Anti-racism training focuses on community engagement

The Office of Engagement and Community Affairs has partnered with YogaRoots On Location to offer a workshop series that addresses the racialized biases and assumptions present in community engagement.

Felicia Savage Friedman, founder and CEO of YogaRoots On Location; Jamilah Ducar, executive director of the engaged campus in the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs; and Randi Congleton, assistant vice chancellor for equity and inclusion, will facilitate discussions.

Friedman led a session titled “Who are YOU in the Legacy of Racism?” for the Staff Council Spring Assembly in March.

This new series will focus on how these biases and assumptions show up in a university context and will give participants tools to be anti-racist in community-engaged work.

The series is open to the Pitt community only and has space for 30 people, so participants are asked to commit to attending all six sessions, which include an orientation, a closing session and four modules. The sessions, which will be conducted via Zoom, are:

Orientation, 11 a.m.-noon, Oct. 7, facilitated by Ducar

YogaRoots sessions, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays, facilitated by Friedman

Oct. 14: Getting to Know Each Other: Who We Are and Telling Our Stories

Oct. 28: Introduction to Oppression

Nov. 18: Internalized Oppression: We Are All Oppressed

Dec. 2: Self-care and Community Care

Closing session, 1-2 p.m. Dec. 9: Where Do We Go from Here? Resources at Pitt to Continue Your Anti-racism Journey, facilitated by Congleton and Ducar

To register, complete this Qualtrics survey by Sept. 23. For more information, contact Ducar at jcd77@pitt.edu.