shaped their lives, and identify the lenses they use as students, young adults, and will eventually use as professionals. Additionally, we will discuss the common weakness of every lens: lenses are unique to the individual. Others do not see the issues through our eyes. Therefore, we must be intentional about taking into consideration others’ lens in order to understand differing viewpoints and solutions.

Media and our communities play an active role in our perception of ourselves, identities, and how others view us but what we have factors that give us the power to define ourselves in the way that we perceive ourselves. What we aim to discuss is appearance and cultural appropriation.

This workshop will examine the historical relationship between Black and Asian Americans from racial pitting (e.x. the Moynihan Report & the Model Minority Myth, the L.A. Riots) to racial solidarity (e.x. Malcolm X & Yuri Kochiyama, “Yellow Peril Supports Black Power”). The examples given will be from historical and academic sources as well as from pop culture, and will ask for Audience participation in discussing recent events such as Jeremy Lin’s dreadlocks and Kendrick Lamar’s use of Oriental motifs in his newest album DAMN.. The key ideas attendees will engage with include: the historic racial pitting and racial solidarity between Black and Asian Americans; racial triangulation between blackness, yellowness, and whiteness; the difference between Black and Asian American relationships to the American dream, etc.. Ultimately, this workshop will stress that racial solidarity and partnership between the two demographics is necessary in establishing racial equality on a national level.    

Feelings of hope and true equality of all races were felt across the nation on November 4th, 2008 as Barack Obama became the first Black President of the United States of America. Through Obama’s terms; however, the Black Lives Matter Movement became the main mark of his presidency. From 2012 through the present day, a fierce media debate has asked if the Black Lives Matter Movement is a continuation of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dram or a divisive radical movement. To further the point, many politicians and news hosts argue that the Martin Luther King would not participate in the demonstrations of the Black Lives Matter group. This presentation will investigate the use of the Civil Rights Movement narrative in the current “Black Lives Matter” era and how that narrative, Martin Luther King’s image, and the election of Barack Obama has been used to usher in a “post-racial” society while simultaneously ignoring systemic issues of police brutality and mass incarceration towards Blacks Americans.  

This presentation aims to inspire individuals with multiple identities to investigate their roots for the purpose of identifying their local. According to Taiye Selasi, a ‘local’ refers to the place where an individual can find their rituals, restrictions, and relationships. This concept shatters the idea of multinationalism and geographic identities. Often immigrants are forced to identify with the country they were born in, the country they have lived in, or even the country their parents consider home. Students often restructure their identities in college, and students with multiple identities oftentimes find their identities in question as they flounder to not only ‘pick’ where they’re from but also be a representative of said identity. This affects how students with multiple identities socialize. In many instances, students fail to integrate into their campus culture as a result. The goal of this presentation is to generate a discourse that will break students with multiple identities and nationalities out of the practice of privileging one identity over another, as well as the concept of geographic identity. I will then have a roundtable discussion to identify how people select the identity they want to project, followed by a viewing of Taiye Selasi’s talk. Finally, we will break into smaller groups to discuss our locals and our roots.

Students of colour – and especially those of us who are immigrants – can struggle to stay in touch with our cultures while on a predominantly white American campus. The pressure to assimilate can be subtle but powerful. Our food, our words, our attire, our prayers … all of it can begin to resemble those around us instead of our own. This workshop is an hour to be unapologetically you, to reconnect with your culture (however you may define it), and to practice some radical self-love. We will draw, write, sing, dance, speak, and listen. We will remember where we come from, and where we’re going. We will remind each other how we can reconcile our roots with our destinations, and how we can support each other’s cultural expression. Come to celebrate yourself, your culture, and the diversity of cultures our gathering offers.

(Especially recommended for international students – our struggle is too real, and we need time to reconnect with whatever ‘home’ is for each of us.)

