Working Session 3:
How do we ask the best questions to allow us to read and respond fulsomely and well to
the lived and interpretive complexities of our current moment?
This question is germane to our efforts to build a responsive, responsible, and radically inclusive Race and
Pedagogy Institute able to thrive within the context of rapid, demographic, economic, social, and technological
changes.
Discussion Prompts:
1) How can the practices and structures of RPI enable us to continuously hear and respond to the most pressing
concerns of our constituents, partners, and broader audiences?
2) Given the present work of RPI including its six strategic priority issues, what practices and structures of RPI
will enable responsiveness to crises and critical events within the academy, region, nation, and the world
while being sustainable?
Preliminary Summary Report: Live & Interpretive Complexities
(recorded by Carolyn Weisz)
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Get specific about partners, constituents, audiences are. Where are our weaknesses? Partners to lobby with.
Use theatre arts in classroom as a way to instruct (counter to testing focus). Leveraging experts locally –
e.g., teachers (Ann Hawkins). Use technology for college students to observe teachers with K-12 students.
Legal issues around diversity, teacher unions – leverage these things as levers. How can RPI engage in
problem of teacher shortage.
Grace & Dexter’s leadership and invitations (with encouragement, food, invitations to invite others).
Emphasis on connection and engagement with community – cultivating connections among students,
communities, struggles. Subversive role RPI can play – get resources in pockets of youth, cultivate
authentic partnerships, resource fights going well in the community. Connecting to community as creators
of knowledge and struggle. Multicultural think tank – draw on this work. Teacher training and teacher of
color recruitment – tap the wisdom in this room. Institutionalize presence of voices from different sectors
(including student sector). Create an RPI directory, blog, private Facebook page, various ways to
communicate. Intentionality about space to hold grief, pain of the work, self-care of individuals and
communities.
What do you need? What needs to happen? Gap time/zone of silence after conferences. How to go beyond
education (of privileged) to action. Empowering individuals with experience – how can RPI support these
people (e.g., individuals in prison). Support focus on school-to-prison pipeline, go to locations off campus,
direct resources to those without traditional degrees. Focus on public policy, lobbying, natural resources
biology – connect to issues not typically related to racism.
Who are partners? Terminology is important. Outreach to local and regional institutions/groups doing
justice work. Interdisciplinary emphasis and focus on culture in curriculum. Should there be incentives for
student engagement?? Students should have agency, serve as peers and organizers not invited voices.
Students have social media skills. Engage international student voices and experiences - those engaged in
liberation struggles. What can be learned?
Story can be used to empower and create a vehicle to name the unnamable and reclaim space.
How are we aware of how the RPI emerging culture is inclusive (or not). Opportunities for White students
to engage with “low bar of entry” to talk about issues such as white guilt, discomfort, and uncertainty.
RPI should think about environmental justice.
Connect with community issues such as Africa town in Seattle. Join in struggles related to gentrification.
Need to pull together dates and events happening in the community so groups are not working in isolation
and are aware.