Past Events

March 2023: Critical Race Theory and Healing Our Community

Thank you so much for all you did to make our on campus event so impactful! We were so grateful to host Dr. Frank Harris III (SDSU Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), Khea Pollard (Director of Economic Mobility & Opportunity, CEO of By Any Beans Necessary, and USD Alumna), and our own co-found of this series, Dr. Joseph Lathan (Professor of Practice, Director of Online Programs). We thank Sahmie Wytewa for providing the land acknowledgement and reminding us about the importance of moving beyond performative nods to inspired engagement with the Kumeyaay community. We were so happy to have our community partners: Jacobs Institute, Dreams & Ducets, and the Palestine Solidarity Committee share about the work they are doing within our communities. Finally, thank you to Dean Kimberly A. White Smith for her reminders of the importance of this work in the faculty closing.
In case you missed the event, you can still see most of it (I forgot to record at the beginning- insert sad face) on our youtube page: Link to March 24 Event.

February 2023: The Impact of Community: Calling In & Calling Out

On February 10, 2023 we had another wonderful event, “The Impact of Community: Calling In & Calling Out.” We would like to thank those who made this time so impactful: Dr. Eric Pierson and Julianna Kihmm from USD Rowing Team (panelists), Dr. Perla Myers (land acknowledgement), Dr. Martha Fuller (closing remarks), and Marques Spencer and Richard Hurt (#BLM & Beyond planning team). Thank you Dr. Pierson for guiding us after the free viewing of the movie, “A Most Beautiful Thing” and panel discussion. If you would like to check out the post-movie discussion, you can find it on our youtube channel: Feb 2023 #BLM Event. We thank all of our participants both online and in person (this was our first hybrid event!). This event truly emulated our solidarity statement by “uplifting and providing a better quality of life for our community.” As Dr. Fuller mentioned, “we can’t move forward unless we do it together.” Here are some of the resources we highlighted at the event:

November 2022:

Thank you for attending our last meeting on November 18th. What an event! To recap we had Marshall Goodman, Dr. Briony DuBose, and Dr. Jessica Williams speak to us about Racism & Professionalism: Trends, Experiences, & Strategies for Addressing Bias & Discrimination. The speakers gave us tips, stories, and robust experiences as examples and encouragement to be bold in professional settings. Here are a few of those tips:

  • Bring your full self into spaces
  • Persuasion is a powerful tool
  • Embrace discomfort
  • Be honest and talk

If you missed the event, don’t worry. We got you covered, click here.

October 2022: Stamped Reading Circle 

Thank you for attending our last meeting on October 14th. We want to thank our planning team: Marques Spencer and Richard Hurt. This event created a space for dialogue, healing, and hope around the book STAMPED: Racism, Antiracism, and You (Reynolds & Kendi, 2020). We were even able to give out over 40 copies of the book to our community! We held a mid-book reading circle on 10/7/22 and the culminating event on 10/14/22. If you missed the October 14th event you can still check it out on our youtube page: https://youtu.be/oMylViGQPRk. 
2022 Celebrate Juneteenth with Reflection, Growth, and Gratitude: DLT #BLM Social Justice and Advocacy Series
Our inaugural DLT #BLM Social Justice and Advocacy Series event was held two years ago on June 18, 2020. It was during this event that we shared information about Juneteenth, grieved the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery and many more, and celebrated the formation of the community we created with our solidarity statement and call to action. Since then we have hosted 18 events, shared our work at four local, national, and international conferences, and connected over 500 people from around the world. It is with great humility that we announce how excited we are to move our work forward in the upcoming years using the financial support of the USD Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Initiative grant we have been awarded.
In May we took the opportunity to really reflect on our growth and sustainability. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone that was in attendance. For this event, we began by acknowledging and elevating the devastating events from Buffalo, Dallas, and Orange County. This brought forth a moment of reflection for our series, committee, and community. As we reflected on the journey over the past two year, we asked ourselves: How do we continue defining community and are we living out the vision that our group set out? We had wonderful dialogue, small-group breakouts, and whole-group discussions on how we continue to evolve, center communal activism, and bring in more folks to do this collective work. A special thanks to Mario Echeverria and Gabriel Nuńez-Soria for facilitating and hosting this reflective session.
Summer 2022 Planning Retreat
As we move into our third year, we would like to invite our community members to join us in envisioning the future of this mission centered, collaborative, social justice work! Please complete this form if you would like to learn more about our summer planning community: 
May 2022 Reflection Event
Please check out May’s event recording on our Youtube page to review our past events.
Here are some of the highlights from the PollEverywhere and Jamboard we completed during the May 2022 event:
April 2022: Opt In to Equity. 
This event began with Hannah Mesouani sharing the land acknowledgement and Adan Escobedo walking us through our solidarity statement. Our distinguished panel of educators included Angelia Lee, Dr. Joi Spencer, Chris Jeffords, and Natalie Gwishiri. We thank Michelle Coleman and Dr. Rebekka Jez for moderating and Raketa Ouedraogo-Thomas for guiding the discussion and activities. A special thanks to Dr. Spencer for giving the closing remarks as well and Dr. Jez for supporting this work.
February 2022 Black Joy Be Like 
Black History Month is upon and this month we are celebrating Black Joy.
October 2021 Healing Through the Arts on 10/29
What a powerful group of artists we engaged with last week! This event truly emulated the healing process through awareness (naming it), engagement (sharing and interacting with pieces), and restoration (relief from burdens). Please check out the slidedeck, our youtube channel to watch the video from the event, and watch out for the gallery updates on our website.
The Playwrights Project, playwrightsproject.org,  shared screenplays about the fragility of life, compassion and oppression, and “being propelled by our own experiences”- thank you Carlos S. Vasquez, Travon Harris, and Tony Curtis for sharing your work. We are grateful to Mabelle Reynoso for connecting us all.
Amir Saadiq’s (https://asaadiq.com) video installation, “Miss America, 2021” challenged us to open up to the process of examining the “mythical seat of power” and the work that lies ahead by reflecting on historical and current experiences of Black women in America.
Marienne “Yen” Thomas’ “Ready, Set, Go…” reminded us “there is still more to do in order to see the change we want to see and to experience true liberation from all struggles.”
Thank you to Marybel Martin for walking us through an art journaling activity. We were honored that Dr. Laura Pecenco, from ProjectPaint.org, shared the pieces from the Arts in Corrections Program and Sophie Vradelis for sharing the art from the Prisons Arts Collective.
A special shout out to our USD community members who shared their artistic expression: Adi Khalsa and Dennis Maurice Dumpson: https://www.iamdennismaurice.com/bio.html. As Dr. Lathan so eloquently stated, “art becomes the voice so that people who cannot speak can voice themselves.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74MMoIg41AM&authuser=1
September 2021 Gratitude and Resources from the “Black Voices in Kidlit” 
On September 17th we had another wonderful event. We would like to thank those who made this time so impactful: Librarian Brandi Grant; Sidney Keys and his mom, Winnie Caldwell, from Books N Bros; Dr. Suzanne Stolz (closing remarks); the fabulous planning team (Michelle Coleman, Mabelle Reynoso, Zulema Reynoso, Mario Echeverria, Jennifer Manglicmot, Dr. Lathan, and Dr. Jez); and all of our attendees who shared their experiences and resources!
As Dr. Stolz so eloquently said, “Thank you all for spending time with us here today, thinking about and sharing experiences with Black voices in Kidlit, considering imagination and possibility. I appreciated the time for sharing about books we read as children and considering how they had a part in shaping us, in telling us what matters. Many of us acknowledged not seeing ourselves in the books we read as children and I can’t help but wonder how we might be different had we.
As educators, we ask, “Do the books we use represent our student body?”  In his video, Jason Reynolds highlights a need to be inclusive, to help children learn to see everyone as part of their communities. He says “Literature kills germs,” the kind of germs that prevent us from seeing the humanity of our neighbors—and keep us from understanding how we fit in.
Brandi Grant provided us with insight into how she promotes Black voices in Kidlit to teachers and she provided fantastic resources. In my work, I’ve made an effort to amplify the voices of black disabled authors like Ronnie Sidney, Keah Brown, Lederick Horne, and Leroy Moore. I’d like to share a part of the dedication Leroy wrote in his book Black Disabled Art History 101:
“This book is dedicated to all the disabled children and youth searching for a mirror, for histories, for stories, and for images that say, ‘You are not alone. You are being carried by disabled Black and Brown adults who were once disabled Black and Brown children and youth. We want you to continue on your path and lead others in new directions…’”
I loved learning about Sidney and Winnie of Books and Bros. I also loved learning from Brandi today, was inspired by the changes she made at her school library, having difficult conversations, and doing what’s right for students…… and going into a Friday evening, I was especially excited about her description of Book Tastings- “We are eating books!”
If you missed it, here are the resources from this event:

