Session B

1:35PM-2:45PM

Men in Organizing Spaces: Get Yo Shit Together

Discussion on gender dynamics and political ideologies in organizing spaces and how men often marginalize Queer/Trans/Femme voices of color, de-Center their experiences, remove their agency, and alienate them from their own struggles for liberation.

Closed Space: Womxn and femme identified POC

Presented by Naia and Edan

2nd Floor Conference Room

Narrative & Now

Presented by Sarah

OPEn Space

Asian Resource Center

“Narratives” are our stories from our personal experiences and ancestral histories that help shape our identity.“Now” is the state of embodying all that we are and all that we have the potential to be in every moment.This workshop will be a safe space to reflect on the past year, our communities, our histories, as well as how we might heal our relationship to the past/present/future by being fully & expansively present. As womxn of color, it is important to realize that we are not defined by our (sometimes very traumatic and painful) pasts. We are resilient human-beings capable of renewing our relationship with ourselves and the world in each present moment. This workshop will be a collective knowledge share/discussion on how to reconcile the binaries we’ve been indoctrinated to live by: the binary of knowing the trauma of one’s past, yet living fully and contently in the present. The binary of reflection and action. The binaries of mind, spirit and body.

In this nurturing environment, we will collectively reflect on our past through writing. Sarah will share Kevin Coval’s poem “400 days” as an example of what we could create to weave our narratives together. There will be time for quiet individual reflection and writing on the past 400 days. And then time to share what was written to create a collective narrative.

Additionally, to encourage a discussion on culturally responsive mindfulness and the practical ways of being present in our daily lives, Sarah will also share Dr. Angela Rose Black’s work on POC voices in mindfulness. These discussions will be a great opportunity to share our lived experiences on how we access our freedom spaces: the spaces we feel most present and alive. Sarah will also help with a short meditation and visioning exercise. Prompts & a resource list will be provided for all our writing activities to help brainstorm and also to take home so that we can continue the journey!

Words (Un)spoken

Presented by Anusha

Closed SPACE: folx of color and their allies

EOP Conference Room

Words (Un)spoken seeks to shine a light on the appropriation of non-hegemonic language varieties in the United States. We will use a framework of basic concepts from sociolinguistics to critically analyze media and contemporary representations of the language used predominantly by folx of color, including appropriations and stereotypes that can often take away our control over the ways in which we are represented. We will work together to strategize ways to re-contextualize marginalized languages and dialects in an effort to reclaim marginalized aspects of our identities using our own voices.

Gentrification: The Destruction of Communities of Color

Presented by Cristina

OPen space

1st floor Conference Room

The process of gentrification has hurt communities of color through displacement, racism, policing of POC, and other injustices. This workshop would provide examples of gentrification, the consequences of gentrification in a working class neighborhood, and the issues community members face when their neighborhood is gentrified. This workshop would look at intersecting issues that stem from gentrification such as class discrimination, racism, and gender discrimination.

La nalgona poderosa y su arte: A body-positive workshop for self-exploration and storytelling of Latinx identity and body-image through art

Presented by Dahlia

OPEN Space

Chicanx and Latinx Cultural Resource Center

A healing-art therapy workshop that helps participants introspectively explore and then share, in a safe and confidential space, our dynamic Latinx identities and the influence of body-image on our identities. The purpose of the workshop is to engage in a resistant crafting of the self in a way to heal and decolonize the self through art. Participants must come in with the willingness to look within the self, exchange stories, listen and get artsy! The premise of the workshop is to utilize healing- art therapy to empower and uplift womxn of color who are struggling with a negative body- image. Healing-art therapy explores and observes feelings through the creative process of making art. This process is meant to liberate the self from colonized views of body-image. The art project involves creating a dual self portrait of oneself through various mediums; water colors, markers, crayons, colored pencils and magazines. The participants draw themselves and split the drawing down the middle. The first half of the portrait will be dedicated to ‘the outer self’; the way in which they feel they represent themselves to the world and the other half, ‘the inner -self’, will depict how they feel inside. This project will give participants the opportunity to explore their self and intersectional identities. We would conclude with a sharing circle in which we'd share our final artwork and engage in a healthy discussion about body-image and identity. This sharing circle, that would be established as a safe and confidential space, would give participants the opportunity to share their stories and perspectives on the importance of cultivating a decolonized body-positive attitude and identity as womxn of color.