What are our Roots? Is it the history of a group of people? The traditions shared within a culture? The day-to-day? Is “heritage” and “roots” interchangeable? What can we and should we consider to be “our Roots”? Our objective is to narrow down what “our Roots” actually are, and what effect it has on the present day.

Living in a society where one does not identify with the dominant culture, one can easily lose one’s sense of identity in an attempt to avoid disrupting the ideal Eurocentric world. Individuals with marginalized identities may be born with one consciousness and develop a second one through societal expectations. They have to carry this notion of double consciousness between Eurocentrism and The Other. They tend to struggle in finding balance with the duality, and consequently allow fear to be the driving force behind their decisions. With the white supremacist dogma of the presidency in 2017, diversity, equity, and justice need to be cultivated, championed, and celebrated. Individuals need to take initiative and be willing to celebrate the history and traditions of marginalized identities without fearing ostracization from the dominant culture.

The presentation focuses on the fear that society has placed upon individuals with marginalized identities to embrace their heritage, roots and ancestry. The takeaway of this presentation is to help people embody their roots: to help them realize that their roots are what give them their purpose, what guides them, and what defines them today.

The United States is composed of numerous cultures that influence the dynamic of social interactions and how individuals view themselves. At the same time, the United States has a long history of oppression towards cultures that do not fit the dominant norms. Current events have brought attention to immigrants who bring new cultures. We will place an emphasis on some specific Latin American subcultures and Muslim subcultures in the United States to describe the influences of various identities, using research studies and our own experiences. Recently, the media has attached the Latin American culture with an anti-immigrant stance. Muslims in the United States have been denoted as “terrorists” throughout the history of United States, which causes many people to turn away from traditional religious clothing, and even practicing the religion.

When one’s culture is suppressed, it has a significant impact on one’s self-identity. People feel more comfortable with those who they can identify with. However, misunderstandings occur when people do not consider different perspectives. The dominant narrative and stereotypes surrounding various groups across the United States negatively impact social interactions between group identities, and in some cases, negatively impact a person’s self-identity (e.g. suppression of one’s cultural practices). Cultural differences influence how we view each other thus it is imperative to have a conversation to move forward and solve issues. This workshop strives to help people understand how culture shapes perspectives.

Students need to understand what career capital is and how to maximize the opportunities presented to them through diverse environments. Unfortunately, most students of color aren’t presented with the same opportunities within white dominated fields such as politics, medicine, business, etc. When coming from a background where you aren’t able to find easy ways into fields you want to pursue, what do you do? Many students might save this question for later, but there are so many opportunities that you can take advantage of and make you a better candidate for that dream job!

This workshop details how students of color maintain their cultural and environmental roots on predominantly white institutions and campuses. This workshop will generate conversation about self care, food, and family environments from the perspectives of Puerto Rican and African American Students. Students will discuss their personal experiences about transitioning to Albion from different cities and how they have struggled and have learned to find comfort on their campus.

Jason Hernandez, at the age of 21, was sentenced to life without parole for a non-violent drug offense in 1998. While incarcerated Jason began a grass-roots sentencing advocacy organization called Crack Open The Door. In 2013 Jason became one of the first individuals to receive clemency from President Barack Obama, known as “The Obama 8.” Since his release he has been a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. He has been featured in Time Magazine, Huffington Post, MSNBC, and CNN.

WORKSHOP SESSION 2: 1:30-2:30PM

Jason Hernandez, at the age of 21, was sentenced to life without parole for a non-violent drug offense in 1998. While incarcerated Jason began a grass-roots sentencing advocacy organization called Crack Open The Door. In 2013 Jason became one of the first individuals to receive clemency from President Barack Obama, known as “The Obama 8.” Since his release he has been a leading advocate for criminal justice reform. He has been featured in Time Magazine, Huffington Post, MSNBC, and CNN.