2021 Juneteenth Event

Our deepest gratitude is extended to all of you who were able to engage in our Juneteenth: Looking Back, Looking Forward event yesterday. As we planned this event at the closing of the 2020-2021 school year, we reflected on our appreciation for the time, energy, and dedication you all committed to social justice work. We look forward to continuing this work over the next year. We would like to name the people who made this event a success and share the materials with you all (if you missed the event, it is not too late to participate):

  • Juneteenth Slide Deck link and Video (Check out our Youtube Channel and website for other event recordings)
  • Solidarity statement and website: Tommy Royston grounded the event by outlining the intentions of our solidarity statement “We, as a social justice collective of educational leaders, are committed to uplifting and providing a better quality of life for our community.”
  • Looking back at the last year and creation of the event flyer: Zulema Reynoso reminded us of the different events over the last year where we provided spaces for discourse, learning, reflecting, and healing. She challenged us to commit to addressing this “unfinished work.”
  • Michelle Coleman asked us to approach this work with radical empathy (Wilkerson, 2020) using the Courageous Conversation Compass (Singleton & Linton, 2005)
  • Mabelle Reynoso (website support) shared norms for creating a brave space for dialogue and Tre Watkins, Tiffany Cunningham, Gabriel Nuñez-Soria for volunteered to facilitate discussions.
  • Raketa Ouedraogo-Thomas guided us in our first breakout discussions where we examined different quotes about the “truth problem” in the United States. She then asked us to reflect on the quote and the Courageous Conversation Compass. She then moved us into the Past and Future ThingLink on Black Massacres and allowed us to explore events beyond the Tulsa Massacre. We invite you to take time individually to continue learning.
  • Michelle and Zulema invited us to write our commitments to social justice work on the Jamboard: “I am committed to” and Mabelle reminded us about committing with radical empathy.
  • Jennifer Manglicmot shared resources you can check out:
  • Closing Remarks from Dean Joi Spencer: June 19, 1865 marked the official end to the nightmare of American slavery. While the African American community has celebrated Juneteenth for over a century; this year, the holiday has become federally recognized! National recognition of Juneteenth does two things. First, it acknowledges that slavery happened in this nation. There is no other national recognition of slavery in the United States, even though the institution was with us for well over 150 years prior to the official founding of the country in 1776. Acknowledgement is significant because it is the foundation of restoration. Secondly, national recognition of Juneteenth allows others to mourn and celebrate alongside the African American community. Slavery brutalized Black Americans for over 400 years. The need for healing is great. National healing becomes possible when we weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn and remember with those who remember. Justice is an action. I am particularly proud of the students in the Education for Social Justice doctoral program because that justice does not come by wishes or hopes only, but rather by consistent and persistent thinking  strategizing and working. I hope that each of you takes some time to celebrate Juneteenth this year and that it provides a space of remembrance, restoration, and healing for the journey that is ahead. 
  • Please complete our feedback form, this will guide our 2021-2022 planning.

