Humanity Through Community is an all-day race and ethnicity workshop on Thursday, November 12th, at MHGS, for all faculty, staff, students, alumni, and our spouses/significant others. The workshop seeks to acknowledge the voices of MHGS faculty, staff, students, alumni, and spouses/significant others who recognize our need and desire to develop intercultural competence and promote ethnic and racial reconciliation within the MHGS Community and beyond and believe such labor to be essential in living into the global reality of Christ's Kingdom.
For this event, we are grateful to be joined by Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil as our keynote speaker (and afternoon workshop facilitator). For more on Rev. Dr. Salter McNeil and her ministry go to: www.saltermcneil.com or read her bio below. In addition, we have the opportunity to chose from 12 different workshops - facilitated by local educators and advocates in realms of engaging difference - dealing with themes of awareness, knowledge, skills & abilities, and action/advocacy surrounding issues of race and ethnicity.
The workshop is free-of-charge. Childcare will be provided. To register, follow the instructions below.
Delbert Richardson
The American History Exhibit: The Unspoken Truths
The American History Exhibit is a museum-quality presentation that chronicles the rich history (Diaspora) of Africans in Africa prior to chattel slavery, the experiences and impact of chattel slavery, the Jim Crow Era and the Contributions African Americans have had on scientific, cultural, and technological innovation. The multi-media presentation, storytelling, authentic artifacts and anti-oppression curricula shares the unbiased history and journey of African people to the Americas and Europe.
Drs. Pamela Taylor & Jennifer Wiley
Courageous Conversations Talking Circle
Talking circles give participants the opportunity to talk openly with their colleagues around issues of race and social justice. They take on the direction that the participants need to go in based on what they bring to the conversation. It is a way to have open and honest dialogue about difficult issues in a safe environment.
Raven Heavy Runner & Loretta Delora
The Decolonization process amongst First Nations Peoples
Colonization has had a devastating effect on First Nations communities. By examining how colonization has affected First Nations people, we can learn to decolonize ourselves, our families, and our communities. This presentation will help us analyze history, our communities, and ourselves to see how we can play an instrumental part in being change agents (changing ones). This can be done by informing ourselves, dialoguing, and creating personal, family, and community plans towards the process of colonization.
Mark Manuel
Defining your cultural lens
We all have cultural influences that effect how we live, interact, and view the world. One of the crucial steps towards cultural competence is to understand that all of us have a cultural lens that is ever present in how we process information. Join this interactive workshop that will help you define your cultural lens and discuss with others how it helps shape your views and opinions on a variety of topics and issues. Learn how we can see or experience the same thing, yet process it very differently based on our cultural lens.† This workshop moves us beyond colorblindness and recognizes the numerous ways that shape who we are.
Max Hunter
Don’t Get It Twisted: Education for Engagement in Urban Settings
A faulty perspective on race, power, and privilege can often blind advocates of social justice to the power and resources that reside within their community of interest. In other words, ìgetting it twistedî creates barriers to equitable solutions to societal ills. Using a broad range of authors, including M.M Bakhtin, this approach encourages educators, counselors, and administrators to honor their own narratives, as well as to receive the honest input of others (authors). These skills transform the classroom/work space from an epic predictable site of subtle and not so subtle discipline based on asymmetries in power to a novel and improvisational space where tolerance and discovering what students bring to the table become critical to the learning environment.
Rev. Dr. Brenda Slater McNeil
From Preservation to Transformation: A Biblical Model for Reconciliation
What is reconciliation? How will you know when youíve arrived? What are the steps or stages to get there? These and other questions are answered in this interactive seminar that is designed to give leaders a deeper understanding of the reconciliation process. Based upon a comprehensive model that clearly describes the reconciliation process, this seminar will show how to move the members of an institution or organization from ignorance and apathy to active participation in reconciliation.
Jonnali Mayberry
Our Stories: Hope for Change
Narratives can be important components of social change, and storytelling may contribute to such change. This workshop is geared toward faculty and staff to increase their insight into the voices of a sample of MHGS Students of Color. This presentation will help us think about our interactions with students of color within our own community, inside or outside of the classroom. Participants of this session will leave with a new and more intimate knowledge to some of the oppression experienced by current students, regarding their marginalized racial/cultural status, institutionally and/or interpersonally. The aim is for participants to be more sensitive to the experiences of students of color, current and forthcoming.
Dr. Pam Taylor
Putting Anti-Racism Education Theory into Action
This session will focus on the important aspects of the anti-racism debate and the challenges posed by an anti-racism education. Participants will be introduced to the basic philosophical tenets of anti-racism education and a critical comparison with various theories of multicultural education. They will be challenged to analyze the influence of racism on the development of social identities and how discrimination translates into practices that perpetuate institutionalized systems of oppression.
Alexandra Davis
Social Justice and Civic Engagement
How do you move from the classroom to the community? Learn how to take the information you are learning about multiculturalism and social justice and turn it into action. We will talk about how do determine priorities of civic engagement, and focusing the change you want to make in the community. This interactive workshop will help you gather ideas about what your community needs and what are the steps to find a cause and successfully community organize for social change. This workshop focuses on community involvement, local government, access to resources and where to look for support.
Melia LaCour
Tips and Tools to Improve Cross-Cultural Relationships
Developing effective cross-cultural communication skills is an absolute must if we expect to create and engage in healthy personal and professional relationships. Without these skills, we can unknowingly create distrust and disrespect in a relationship even when we have the best intentions at heart. To assist you in your journey of becoming a culturally competent professional, join us for an interactive session where we will learn skills to address and confront those who make biased comments, practice asking sensitive questions regarding cultural differences and explore cross-cultural communication styles and values across various cultural groups.
Jo Anderson
Viewing the World through Cultural Filters
Presenter: Jo Anderson Cavinta, Diversity Coordinator, King County Library System What is a cultural filter? How does your cultural filter affect your perception of the world? Join us for an interactive session where we will explore this concept through activities, film, creative writing and discussion.
Dr. Jennifer Wiley
Voices from the Field: Culturally Responsive Leadership in Non-White Communities
Dr. Jennifer Wiley, principal of Franklin High School in Seattle Public Schools, will share some of the challenges facing white leaders in non-white communities. Through table conversations, experiential activities, and question/answer sessions participants will have the opportunity to explore effective leadership strategies that can be applied in various service-oriented settings.
Ilsa Govan
What is Multicultural Education?
Many educators talk about multicultural education, but are we speaking the same language? This workshop will present a multicultural education continuum drawn from a compilation of work by experts in the field. Faculty members will have an opportunity to reflect on their syllabi and pedagogy and students to think more critically about their course work. We will also examine issues specific to the work of European Americans teaching and learning multicultural education.
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr.
White Privilege 101: Getting in on the Conversations
This interactive, challenging and energetic session will examine and explore the topic of white privilege/oppression. Itís critical for those promoting diversity ìget in on the privilege/oppression conversations.î Business/community leaders, educators, administrators, parents and students have the excellent opportunity to be positive role models, powerful leaders, and effective agents of social and institutional change if they have the tools to do so.† Participants of this session will leave with the skills and knowledge necessary to begin addressing issues of white privilege/oppression individually and institutionally.
About Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil
Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil is called to the healing of people and the healing of nations. She is a dynamic preacher, evangelist and thought-leader with over 20 years of experience in the field of racial and ethnic reconciliation. Dr. Salter McNeil is the president and founder of Salter McNeil & Associates, a Christian company that partners with organizations to transform them into reconciling communities. Their mission is to produce inter-culturally competent leaders on college campuses, in churches and in organizations around the world. They accomplish this through a comprehensive, biblically based process that includes spiritual formation, diversity assessments, multiethnic team development, skill building and executive coaching.
Dr. Salter McNeil earned her Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Doctorate of Ministry from formerly named Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary) and a Doctor of Humane Letters from North Park University, where she currently serves as a Scholar in Residence. She is the author of the new book, A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race (IV Press 2008). Through her speaking, teaching and writing, Dr. Salter McNeil boldly declares a vision that unites, transforms and brings healing to people from every tribe and every nation. Together with her husband, Dr. J. Derek McNeil and their two children, she stands at the forefront of an international movement to advance the Kingdom of God.
Previous books include The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change (InterVarsity Press, 2005), coauthored with Rick Richardson, Associate Director of Evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and Women’s Liberation Jesus Style: Messages of Spirituality and Wisdom, contributor, edited by Stephanie Bibb (InterVarsity Press, 2002). Dr. Salter McNeil has written articles for The African American Pulpit, Christian Parenting Today, Christian Ethics Today, International Urban Associates Newsletter and PRISM.