When beginning my college career, I felt an intense need to re-invent myself. However, by doing so, I lost of my passions and the person I wanted to be. I fell into unusual habits and became the person that others wanted me to be, such as my mentor, my professors, my peers, etc. As I began to witness everything I’d worked my entire college career to accomplish crumble, I began to journal. I found that by asking myself key questions about how I’ve changed, who I wanted to be, and what I was doing, I was able to get back on track.

I would like this workshop to be one of inspiration. Attendees would be given several lens to examine their college career thus far, asked questions about the future, and be given tips and trades on how to make journaling and meditation an easy and accessible practice. They will also be taught tips on storytelling and shown how storytelling and the act of shared personal narrative can motivate not only themselves but the people they mentor and share community with. Finally, the attendees would be asked to find and share one pivotal moment of their college career that they hadn’t considered as anything other than normal. Finding this moment and describing who were in that moment is the ultimate goal of the workshop. Because in that moment, one either recognizes an old self or meets an entirely new one and understands whether college helped reinvent or rediscover you.

During our presentation we would like to see if using cultural colloquialisms retract from cultural growth. Through this, we would explore different racial slurs used for various different ethnicities and races, We will be using different sources that explain opinions and outcomes of using these racial slurs from various counterparts. We want the attendees to walk out of our workshop knowing that it is important to refrain from using racial slurs that were birthed from racial inequality to be able to one day be able to reach racial equality. We also want out attendees to not support the use of these racial slurs because mainstream media has convinced us that it is okay too, but if we don’t buy it, then they can’t sell it. We want them to know their crowds, if using any of the words makes anyone uncomfortable, then in no way should those words be used. If we are to keep certain words in our language, then we must decide as a collective that everyone is allowed to use them. We either allow everyone to practice freedom of speech or no one can. All in all, we would like the attendees to acknowledge and learn the impact that these slurs have through a presentation, discussion, and hands on activity.

The main purpose of this session is to explore the roots of our faith and how such is either positive influenced or hindered by other relationships. First, the terms “relationship” and “friendship” will be defined and the differences will be briefly discussed. Secondly, the roles and expectations of relationships will be discussed. This will be done by conducting a small exercise where attendees will list five topics of conversation that they would feel comfortable having with friends but not any other individual. Reasons as to why these topics are difficult to have with people other than friends will be considered; shame, fear of being judged, fear of being disciplined, or just simply hard to say out loud. The session will then proceed into the roots of our faith as we reflect on the different roles God may play in our lives. So, who is God and what kind of relationship do you have with Him? If you have God, how are you living up to that relationship? These are the kind of questions that will be discussed throughout this session. Lastly, the root of our friendship with God will be discussed and attendees will have an opportunity to express the ways in which they have felt that their friendship with God has proclaimed itself.

In this presentation we will examine the struggles of being a woman of color at a predominantly white campus. We will compare the historical struggles that women of color have gone through to the experiences of 3 women of color at DePauw. The hope is that students will walk away with the understanding of how they can either overcome similar struggles or how they can help provide support to women of color as we continue to find our place and use our voice at a PWI.

Men and women of Black communities around the globe have suffered due to the inflicted consequences of European colonization for hundreds of years. Some of those consequences are the internalized oppression of colorism and texture discrimination within Black communities. We explore the historical roots of these forms of discrimination, how they affected Black people over the decades, and how they still heavily affect us today.

Palestinians one of the largest refugee population in the world. Even after a 70 year occupation of Palestinian land by Israeli forces, there continues to be a remarkable silence on this issue in the West. In recent years, social justice groups like Black Lives Matter have supported the Palestinian struggle to freedom and have highlighted the commonality struggles faced by people of color around the world.

This workshop will discuss the issue of Palestine with a focus on how the issue is perceived through an American lens and handled on the college campus. Keeping with the theme of the conference, we will also be discussing the question of Palestinian roots, their illegal displacement, and exile from home.

The question of roots in the Palestinian context is of utmost importance because despite having millions of Palestinians living in the diaspora, many of them continue to yearn for the chance their right of return to live in a free and independent Palestine.