April 2021: Unearthing Greater Healing Consciousness

Thank you to those who joined our healing space on Friday, April 23rd, where we were actively “Unearthing Greater Healing Consciousness within the BLM Movement.” We want to thank the planning team: our DLT PhD students Tomay Douglas, Zulema Reynoso, and Jennifer Manglicmot and the faculty Dr. Rebekka Jez, Dr. Joseph Lathan, and our closing speaker, Dr. James Fabionar.

This event was centered around the healing portion of our solidarity statement. Jennifer led us in a breathing exercise followed by introducing the short video that “unearthed biases” using comedy. Next, Tomay performed her untitled poem that she wrote in response to the #metoo and #BLM movements that still applies today. She then guided us in getting to the root of our biases using “Unearthing Greater Healing Consciousness” Activity (much gratitude goes to Tomay for developing the activity and Zulema our artistic designer). After everyone had a time to reflect on biases, perceptions, beliefs, or myths and where they came from while music played in the background (songs by Roy Hargrove and the RH Factor and Robert Glasper Experiment), Zulema prepared us creating a brave space for speaking our truth and discussing what came up for each of us during the video, poem, and activity. You can watch the share out in our video of the event. Jennifer shared the resources we curated for folks to begin a healing practice. Dr. Lathan introduced the TED Talk Jenee Johnson gave to discuss Sankofa (to go back and reclaim). Finally, Dr. James Fabionar gave an eloquent closing to our event where he challenges us to think deeply about what it means to frame social justice work in healing.

This first year of DLT #BLM Social Justice and Advocacy series has been a powerful space for sharing lived experiences, deconstructing narratives, dialoguing about ways we can be change agents within our communities, empowering expression through the arts, and holding each other in healing spaces. We continue to be called to live out social justice within our actions.

March 2021: Everyday Intersectionality

What a phenomenal month of DLT #BLM Social Justice and Advocacy events! On March 12th we had the premier of the “Everyday Intersectionality: Dissecting the Intersection” video –don’t worry if you missed it, it is on demand!– where Josh Campbell (“the collision of identities”), Vei Tsalikis (“in my uniform the Black is covered by the Blue”), and Michelle Mariglioano (“historical storytelling had taught them about power, position, and preservation”) shared their experiences of intersectionality.

This was followed on March 19th with our “Everyday Intersectionality: Panel and Workshop.” We began with a moment of silence for our Asian and Pacific Islander Community and to honor the lives of Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon C. Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong A. Yue, and Paul Andre Michels. We honor the words from our panelist, Dr. Chanelle Wilson and Mr. Matthew Morris. Please see our solidarity statement for a complete list of our intentions. We encourage you to listen to Dr. Wilson shares how “it’s [her] time” and the impact of “dropping a seed” to encourage growth. Mr. Morris’ poetic share on his “awareness” of his lived experience and his push to engage others in sitting with discomfort through listening- such powerful and inspirational educators! Next, we broke out into groups to answer: What does intersectionality mean to you? How does it show up in your everyday life? We invite you to add to the resources we gathered in Everyday Intersectionality Resources

We want to extend our gratitude to everyone who worked together on these powerful events:

  • Dissecting the Intersection Video Panel: Vei Tsalikis, Josh Campbell, Michelle Marigliano
  • Everyday Intersectionality Speakers: Dr. Chanelle Wilson (Assistant Professor, Bryn Mawr/Haverford University), Matthew Morris (Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, Lewisville ISD), Myeshia Whigham (PhD Student), and the closing by Dr. Reyes Quezada (DLT Chair)
  • DLT #BLM March Planning Committee: Michelle Coleman (PhD Student), Raketa Ouedra0go-Thomas (PhD Student), Lindsay Roberts (Community Affiliate), Zulema Reynoso (PhD Student), Adan Escobedo (PhD Student), Dr. Rebekka Jez (DLT Faculty), and Dr. Joseph Lathan (DLT Faculty)

February 2021

Thanks to each of you for participating in last Friday’s panel discussion “Forgiveness vs. Revenge and the BLM Movement”. Our hope is that each of you left the event feeling inspired to continue the important work towards ensuring that #Black Lives Matter.

