White Privilege Conference

Vernellia Randall
http://academic.udayton.edu/vernelliarandall/

Spero Manson
 http://www.cudenver.edu/Academics/Colleges/PublicHealth
/about/Directory/ucdenverfaculty/Pages/MansonS.aspx

Keynote Schedule:

Thursday AM, April 8 -

Beyond Surviving Historical Trauma: Creating a Blue Print for Healing (Joy DeGruy) ~ Thursday AM

This presentation on the PTSS Study Guide is designed to help individuals, groups, and organizations better understand the functional and dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors that have been transmitted to us through multiple generations; behaviors that we are now transmitting to others in our environments of home, school, and work and within the larger society. The presentation encourages and broadens the discussion and implications about the specific issues that were raised in the P.T.S.S.(Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome) book while providing practical tools to help heal and transform unhealthy attitudes and behaviors into positive ones.

Thursday PM, April 8 -

Redressing Health Inequities in Native America: The Role of Indian Self-Determination (Spero Manson)

The health inequities that plague American Indians and Alaska Natives are deeply rooted in a wide range of social, political, and economic circumstances. Historically, these forces disrupted the cultural context which shaped their health and welfare. Specifically, modernization led to large scale change that undermined individual responsibility for well-being, depersonalized health care, and increased dependence upon external agents for the structure and financing of services. Dr. Manson briefly charts the parallels between colonization of Native communities and their increasingly adverse health status. He then turns to the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 (P.L. 93-638) which marked a radical change in federal policies toward American Indians and Alaska Natives, and a significant turning point in local strategies for addressing the health needs of community members. The ensuing decades saw a gradual shift from federal to tribal governance of medical care, and corresponding emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and integrated treatment. Dr. Manson highlights several recent examples in which tribal organizations have capitalized on these new opportunities to mount innovative interventions that have substantially improved the health status and functioning of Native participants. He then concludes by exploring the broader implications of self-determination for altering the Indian health care system and the tensions that remain as these communities struggle to strike a balance between sovereignty and federal treaty obligations.

Friday AM, April 9

Dying While Black: Why Liberal Colorblind Policies Won’t Eliminate Racial Health Disparities (Vernellia Randall)  

90,000 preventable Black deaths occur every year. These deaths are directly traceable to slavery, apartheid and racism.  Liberal colorblind policies, designed to help all Americans without focusing on the specific needs of communities of color, won’t eliminate racial inequalities in the social determinants of health, particularly the chronic stress of living in a racialized society.  Only a sustained, universal, comprehensive, targeted approach will eliminate racial health disparities.

Friday PM, April 9 - after Shabbat Dinner

Free Land: A Hip Hop Theater Experience (Ariel Luckey)

Free Land is a dynamic hip hop theater solo show written and performed by Ariel Luckey, directed by Margo Hall, and scored by Ryan Luckey.  The show follows a young white man’s search for his roots as it takes him from the streets of Oakland to the prairies of Wyoming on an unforgettable journey into the heart of American history.  During an interview with his grandfather he learns that their beloved family ranch was actually a Homestead, a free land grant from the government.  Haunted by the past, he’s compelled to dig deeper into the history of the land, only to come face to face with the legacy of theft and genocide in the Wild Wild West.  Caught between the romantic cowboy tales of his childhood and the devastating reality of what he learns, he grapples with the contradictions in his own life and the possibility for justice and reconciliation.  Free Land weaves spoken word poetry, acting, dance and hip hop music into a compelling performance that challenges us to take an unflinching look at the truth buried in the land beneath our feet. 

Saturday AM, April 10

Growing our Souls: Transformative Love and Radical Healing as Political Acts for Justice (Shakti Butler)

We do have the potential to transform our world.  In order to develop a blueprint that can guide our work as racial justice activists in the 21st century, we must do more than develop skills and strategies that can foment and support change. In addition to being able to understand and analyze the system of racial oppression - and any other form of oppression for that matter - we have to grow our souls.  What does that mean?  Why would it be important?  And how do we do that? What examples can we find that demonstrate how unconditional love is an implicit component of justice?  How is healing a radical political act? What would it mean to infuse love and healing as elements of a sacred activism?  How will the monumental task of developing equality consciousness break down political distance and hierarchy? We must come to recognize the importance of including unconditional love and healing as pathways for confronting entrenched powers that are often recalcitrant to change.