Work, Work, Work: Conversations Around Social Reproduction Theory, Unpaid Labor, and Womxn of Color

Presented by Sandra

OPEN Space

Multi-Purpose Room

What is social reproduction theory? How can we reframe the theory to account for womxn of color? What does unpaid labor look like in today's context? We will be answering these questions together after discussing a history of womxn of color's labor in the US.

Goal Setting: Stop, Envision, Strategize

Presented by B'Epifani

Instagram/Facebook: bepifani

Website: www.bepifanispeaks.com

Blog: bepifani.com

OPEN Space

Womxn’s Center Conference Room

We all need clarity as to what direction we are going and why. Often women of color are not afforded the opportunity to stop, envision, and strategize their futures. We are often too busy prioritizing basic survival for our families and putting the needs of others before our own. That’s what women do: We nurture, we cultivate, we give without expecting anything in return — we leave nothing for ourselves. This is why goal setting is so important and why it should be a workshop offered at your event. In my goal setting workshop, women will have the opportunity to think about what they want to accomplish and specify the details of their desire and how they plan on reaching it. No matter the goal category - career, personal, health, financial,etc. — in my workshop women will leave not just with goals, but with a direction. Knowing what you actually want is sometimes the first and most challenging step for many people, and I will guide women towards taking that first step in identifying their aspirations.

Storke Tower

Navigating the Airwaves: Muxeres en Radio

Presented by Cecilia/Radio Xicana

OPEN but limited Space (10)

KCSB

This workshop seeks to highlight how radio is used as a tool to disseminate herstories through music. Radio Xicana is a local radio show on KCSB-FM that serves as a political platform for womxn of color to amplify their voices by sharing experiences that are traditionally excluded from mainstream media. The radio program essentially embodies our learned and lived experiences as products of two cultures and, therefore, uses music in Español and English to highlight historical and contemporary social injustices. The workshop will open with a quick demo on how radio operations work (workshop participants can dj). Shortly followed by songs that focus on speaking out against homophobia, racism, sexism, and multiple oppressive isms that exist today and a discussion on the music chosen. I hope to raise discussions on how womxn of color in music, musicians, and djs are a form of empowerment in a world that attempts to erase our existences and how various people from different communities can harness the power of local radio for movimiento. Our existence is resistance.

Academia: Machine, Margins, and Magic

Presented by Karen

OPEN Space

American Indian Cultural Resource Center

In an open conversation, participants will explore patterns of opportunities and difficulties teaching as womxn of color. The workshop is a collaborative and active learning circle to meet and provide support and community for marginalized academics. Our goal will be to emerge into a dialogue of possibility and healing framing education as determination for our marginalized students and peers.

Checking All the Boxes: A Discussion on the Issues of Being Multiethnic

Presented by Meriam

OPEN SPACE

Meriam's goal is to address the fact that 'multiracial' is the one of the fastest growing groups in California, yet they lack any type of representation. Spaces designated for POC usually put more effort into representation of people from all backgrounds. Sadly, meriam has found it isn't always true in regards to having multiple ethnic identities. From government surveys to on-campus clubs, there is no space for us. meriam would like to have a discussion-based workshop on the experience of identifying as more than one ethnicity. The workshop will give students a chance to reflect and share their experiences with others. As a takeaway, we will focus on possibilities to create a space for those of us who have to check more than one ‘box’ on that dreaded racial identification form.