Anti-Racism

Learners will deepen their understanding and appreciation of ways in which race, ethnicity and cultural diversity have shaped American institutions, ideology, law, and social relationships from the colonial era to the present. Race and ethnicity are ideological and cultural categories that include all groups and individuals. Hence, this course is designed in significant part to take a broad look at the ideology of race and cultural diversity in America’s past and present. The primary focus is on the historical and social relationships among European Americans, Native Americans, African Americans, Latino/as, and Asian/Pacific Americans. Issues of race and ethnicity are examined across different ethno-cultural traditions in order to interweave diverse experiences into a larger synthesis of the meaning of race and ethnicity in American life. In this course, we conceive of “race” and “diversity” as references to the entire American population, even as we recognize that different groups have unique historical experiences resulting in distinctive and even fundamental cultural differences. We treat race and ethnicity as dynamic, complex ideological and cultural processes that shape all social institutions, belief systems, inter-group relationships, and individual experiences.

The Modern Civil Rights Movement is a significant landmark in United States history. This movement was a struggle for human rights directly challenging the nation to extend its democratic principles to African Americans and all peoples. This course sheds light on the often overlooked strategic planning that supported the direction of the events and is told by a voice intimately involved in the organization of movement—Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr. Topics include the history of the campaigns, the different coalitions and groups, philosophy and methods of nonviolent direct action, and the contemporary application of nonviolent conflict transformation. The course hosts several guest speakers, including Andrew Young, Reverend C.T. Vivian, Henry "Hank" Thomas, and Constance Curry.

Racism. It is a word that elicits strong emotion, and often even stronger opinions. Taking the step to engage in anti-racism work may seem intimidating, or maybe you already feel confident in your knowledge of racial justice and in your allyship. Regardless of where you sit on that spectrum, this training is one that can have benefit for everyone. Whether you are a social service or mental health professional pursuing a unique and impactful continuing education experience, or a community member, this virtual training experience will challenge you, and expose you to knowledge and skills to gain better understanding of racial justice and allyship. This is a virtual training, with modules (2 hours of content in each module). The training is designed for participants to be able to take breaks as they need to. The Borderland Rainbow Center under sponsor number 7798 has been approved by the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners to offer continuing education contact hours to social workers. This training is designed to be inclusive of Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons.