On Martin Luther King Day, faculty and staff from Penn State Abington and Penn State Brandywine came together for “Beyond ‘All In’: A Retreat on Racism.”
Lead facilitator Mariama Richards, the assistant head of school for academics at Friends Central School, said, “The plan for the day was to create an opportunity to engage people about their identity and how it impacts their classroom practice, student services and performance at the college where they work."
To that end, the hundred-plus attendees participated in a series of lectures and interactive caucuses focusing on the cycle of oppression that prevents so many good students from succeeding in college.
Topics ranged from why race matters,to stereotype threat, microaggressions, and other subtle forms of racism. During interactive sessions, employees were initially divided into small groups, or caucuses,with those sharing a similar racial identity, in order to provide safe spaces for self-disclosure and personal growth.These groups explored their earliest encounters with racism and their perception of how racial identity plays a role on their own campuses.