The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals 2017 Consortium Summer Institute
Strategies for Resistance, Resilience, & Hope Supporting Queer And Trans People of Color on College Campus
North Carolina Central University Durham, North Carolina 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM June 17, 2017
Schedule Of Events 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Check-In and Networking 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Institute Welcome 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Opening Keynote 10:45 AM - 11:45 AM Workshop Session #1 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM Lunch & Panel Discussion 1:20 PM - 2:20 PM Workshop Session #2 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM Workshop Session #3 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM Closing Keynote 4:45 PM - 5:00 PM Closing Remarks
Institute Tracks Allyship & Solidarity Creating Space Classroom & Research Health & Wellness
Institute Opening 9:00 AM - 9:10 AM Emily Guzman, Director of Diversity & Inclusion North Carolina Central University
Institute Welcome 9:10 AM - 9:30 AM Dr. Toya Corbett, Dean of Students North Carolina Central University
Opening Keynote 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Annesah Smith Social Justice Educator & LGBTQA Activist Resisting Racism in Queer Communities: From Ally to Accomplice Queer and Trans People of Color (QTPOC) have different experiences when navigating their sexual orientation and gender identity than their white counterparts. In meeting the needs of QTPOC, recognizing that racism can exist is the first step and there is no easy fix. We must engage in ongoing racial justice work that addresses white supremacy and works at the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. White Queer people are asked to be Allies in the fight for racial justice but is that enough? The risks of an ally who provides support or solidarity (usually on a temporary basis) in a fight are much different than that of an accomplice. When we fight back or forward, together, becoming complicit in a struggle towards liberation, we are accomplices. But how do we get there? This talk will include strategies to develop a critical self-reflection and ways to resist racism in and out of the Queer community. This work will be tough, if you’re doing it right, it should challenge you, stretch you, and make you uncomfortable. For in times of uncomfortability true change happens.
Workshop Sessions #1 10:45 AM - 11:45 PM Allyship & Solidarity (Room 200) Cis Education 101 Y.M. Carrington, Black QT Trainers Cis Education 101 is a workshop series examines cisgender identity and cis socialization with nonacademic audiences, with a strong focus on how cisness is shaped by race, class, and history. This series challenges the common practice of explaining transgender identity to largely uninformed cis audiences. We created this workshop series because we realized that most cisgender people don’t understand enough about their own identities to even begin to engage discussion about transgender identity.
Classroom & Research (Room 100) PBL and LGBT Consciousness-Raising: From the Classroom to Application Project Based Learning Dr. W. Russell Robinson, North Carolina Central University The purpose of this workshop is to share my experiences of project based learning with LGBT issues within the context of my American Mass Media Pop Culture course. This would be informed strictly from the instructor's experiences by taking a pedagogical leap from traditional modes of content delivery. During the course of the presentation, the presenter will share student artifacts produced within these classes. This in turn enabled the students not only to grasp dense concepts such as gender identity/performance, hegemony, and gender fluidity; it also encouraged them to address these issues within the contexts of real world solutions. Causally, this teaching strategy increased student engagement while it sparked consciousness-raising beyond the prescribed content curriculum.
Creating Space (Room 201) Queering Spaces: “How to center Black LGBTQ/SGL students at your institution.” Trinice McNally & Isaiah Wilson, National Black Justice Coalition The purpose of this session is to increase awareness, visibility, education and empowerment for Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, community and allies within Historically Black Colleges and Universities or institutions who serve these populations. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences and ask questions about how NBJC can assist with helping your campus institutionally commit to fostering an inclusive, welcoming and affirming environment for Black LGBTQ students.
Lunch & Panel Discussion 11:45 AM - 1:00 PM Room 100 Actual Impact - Queer & Trans Students Perceptions & Experiences: Student Representatives from Area Universities & Colleges A panel of students and alum discuss their experiences in the classroom and around campus. They will discuss what helped them to feel more included on campus and what made them feel excluded.
Workshop Sessions #2 1:20 PM - 11:45 PM Allyship & Solidarity (Room 200) Kaleidoscope: Letting The Colors Run Sidney Rice, North Carolina Central University This presentation will cover the creation and implementation of the 1st, gender inclusive, LGBT themed housing community at an HBCU. The presentation will be an interactive workshop designed to help others create housing supports for queer students of color. We will also discuss the components we, at NCCU, have incorporated into the program and the assessment tools we will be utilizing.
Classroom & Research (Room 100) Emphasizing QTPOC Voices in The Classroom Kathryn Wymer, Collie Fulford, & Zach Brewer-Kirby, North Carolina Central University This workshop will discuss strategies for emphasizing QTPOC voices in the classroom by a means of several listening strategies. In particular, we will talk about two types of experiences we have had at our HBCU, North Carolina Central University. First, we will provide a case study of an activity we engaged in with students who had complaints about a textbook we use in all composition sections at NCCU. The textbook contained what students deemed to be an offensively heteronormative, cisnormative example of student writing. It also contained pronoun guidance that was not inclusive of singular they/them or other current alternative pronouns. Collie and Kathryn conducted a listening session during a class meeting to fully air students’ concerns and start discussing what actions we might take. During our session, students
expressed strong feelings, sharp insights, and a desire to move forward with some kind of formal response to the publisher. Kathryn followed up by gathering students’ brief written perspectives. Collie identified the proper channels at the publisher through which we could express our concerns. We decided to draft a letter including our collective analysis of the problems and our strong recommendations for specific changes to this handbook that redress the heteronormativity and gender binaries of the current edition, and the publisher was highly responsive to our concerns, making changes for the subsequent edition. Throughout the discussion, students expressed further ideas for how to change not only the handbook but also the teaching related to it. One outcome of this workshop will be our advice on how to conduct this kind of listening session and subsequent action with students and also to provide insights on how the students recommended teaching be changed to better suit their needs. Second, we recognize that not all participants may have QTPOC enrolled in a particular classroom, but we have suggestions on how to amplify their voices through text selections and class activities. In this section of the workshop, we will offer bibliographies of works that will suit students at different levels and in different course contexts. We will also share a website for LGBTQ Black Authors that students at NCCU helped to create to highlight important contributions. This second outcome of this workshop will be the resources to incorporate QTPOC voices, with special emphasis on how we have done so in GEC courses, composition, literature, and linguistics (and we will brainstorm with participants about how these works might suit courses in other disciplinary areas).
