第20届年度多样性挑战, a national conference organized by 太阳城网赌平台’s Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture that takes place online October 23-24, spells out the urgency of its task in this year’s brochure: “Racism, 种族民族优越感, and xenophobia have spread their tentacles of oppression in virtually every domain in U.S. 社会.
多年来, 我们开会是为了分享奖学金, 心理健康干预, 教育策略, and social justice community advocacy to foster our shared efforts to move toward a mutual goal of ending racial and ethnic cultural oppression in whatever forms they occur.”
ISPRC, 也在庆祝成立20周年, was launched with the Diversity Challenge as its centerpiece to promote the assets and address the societal conflicts associated with race and culture in theory and research, 心理健康实践, 教育, 业务, 整个社会.
ISPRC主任Janet E. Helms explains that this year’s convening—“Goodbye ‘isms,’ Hello Future!”—will challenge 参与者 “not to only imagine a future world without racial-cultural oppression, 同时也分享他们的工作, 的想法, or presence to make a reality of that which we can imagine, toward the goal of ending racial-cultural domination in the future.
ISPRC主任珍妮特·赫尔姆斯. 克里斯托弗·索尔特(Christopher Soldt)拍摄
“It’s also a two-decade celebration of what all previous attendees have done over the years to keep racism and ethnocentrism—and the many social categories and domains with which they intersect—in the forefront of 社会’s consciousness,赫尔姆斯说。, the Augustus Long Professor at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development.
The Diversity Challenge will feature a deep and robust roster of invited panelists and speakers, 包括罗伯特·卡特, retired chair of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology and director of training at the Counseling Psychology Program at Teachers College, 哥伦比亚大学, who is known worldwide for his work on assessing racial trauma; University of Maryland Assistant Dean for Diversity Kim Nickerson, the former director of the American Psychological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program; San Francisco State University Department of Counseling Professor Rebecca Toporek, co-author of Taking Action: Creating Social Change through Strength, 团结, 策略 & Sustainability; and Francie Latour, Broad Institute diversity initiative coordinator and author of Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings, 一个bi-cultural, 双地理儿童绘本.
Additional speakers include neuropsychologist Hector Adames, co-director of the Immigration Critical Race and Cultural Equity Lab and editor of Latinx Psychology; Karen Suyemoto, a professor of psychology and Asian American Studies and director of the Transnational Cultural and 社区 Studies graduate program at the University of Massachusetts-Boston; and Alvin Alvarez, 健康学院院长 & 旧金山州立大学社会科学专业.
“The institute is unique in its emphasis on addressing psychological issues related to race and ethnic culture from an interdisciplinary perspective. 在社会政策领域, race and culture are too often treated as human deficiencies rather than potential resources.”
The 2020多元化挑战 comes in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna泰勒, 和阿莫德·阿贝里, 以及警察射杀雅各布·布莱克的事, 赫尔姆斯说, each distressing reminders of the rationale for the development of ISRPC’s Racial Trauma Toolkit, a resource for communities of color trying to cope with these repeatedly devastating experiences.
Understanding that racial trauma is an urgent public health concern that has serious consequences for the well-being of people of color, the ISPRC 校友 Advisory Board launched the downloadable #racialtraumaisreal kit in 2015, a direct response to the 2014-15 deaths of Michael Brown, 约翰·克劳福德三世, 埃里克·加纳, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 伊薇特•史密斯, 沃尔特•斯科特, 弗雷迪·格雷, as well as the lack of indictments of the police officers involved in several of these deaths.
“Regardless of a person’s previous understanding of racism, many people of color may find themselves struggling to process their reactions to these deaths,赫尔姆斯说。. “愤怒, 悲伤, 恐惧, 无助感, 疲惫, 愤怒, and the desire to act may emerge at unpredictable times in an unpredictable manner.
“The Racial Trauma Toolkit offers the recommendations of mental health professionals and advocates of the study and promotion of racial and cultural understanding, and speaks to the broad mental health impact we as a community are experiencing as witnesses, 参与者, 心理健康从业人员.”
The ISPRC has been engaged in a variety of team initiatives, including a mentoring and advocacy program at Dorchester’s Jeremiah E. Burke High School; the Race Culture Challengers, a team formed to empower people to create and navigate conversations and spaces that address aspects of race and culture; and a student-led advocacy program developed to support and empower international graduate students.
“The institute is unique in its emphasis on addressing psychological issues related to race and ethnic culture from an interdisciplinary perspective,赫尔姆斯说。. “在社会政策领域, race and culture are too often treated as human deficiencies rather than potential resources.”
Find more about the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture, 和多样性挑战, at misawa-city.com/isprc.
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | October 2020