Introducing White Educators to the Affinity Group Process
Morningside Center invites you to join us for a webinar on August 4th to lean into your discomfort as we collectively work toward the antiracist future of education.
Details
- Date: Tuesday, August 4th
- Time: 3pm-5pm
- Suggested Price: $50
About this webinar
At Morningside Center, we believe it is essential for all educators to be able to engage in conversations around race and racism. As white educators working toward antiracism, this means we need to build our racial literacy and raise our collective consciousness around the ways we have been complicit in systems of inequity and white supremacy over time.
As white people, most of us grew up with messages that taught us to either avoid or ignore subjects of race and racism. As a result, we often lack the skills and tools to feel confident engaging in these conversations. White people need a space to unpack the impact of systemic racism without asking people of color to take on the emotional labor of comforting, explaining, or guiding us.
At Morningside Center, we believe racial affinity groups are an essential part of long term engagement in the antiracist movement. White affinity group spaces offer the opportunity to support one another in this work so we are better equipped to engage and address these issues in our lives and school communities.
Please join us on Tuesday, August 4th from 3-5pm for a webinar with Morningside staff developers Emily Feinstein, Lauren Neidhardt, and Marieke van Woerkom, introducing white educators to the process of creating and engaging in affinity group conversations. We invite you to lean into your discomfort as we collectively work toward the antiracist future of education.
Pricing
The suggested cost of a ticket is $50. We don't want the cost to be prohibitive - if you can't afford the suggested cost, please pay what you can! If you would like to give more than the suggested price to help cover the cost of a ticket for others, feel free!
How to join the webinar the day of
This webinar will take place on Zoom. The event link will be emailed out to participants on the day of the webinar.
Future sessions
If you would like to participate, but the time and date don't work for you, please sign up for our webinar alert list to let us know! If there's significant interest, we will schedule another event.
About our presenters
Emily Feinstein has worked with Morningside since the mid-90s. She has supported, coached, and trained teachers, parents, students, and administrators in social and emotional learning, restorative practices, and racial equity throughout the boroughs. She has facilitated conversations around race and supported the development of affinity groups at several middle and high schools. Along with her fellow presenters, Lauren and Marieke, Emily is part of the Investing in Innovation (i3) federal grant to increase racial equity in schools. She is currently working on Morningside’s middle school curriculum, which integrates restorative circles, SEL skills, and racial literacy. She has been leading and facilitating workshops for many years around healing from the hurts of oppression and has led workshops on using art as a tool to foster SEL and connection. Emily is committed to the ongoing work of empowering young people and educators to build just, caring, and equitable school communities.
Lauren Neidhardt has been a staff developer with Morningside Center for three years. She comes to this work with more than fifteen years experience working with children and schools. Lauren earned her undergraduate degree in Public Policy from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and holds a Master's in Social Work from Ohio State. She is deeply passionate about the value and importance of education and is dedicated to supporting schools to equitably meet the needs of all students.
Marieke van Woerkom joined Morningside Center as a staff developer in 2006. As a trainer and coach, she works in schools across New York City and beyond. She is the co-author of several of our curricula and is also a regular contributor to Morningside's TeachableMoment resource collection. Marieke has worked in the field of cultural exchange, conflict transformation, social justice, racial equity, and human rights for over 25 years. When working with schools, her focus is on creating more equitable and inclusive teaching and learning environments, using social and emotional learning, restorative practices, and racial literacy. Marieke holds a double Masters in Cultural Anthropology and International Relations from the University of Amsterdam, with a focus on social psychology and a specialization in group identity and intergroup relations.