Category Archives: Lunchtime Discussions

Just Transition: Situating Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice in Systems Change, Facilitated by the Good Work Institute

Lunchtime Discussions

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team is honored to sponsor the Good Work Institute for our March 22nd discussion at 12pm!

Just Transition: Situating Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice in Systems Change. Facilitated by the Good Work Institute

This mini-workshop provides an opportunity to explore a shared vision of Just Transition and consider the question: What will it take to build systems centered on care for each other and our shared home? How might our work play a role in social and ecological well-being? Through presentation, reflection, story sharing, and discussion, we will explore the Just Transition framework, principles and practices. You will have the chance to connect your own experience to extractive and regenerative economic paradigms and discuss ways you might weave Just Transition principles and practices into your anti-racist, equity and justice work.

We look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions about these events and how we run them, please contact vcantiracismequityandjustice@gmail.com.

Salary Transparency and Antiracism Talk

Action Opportunity, Education Resources, Lunchtime Discussions

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team invites you to our next event this January 11th at noon via Zoom!

We are honored to have Sharon Parkinson come speak with the group about salary transparency, a topic that is important for all of us whether we work in higher education at Vassar or for non-profit or private businesses in the Hudson Valley.  Please see the following readings that can provide you with some background information.

Vu Le is the former Executive Director of Rainier Valley Corps, a non-profit organization in Seattle that promotes social justice by developing leaders of color, strengthens organizations led by communities of color, and fosters collaboration between diverse communities.

Blog posts written by Vu Le:

Sharon Parkinson will also talk about the new salary disclosure bill that was approved by the New York City Council:

We look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions about these events and how we run them, please contact vcantiracismequityandjustice@gmail.com.

Vassar Hosting Two Workshops on Racism with NCBI

Lunchtime Discussions, Upcoming Community Events

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team is excited to promote two workshops happening this February facilitated by the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) and sponsored by VC’s Office of Student Growth and Engagement and other offices!

The first workshop will take place on Tuesday, February 1st from 4:00-9:00 PM at the CCMPR and will focus on the experience of Vassar’s BIPOC students, faculty, and administrators. The second will take place the following day on Wednesday, February 2nd at the same time and location and will focus on Vassar as experienced by everyone.

Lunchtime Discussion – White Privilege Awareness

Lunchtime Discussions

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team invites you to our next Lunchtime Discussion on Tuesday, December 14th at noon.

The Lunchtime Discussion will offer a spotlight on white privilege awareness and education as provided by Willa Vincitore ’92, Senior Director of Alumnae/i Engagement from the Office of Advancement.

We look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions about these events and how we run them, please contact vcantiracismequityandjustice@gmail.com.

Lunchtime Discussion – Pathways Forward: Defunding the Police and Abolishing Prisons

Lunchtime Discussions

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team invites you to our next Lunchtime Discussion on Tuesday, November 9 at noon.

A Growing number of HV Organizations are promoting “Defund the Police.” In conjunction with  the regional ENJAN conference on “Defund the Police.”

We look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions about these events and how we run them, please contact vcantiracismequityandjustice@gmail.com.

Lunchtime Discussion – Breaking the Pattern of Racial Segregation and Injustice as the City Evolves

Lunchtime Discussions

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team invites you to our next Lunchtime Discussion on Tuesday, October 12th at noon.

As the title suggests, the Lunchtime Discussion will center on the racial segregation aspects of city design and development, which are founded from a long history of injustice in the city of Poughkeepsie. The event will be featuring Fringe Cities, Mass Design.

We look forward to seeing you! If you have any questions about these events and how we run them, please contact vcantiracismequityandjustice@gmail.com.

Lunchtime Discussion – Reimagining Public Safety

Lunchtime Discussions, , , , , ,

The Anti-Racism, Equity and Justice (AREJ) Organizing Team invites you to our next Lunchtime Discussion on Wednesday, May 5 at noon.

This will be the first of a two part discussion on “Reimagining Public Safety”.

In this first session we will engage with what policing and public safety looks like now, in our community and for us personally, and how that informs, influences, and sometimes interferes in the discussion of “reforming”, “abolishing” or “defunding” our existing policing paradigm.

Our second session will deconstruct the origin and evolution of policing followed by a discussion about how public safety could be reimagined from the ground up, absent present-day paradigms and institutions.

We welcome you at either one or both!

Some readings of interest on this topic locally (written by Tiana Headley, Vassar ’22):
How the Poughkeepsie Police Union Tried to Defeat Reform
Uneven Police Reform Compliance Frustrates Mid-Hudson Communities

Closer Look – Equity Detours

Education Resources, Lunchtime Discussions

Pacing for privilege happens when the pace of change for an equity approach coddles the comfort and hesitancy of people with the least racial equity investment or interest. It punishes and ignores the people who most need and desire change  (students, families, educators or any individuals or groups experiencing racism).

Examples of pacing to privilege:

  • A cultural competence approach that talks about cultural differences without naming or confront racism
  • An administrative response that emphasizes the importance of staff buy-in, or “meeting people where they are at,” before implementing equity or taking a stance on an issue

Brainstorm of spaces we inhabit. Is racial equity alive in those spaces? How or how not?

  • When do we participate in avoiding or rearranging inequities?
  • How does that detour work? 
  • How was I disrupting or enabling that detour?

Literacy Moment – April 2021

Action Opportunity, Education Resources, Lunchtime Discussions

From our Lunchtime Discussions – What are racial equity detours?

  • The detours that white people follow to protect their privilege and avoid the messy work of racial justice 
  • Detours create an illusion of progress toward equity while cementing or even exacerbating inequity
  • Detours can be initiatives and strategies that pose little threat to structural racism yet they can consume extensive resources, including those marked for racial equity
  • Detours relieve us of the responsibility to name and illuminate the ways that racism operates in our workplaces, schools, institutions and communities