Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership

In this class, these two Muslim women will explore commonly-held perceptions, assumptions, and stereotypes about Muslim women. This dynamic mother-daughter pair will approach these issues through the lens of contemporary socio-political trends as well as through their own cross-generational lived experiences. Discussing issues of being part of a multi-faith family, wearing the hijab, independence and self-expression for Muslim women, Tahirah and Safiyah will speak openly before opening the floor to questions, thoughts, comments, and reflections. All welcome, join us for this mind-expanding and heart-opening sharing.

Every event can be successful when you plan carefully, do the right things at the right time, and have a reliable support team. In the social justice world there are several types of events that may include interactive methods known as popular education exercises. Depending on your goals, these range from briefings with policy makers and press conferences, to rallies and public education forums. Through multimedia presentation, interactive exercise, dynamic peer sharing, and fun pop quizzing of the facilitator, this workshop will cover these and other elements for making meetings, retreats, and even conventions a resounding success.

Families, school employees, students, and anyone else interested in social justice in our schools are encouraged to join this class. Ms. Agna will share images and reflections from her career as a teacher and principal of the Jackson Street School in Northampton, MA. We will examine the complicated situations and power dynamics that play out through a variety of stories. We will learn and practice a model of unpacking these stories, and ways to design both immediate responses to aggression and long-term strategies to make lasting change. Our discussions will focus on our own cultural identities and institutional practices while pushing back on the way people often hide privilege and oppression by trying to keep the focus on individual character traits. Our goal is to build capacity and community, and to connect in the fight to make our schools places of empowerment and restorative justice.

In this workshop, co-taught by two talented and experienced educators in the movement to help raise children who are able to identify and resist personal and cultural bias, participants will engage in lively discussion about what works, what should be avoided, and how we can all make a difference in the lives of young people as they negotiate a diverse world in our schools, in our communities, and in our world. Be prepared to be stimulated, inspired, challenged, and to leave with a new and deeper understanding of anti-bias issues – both for children and adults. Come with an open heart and mind, and jump in!

Everyone is talking about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Learn the basic foundation of DEI and why it is a better model for everyone. This training is designed to provide basic knowledge and understanding of our own biases and how they continue the cycle of the many “isms” that exist in today’s world.

In this class we will explore the principles of ‘solidarity science’ and what it means for our community. We will present a few examples that illustrate how solidarity science solves problems by recognizing the significance of social, political, economic, and cultural contexts and by inviting many people and types of knowledge to the table. Participants will workshop how we can use solidarity science to address the issues we identify in the community, and how we can make science a public good. Our workshop is intended for a wide audience with diverse perspectives. At the core of solidarity science is a focus on reaching multiple experiences and understandings to solve problems. Our audience is asking how to demand more from the scientific community, how to create coalition, how to listen to each other better, how to critique the role of science in our lives, and rather than asking, “how do we fix this?”, asking, “who do we need at the table to fix this?” Everyone is warmly welcome at this lively, exciting, and provocative workshop – join us!

Despite the sticky floor, and concrete/bamboo ceiling phenomenon (the women of color equivalent of the glass ceiling), and though woefully underrepresented, women of color (WOC) are occupying an increasing number of leadership positions throughout U.S. society. In 2020, Kamala Harris, a Black and South Asian American woman was elected as vice president, the first woman and woman of color to serve in that role. In that same election cycle, a historic number of women of color, 51, were elected to congress. In this workshop, we will discuss the leadership styles and social impact and contributions of WOC leaders. We will raise up these inspiring models of leadership and celebrate the wisdom, resourcefulness, resilience, and brilliance of WOC and their ability to navigate and lead despite the intersectional oppressions they face. We will have the opportunity to discuss what we can do, personally and collectively, to support the leadership of women of color.