Creating Space (Room 201) Reimagining QTPOC Cultural Sanctuaries: Creating an Aura of Invitation & Radical Love Nikia PouchĂŠ, Everyday Feminism What is a QTPOC cultural sanctuary? Cultural sanctuaries are intentional and intimate spaces designed to connect historically marginalized people with each other in order to feel connected, safe, and supported. QTPOC cultural sanctuaries can be established anywhere by ensuring that we consistently recognize and honor the diverse and shared experiences and/or needs many QTPOC have when navigating cishet spaces on a daily basis. In this interactive session, we will be exploring various ways QTPOC cultural sanctuaries can be erected across the campus (from student services to financial aid offices to classrooms) by encouraging professionals that work with QTPOC students to think deeply and robustly about what an environment that exudes invitation, acceptance, and radical love could look like from their respective roles and positions. Note: This session is intended to be interactive and will also center storytelling and intersecting identities as tools of connection.
Health & Wellness (Room 102) National Black Justice Coalition Workshop Trinice McNally & Isaiah Wilson, NBJC, National Black Justice Coalition NBJC will be providing an in-depth analysis of the unique challenges of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, including the state of health and wellness for this community on university campuses. The intention of the workshop is to educate attendants about comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment with a particular focus on young gay & bisexual men and transgender women. NBJC will also explain the importance of empowering health and counseling service departments at HBCUs, and training staff to be culturally competent and responsible for disseminating vital information that impacts Black communities. HBCUs play a significant role in ensuring that Black populations are both healthy and whole. NBJC’s Black LGBTQ Health & Wellness Initiative engages students, faculty, administrators and campus health care providers on quality of life issues impacting Black LGBTQ/SGL people, including the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other health-related disparities.
Workshop Sessions #3 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM Classroom & Research (Room 100) Nuancing Activism: The Matrix of Resistance TJ Stewart, University of Georgia This presentation will focus on the experiences of student activists on college campuses as part of a study we are conducting at the University of Georgia. We will share some preliminary findings including: strategies utilized by student activists, ways practitioners can support them (as identified by participants), barriers to student activism, as well as outcomes of activism. There will be an opportunity for attendees to share their own experiences and strategies for supporting LGBTQ student activists and we will conclude by sharing information from a forthcoming book chapter: Nuancing Activism: The Matrix of Resistance which will include how to have conversations with senior administration around recognizing all different types of activism beyond marches, protests, and sit-ins.
Creating Space (Room 201) Activating Your Advocates: Establishing an LGBTQIA+ Resource Center Jennifer Williams, North Carolina Central University LGBTQ students as a whole have historically been untapped powerhouses of advocacy, leadership, and innovation at universities. This workshop will enable participants to think critically about how to establish queer spaces within their campus community that cultivate greatness, expose all students to LGBTQ+ cultural diversity, provide examples of what active campus and community collaboration looks like, and that prepare them for leadership within their careers field.Note: This session is intended to be interactive and will also center storytelling and intersecting identities as tools of connection.
Health & Wellness (Room 102) Understanding the Circles of Sexuality Tanya M. Bass, North Carolina Central University Sexuality is complex and it much more than sexual feelings, reproductive health or sexual intercourse. During this interactive workshop will allow participants to explore the Circles of Sexuality a useful model for understanding human sexuality solidified by Dr. Dennis Dailey. In this session, participants will discuss sexuality in its broadest sense using the five interconnecting circles that each represents an important component of our sexuality. By the end of the session, participants will be familiar with all five circles in the model, be able to describe specific behaviors/actions related to each circle and identify a strategy to educate others on the model.
Closing Keynote 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM Room 100 Saby Labor, Founder of Resilient Campus, LLC Our current social and political context is characterized by heightened visibility of human rights violations, as well as social movements addressing injustice. College students are leveraging campus environments to amplify their collective voice. Students often look to college professionals for guidance and support in order to navigate complex policies and campus politics regarding activism efforts. Supporting students in times like these can lead to depletion of time, energy, and health capacities of college professionals. This session is grounded in the assumption that we need to BE well in order to DO well for our students. How do we, as college professionals, support students and sustain healthy social movements? How do we thrive as professionals with purpose in these
environments as a long-term vision? This interactive session will center these questions and more as participants engage in self-reflection, learning, and creating a vision that centers our own practice of self-love.
Closing Remarks 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM Room 100 Jennifer Williams, Program Coordinator, LGBTA Resource Center North Carolina Central University