During the moving discussion, we began by reaffirming our commitment to Black lives by centering on the DLT #BLM Solidarity and Action Statement. Then each of the four panelists reflected and shared insights regarding how (or if) forgiveness and revenge can coexist based upon the lens through which they approach their racial equity advocacy work. We are incredibly grateful for panelists for opening their hearts and sharing their experiences and perspectives forgiveness, accountability, and reconciliation in relation to the #BLM movement: Shanelle Johnson (mental health), Elizabeth Leiba (historian), Oscar Odom (legal/judicial), and SOLES very own Joseph Lathan (spiritual/religious).

A huge THANK YOU to SOLES PhD in Education for Social Justice student Tré Watkins for his skillful moderation throughout the panel discussion. Additionally, deep gratitude to the planning committee – Emily Burns, Kelly León, Zulema Reynosa, and Tommy Royston, supported by SOLES faculty members Dr. Ana Estrada, Dr. Rebekka Jez, and Dr. Joseph Lathan – for curating a provocative and inspiring session. Also, appreciation to SOLES Professor Dr. Maya Kalyanpur for summarizing the hope highlighted within this session and closing with a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, “Let My Country Awake.”

Here are some links from the event, please visit our website to learn more about the work we have done and will continue to do. We encourage you to share this information with others. All of our events are open.

January 2021

Thank you for joining us on January 19 for our reflecting, dialoguing, processing, and responding to the election, insurrection, MLK Jr. Day, and inauguration. What a whirlwind 2021 has been already! Thank you to those who shared the resources, articles, memes, photos, and videos on Whiteness and the White House that centered our breakout group discussions.
Thank you to Kelly Leon for connecting to our DLT #BLM Solidarity Statement to the event; Jennifer Manglicmot for centering us with a moment of reflection and land acknowledgement; Gabriel Nuñez-Soria and Zulema Reynoso for sharing images from the insurrection; Sonya Renee Taylor’s sharing about Whiteness; Lindsay Roberts for sharing Today article, NPR podcast, and Woke Kindergarten; Myeshia Whigham for describing how to create a Brave Space for Dialogue; to each group for sharing about their process, and Mario Echeverria and Gabriel Nuñez-Soria for sharing ohhappydani‘s cycle of action.
Here is a link to the recording of the 1/19 event, our website resources, slide deck (with resources) and jamboard from the event. We invite you to continue to share images, articles, videos, and resources on the jamboard.
Some of the themes that were presented in the whole group share out included processing images, sharing resources, leadership’s response, White House response to BLM vs. insurrection, elevating BIPOC voices, the symbols and language used by groups, Eugene Goodman, response to misinformation (1776 Commission Report), discussing how we want to see the world, how we can have this discussion with our youth, the impact of echo chambers, teachable moments, and much more. Thank you Dr. Lathan for closing our session with the necessity of using tools and policy changes to move forward in a hopeful and healing manner.

November 2020

We are so excited about the Healing with a Racial and Restorative Lens event held on 11/19. We encourage you to check out the November events: 11/19 Healing w/a Racial and Restorative Lens and 11/6 Healing Centered Work and Sacred Purpose. This event came together because of the hard work of so many special people. We would like to give thanks, provide a summary of topics covered, and share some resources mentioned in the talk. Gratitude and Thanks:

  • Dr. David R. Karp and L. Tomay Douglas from the Center for Restorative Justice at the University of San Diego https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/restorative-justice/
  • Moderator: Jennifer S. Manglicmot (PhD in Education for Social Justice Student)
  • The USD #BLM Social Justice and Advocacy Team that collaborated and contributed to the Healing-Centered Work and Sacred Purpose and Healing with a Racial and Restorative Lens conversations/interviews: Mario Echeverria, Jennifer S. Manglicmot, L. Tomay Douglas, Dr. David R. Karp, Gabriel N. Soria,  Dr. Ricardo Medina, Karla Sanchez, Zulema Reynoso, Adan Escobedo, Hossna S. Ahadi, Dr. Rebekka Jez, Dr. Joseph Lathan

Restorative Justice and Healing: Dr. Karp and L. Tomay shared their experiences of how they began to develop their expertise in restorative justice and their journey to embrace restorative justice as a healing philosophy. How the RJ Movement Has Evolved: Dr. Karp and L. Tomay discussed the expansion of RJ from micro to macro, diversity in society across systems, structures, and institutions, distinctions of Restorative Justice and Transformative Justice, and RJ evolution in K-12 schools. Misconceptions about RJ: RJ is not a “soft” process or approach; it is actually a very hard and transformative experience for those who participate in the restorative and reconciliation processes. Those who have caused and committed the harms must come to terms with the impact of those harms on those involved—they are not “let off the hook”.  See Danielle Sered’s book Until We Reckon. RJ in the Context of BLM and Racial Justice Movements: Dr. Karp and L. Tomay shared what restorative justice means in 2020 and within the contexts of the current BLM and anti-racist movements. There are key tenets of RJ that intersect with key tenets of the Black Lives Matter movements and current social justice movements that address the humanity that connects us all. See Dr. Fania E. Davis’ book The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and US Social Transformation.

  • Davis, F.E. (2019). The little book of race and restorative justice: Black lives, healing, and US social transformation. Good Books: Skyhorse Publishing.
  • Ginwright, S. (2015). Hope and healing in urban education: How urban activists and teachers are reclaiming matters of the heart. Routledge.
  • Karp, D. (2019). The little book of restorative justice for colleges and universities: Repairing harm and rebuilding trust in response to student misconduct. Good Books: Skyhorse Publishing.
  • O’Reilly, K.B. (2020, November 16). AMA: Racism is a threat to public health. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/health-equity/ama-racism-threat-public-health
  • Restorative Roots Collaborative. (2020). Restorative roots collaborative. https://nyrrc.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
  • Sered, D. (2019). Until we reckon: Violence, mass incarceration, and a road to repair. The New Press.
  • Until We Reckon by Danielle Sere

September 2020

The DLT #BLM Social Justice and Advocacy Series Planning Team would like to give thanks to all who made this another successful event! 
  • Reymundo R. Quezada, Department Chair of Cross-Cultural Studies at Grossmont College (Keynote Speaker). As Kelly mentioned, “you were honest and thoughtful about our historical legacy and present challenges, but also provided a way forward and an incentive to keep at this work.”  
  • Dr. Suzanne Stolz (DLT)- for her eloquent synthesis of the readings, posts, and discussion topics concerning anti-racism
  • Kelly Leon (PhD in Education for Social Justice student)- For leading the group in planning and facilitating the September Anti-Racism events
  • V. Dozier for creating the anti-racism libguides for the event including the digital discussion using padlet and the posted readings on anti-racism
  • September Planning Team: Kelly Leon, Jennifer Manglicmot, Myeshia Whigham, Tommy Royston, and Zulema Reynoso
  • Breakout Facilitators: Kelly Leon, Jennifer Manglicmot, Myeshia Whigham, Tommy Royston, Gabriel Nuñez-Soria, Michelle Coleman, Graciela Munoz, Mario Echeverria, and Zulema Reynoso
  • Faculty Support for the Event: Dr. Reyes Quezada, Dr. Joseph Lathan, and Dr. Rebekka Jez
We would so appreciate if you would give us feedback on the event and/or RSVP for our October event on political activism (flyer attached):
As promised, here are the materials from the event:

July 20, 2020: #BLM Artistic Expression Salon Call

In the spirit of our #BLM Social Justice Advocacy Series, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) and the Department of Learning and Teaching (DLT) held our 1st Artistic Expression Salon. Artists shared their artistic expression based on the following themes: Celebration, Unity, Advocacy, Reactionary, Action, and Personal Expression.

We are so grateful to all the artists who joined us yesterday at the #BLM Artistic Expression Salon: Joshua Kimble, James Philips, and Cecelia Kouma from the Playwrights Project; Ezra Soul, Marybel Martin, Stephanie Stigliano, Kamala Kavati, Jean Cornell Wheat, Peggy Peattie, CJ Maloney, Heena Lodhai, Mailyah and Myah Spencer, Viviana Alexandrowicz, Graciela Muñoz, and Dr. Joseph Lathan. Thank you for providing a glimpse into present experiences and historical events through your art. As James alluded to, this truly a “wicked problem” that will only be solved with systemic change at all levels. Our event brought us together to witness the energy being focused on creating real change through expression–from sharing personal and community experiences using different mediums (photography, paintings, grassroots posters, and mixed media) and performing arts (plays, poems, and videos). You emulated activism within our communities and online platforms. You are all making a difference!

We appreciate Interim of SOLES, Dean Joi Spencer, and Dr. Kristopher Hall from the Department of Counseling & Marriage and Family Therapy for framing our event with their thoughts and experiences. Thank you to Zulema Reynoso, Adan Escobedo, and Aaron Adkins for leading the development of the event and facilitating the interactions with the artists. And a special thanks to Sergio Rodriguez for assisting with the creation of the PhD in Education for Social Justice website. Here are the materials from the event:

July 8th, 2020: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (DiAngelo, 2018)

We are so grateful for the participation in the book club on White Fragility! Here are links to the uploaded

  • video of the group discussions
  • slidedeck, from the event
  • chat box reflections shared by participants

June 18th, 2020: Juneteenth DLT #BLM Town Hall Meeting

The Juneteenth #BLM Town Hall was attended by 68 students, faculty members, support people, and affiliates of SOLES. We would like to extend our gratitude for those who guided us through the event. The event began with welcome by Department Chair Quezada and Associate Dean Spencer; opening messages by Dr. Lathan and Michelle Coleman, PhD in Education for Social Justice student; circle norms were outlined by Myeshia Whigham (PhD in Education for Social Justice student); and breakout discussion groups were led by: Zulema Reynoso (PhD student), Gabriel Nunez-Soria (PhD student), Raketa Oeudraogo-Thomas (PhD student), Mario Echeverria (PhD student), Adan Escobedo (PhD student), Jennifer Manglicmot (PhD student), Dr. Lathan (Professor of Practice), Kelly Leon (PhD student), Myeshia Whigham (PhD student), and Aaron Adkins (MCC2); and Dr. Jez facilitated the share out of the 10 breakout groups. Students highlighted the next steps of the action plan and Dr. Quezada, Dr. Jez, and Dr. Lathan closed out the event.

Group discussions themes (check out the link to Juneteenth slidedeck for more information from each group):

  • Juneteenth- didn’t know, new learning about history, dismantle the narratives with counter-narratives, identity, continual learning (especially for White folks), dilution of events and movements in American education system, needs to be a national holiday
  • Appreciation- for the space to dialogue, healing, statement resonated with all departments–centered those most affected, identified whtie supremacy ideology, defined terms, connection between capitalism and racism
  • Hope- working collaboratively, recent Supreme Court decisions, movements, community, destruction can be a form of creation, learning from others, young people are willing to learn, people educating themselves, let’s build on momentum
  • White privilege- being able to step away or avoid, wanting to be allies, need patience and grace to do the work, White folks get defensive, we all need to know about racial injustice in order to have conversations about it and hold the space for our students
  • Living the narrative- Infuse BLM and anti-racist work into SOLES, social media, change agents means action, collaborate in different communities, how to internalize and disrupt, critically analyze SOLES practices (admission, curriculum, student experience, guest speakers, names of buildings), how to present self, how will support teachers going into political spaces? how will we continue this work? How can we model transparency (risk vulnerability)? how do we move this work into the community? co-conspirators (vs. ally), resources/suggestions for future work

Resources: