View the meeting slides here: Diversity Champions 4.17.18

Diversity Champions:

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week in Ballard Hall and online via Zoom. To those of you with Outdoor School, UABC and other conflicting meetings, THANK YOU for staying engaged by reading Chapters 4 & 5 of our CCAR Field Guide book and this blog recap and engaging with other champions who attended the session. The outline below provides a brief summary of the session. It does not capture the richness of engaging with each other and the deep conversations we are having at these meetings, so, my recommendation is to NOT MISS THESE MEETINGS! They are crucial for us as a team and like gold for your souls. If you had to miss a session or two, do not worry (too much), find a champion and keep up with your reading and your own growth. We need every single one of you to move this conversation forward.

Welcome!
• Maria Chavez-Haroldson joined us a guest facilitator. Maria has been participating on our Diversity Champions team since the Fall and is the owner of Culturally Responsive Solutions, a consultant business focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion and organizational development. Maria is currently a Ph.D. candidate with the goal of completing her studies in Social Justice Leadership and Change in 2018. Her research topic is the lived experience of women of color working as Chief Diversity Officers (or equivalent) in Academia. She recently served as the Vice President of Metropolitan Group, a social change agency in Portland, and has served as an Administrative Director in state government. Maria is a first-generation immigrant, a mother and a grandmother and we were honored to have her join us and share from her valuable perspective.

Homework Activity review
After our last session, we asked you to journal privately on the following topic: Think of an experience when your racial consciousness was developed. Name and reflect on the discovery, then trace it through the stages outlined in the reading. We agreed to keep our own journals from now on. Do not worry, you will never be asked to share your insight if you are not comfortable. This journey is a gift to yourself and will change the way you see the world.
• Where were you on the CCAR compass as you were journaling about your experience? Remember that the CCAR framework works with the whole self and asks us to always check in with “where we are on the compass.”
Quick hint: If you are always in the same quadrant, like the thinking quadrant, something may be off. Please check in with me if you are unsure of how to check in with the compass.

Chapters 4 & 5:
During this session, our compass moderator, Ana Gomez, helped us to ensure that we kept our reflections and conversations focused on our personal, local and immediate experiences. This, and the content of Chapters 4 & 5, shaped our conversation into these main areas:
• Why is it so difficult to have conversations about race?
• Knowing what you know and don’t know (refer to slide 3)
• Realizing how we have been socialized to think about race and creating a practice to lean in the conversation (this is what being a Diversity Champion is all about!)
• Letting go of your ego and not being afraid to make mistakes when interacting with others. Just as important is forgiving others for their mistakes, which will help us all stay as open as possible to courageous conversations. It is less about competency than a way of being. Stay engaged, stay curious about your own thinking and ask brave questions to others and most importantly, to yourself.

Other Resources: If you have an ONID account, you can make use of Kanopy to watch documentaries, such as Race – The Power of an Illusion, and dive deeper into the crucial importance of holding these conversations. Follow this link for information on how to access Kanopy: https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/kanopy 

See you on May 15 for our next meeting!
Homework: Journal on the following topic and share some of your thoughts with another Champion. Yes, this journal of yours will only grow! You are working on your own racial autobiography, which is like discovering where you are really from (how cool is that?).
Topic: From 1 – 100%, how much of my life is impacted by my race?

Reading: Please read Chapters 6 & 7 before our next meeting.

Thank you again,

Ana Lu