This session is open to all faculty and staff who undertake diversity, equity, and inclusion work at their home institutions. White participants who are seeking healthy and meaningful ways to participate fully in diversity conversations and spaces in ways that go beyond allyship will find this session particularly useful.

1. “Deep Culture” vs “Shallow Culture”
To begin the training, you will have a chance to reflect on our “deep past” by considering what ethnic stories and identities were a fundamental part of your upbringing. You will then hear an overview of the historical evidence of the process by which Europeans “became White” by severing ethnic ties to adopt a hollow White racial identity.

 

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2. From “Dirty History” to a Usable Past
Next, we’ll review research-based recommendations about the importance of developing dignity- affirming stories without sacrificing a whole and complete historically accurate review of the past. You will also learn about the harm of replacing history with stories exclusively about White heroes and saviors.

 

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3. The Human Element
You’ll participate in open discussion about some of the socioemotional aspects related to healthy White racial identity development, such as embracing opportunities to interrupt bias in comparison to experiencing shame when confronted with bias.