The deafening silence that continues to occupy most mainstream Western media about this issue not only dehumanizes but also de-legitimizes the claims of these people for a chance to return home.

As members of marginalized groups in American society, we often face pressure to conform to the social norms. Resistance has led individuals to being ostracized and our continuous adherence to the Eurocentric ideal has resulted in a loss of heritage. This cultural decline is only furthered by the lack of representation in important platforms that’s accessible to everyone. As more children have grown up viewing the media convey only white Caucasian characters, it gives a misleading example of what they should strive to become. Furthermore, this type of upbringing conditions the youth that altering themselves is the only way to fully integrate themselves to our society. Notably, the pressure has reached the point where individuals have renounced their ethnic background to only identify with the term ‘American’. Although the term ‘American’ may be perceived as collective title for the different cultures that exists within our country, it’s also detrimental to nurturing a stronger sense of identity as minorities. Moreover, to identify as ‘American’ relinquishes our cultural roots and dims the connection to who we are based on our cultural history.

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the concepts of individualist cultures and collective cultures in association with going back to our roots. The world has increasingly become a global village and the cross-links between our practices and other cultures’ practices is even more apparent. This raises a couple of significant questions: Being immersed in a culture different from your own (or a culture similar to yours but filled with a variety of other cultures), how does your current environment affect your identity of individualism or collectivism? How does one become globally minded, yet maintain their marks of individualism?In search of a better education, a better lifestyle in a different country from home, it is easy to forget the crucial marks that define you. Yet it is challenging to embrace the concept of global perception. The silent struggle is real. The silent struggle is apparent and that is why we need to go back to our roots. Drawing from my personal experiences, as well as others’ personal experiences, this presentation will focus on how the concept of individualism and collectivism may work or perhaps not work to broach the difficulties students face when having to put themselves in the shoes of another culture.

Across the Globe, the United States has prominent influence on other nations. Whether it be cultural, artistic, cinematic, or even political. People from different countries acknowledge that the U.S has a strong presence in the world. However, this perception of the United States, tends to be a very white one. That is because, educational barriers have prevented the nation-states from understanding the U.S’ diversity and how it has progressively developed domestically in the past five decades. Essentially, being a person of color and going abroad representing the United States poses different sorts of identity challenges. That doesn’t make it impossible to be a POC abroad representing the U.S, but it does mean that we must challenge preconceived notions about what it means to be an American. This presentation and workshop will encourage participants to speak on their experiences abroad in hopes of cultivating productive and memorable experiences abroad.

Media is important because it involves music, movies, and celebrities.

Music is a strong part of keeping our culture because it is something that you grow up with it. Music is a constant reminder of where you come from as well as crafting new ideologies.

Celebrities are a major impact on keeping your culture because there are people who forget where they came from. There are others that use what they have to bring awareness to their home in need.

Movies bring cultures to those who aren’t like them. Certain movies give information about important people or events. In addition to the various films, the discussion will cover the positive and negative effects of these films.

Reflecting on my previous years at Kalamazoo College, I have had these little moments that I have often asked myself one very important question that to this day, I’m still trying to figure out and that question is… “how in the world did I survive these past years in this PWI?”

It’s a question that many first year students ask and try to figure out by themselves but it’s not something that they, although they think otherwise, go through alone. In this workshop, I am to collaborate with a friend or two and talk about various methods that students of color can do in order to “survive” these institutions that are not made for us. This includes navigating through resources, building relationships, and getting involved with your people. When students leave this workshop, I hope to accomplish that the attendees feel motivated to find their own groundings to their PWI and make sure that they KNOW that they belong.

Self Care Breaks

Hotels

There are no hotels in walking distance from the college. We do have a deal with the local bus service, called “The Loop.” All GLCA students will have free access to The Loop November 3-4 – just show your student ID

We have reserved rooms at the following hotels: