Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Events

October 9, 2020 - 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM ET

Join the UM-SSW Access & Inclusion Task Force to the first in a series of activities, kicking off a month-long celebration of 30 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

September 17, 2020 - 12:00 PM ET

It is essential to connect our critical analysis of social justice issues to multi-level collective action for systemic and institutional change. Join us on September 17, from 12 pm-1:30 pm, for a special joint-session in partnership with CASC to explore how racial and socioeconomic inequity in Washtenaw County is connected to historic and ongoing discriminatory policies and practices. Hear from CASC and social work alumni engaged in fighting for equity in Washtenaw County, including Clinical Assistant Professor and Washtenaw County Commissioner, Justin Hodge, CASC alumni and Communications and Public Relations Specialist of the Washtenaw County Intermediate School District, Ashley Kryscynski, among others.  Associate Professor and CASC Director Katie Richards-Schuster, and CASC Assistant Director Amber Wiliams, will also join us to share how we move from critical analysis to action for equitable change.

Attending this session provides field credit. Please document your attendance and contact your field faculty supervisor for information.

This session is eligible for CE Contact Hours.

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September 16, 2020 - 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM ET

Join Common Roots in this orientation where we celebrate individuals with identities that have been historically underrepresented. This will be an opportunity to get to know your peers, share challenges, success, and envision our collective hopes and dreams.

Watch this video to learn more!

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September 11, 2020 - 12:00 PM ET

With our power, resources, and knowledge - what can we do about water injustice as a school? All discussions and ideas are welcome - whether it be proposing new field placements that focus on water and environmental justice, integrating more course content on how water injustice is tied to systemic and historic discrimination, or current advocacy efforts demanding access to safe, clean, water is a human right.

Attending this session provides field credits. Please document your attendance and contact your field faculty supervisor for information.

September 10, 2020 - 2:30 PM ET

CEW+ Advocacy Symposium has postponed this event. The new event will appear on this calendar.  

Rogério M. Pinto and the Faculty Allies for Diversity received the Carol Hollenshead Inspire Award for Excellence in Promoting Equity and Social Change. Pinto will present a lightening talk, Diversity Matters: How about Equity and Inclusion?, during the CEW+ Advocacy Symposium.

The 2020 Symposium includes a diverse group of scholars and community practitioners who embody leadership in varied ways as they advocate for change. Dr. Martha Jones will discuss the role of Black women in the civil rights and voting rights movements and the ongoing struggle for voting rights for different populations. This year’s Symposium will take place virtually as a series of presentations and workshops that will take place over the course of the academic year. At the kickoff event, 2020 CEW+ Inspire Awardees will present lightning talks about their work as a precursor to a full-length workshop that will happen later in the academic year as a component of the Symposium. The learning opportunities throughout the year-long Symposium will supplement Democracy and Debate Theme Semester coursework and activities.

This symposium is free and open to all activists, advocates, and allies from all U-M campuses (students, staff, faculty) as well as the local community.

Register

September 10, 2020 - 12:00 PM ET

Join the ENGAGE team for a discussion featuring prominent water justice activists Monica Lewis Patrick and Bryce Detroit to discuss their work, how water injustice is tied to historic and systemic discrimination, and how lack of access to clean, safe water has exacerbated our current public health crises

Monica Lewis Patrick is Chief Executive Officer of We the People Detroit and a long-time water justice advocate.

Bryce Detroit is CEO and Founder of Detroit Recordings LLC and a long-time water justice advocate.

Attending this session provides field credits. Please document your attendance and contact your field faculty supervisor for information.

This session is approved for CE Contact Hours.

Watch the Recording Here

September 3, 2020 - 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET

We will be kicking off our first meeting of the fall semester! Join us to build community collaboration and continue the conversation about anti-racist practice. A Zoom link will be sent out to those who RSVP.

RSVP Here »

July 8, 2020 - 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM ET

The SSW Book Club will meet at noon via Zoom.

You are welcome to join us, whether or not you have attended before, and whether or not you completed the book.

June 17, 2020 - 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET

Please join us at the next Undoing Racism workgroup meeting to build collective community and continue our efforts to organize and implement anti-racist practice in the SSW. All students, staff, and faculty are welcome! A zoom link will be sent out before the meeting to those who register.

RSVP Here »

May 19, 2020 - 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM ET

The SSW Book Club will meet via Zoom to discuss Separated, by Dr. William Lopez.

The book examines immigration law enforcement, focusing on one raid in Washtenaw County.

You are welcome to join us, whether or not you have attended before, and whether or not you have finished the book.

All members of the SSW community are invited. A Zoom link will be sent the morning of the discussion. (If needed, email Betsy Williams, David Pratt, or Joe Galura for the link.) 

April 30, 2020 - 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM ET

Lavender Graduation is a celebration of LGBTQ graduates at the University of Michigan. Graduates from any school/college in the University from any academic level are welcome to participate. All participating graduates will receive a FREE rainbow 2020 tassel, lavender cords, and a Lavender Degree! Families, students, faculty, and staff are all welcome to join the celebration.  Light appetizers will be served after the ceremony.

April 23, 2020 - 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

This week we will have several special guests from Detroit at our conversation on Identity and Vulnerabilities in the time of COVID-19: 

Ayesha Ghazi-Edwin: LEO Lecturer, School of Social Work

Alicia McCormick: Youth Development Director, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives

Dillon Cathro: Director of Youth Organizing, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives  

Zachary Rowe: Executive Director, Friends Of Parkside

Sonia Harb: Special Advisor on Detroit Engagement for the Office of the Provost

Reverend Charles Williams: MSW candidate, Chair of the National Action Network in Michigan.

Fatima Salman: Program Coordinator, ENGAGE: Detroit

Undrea V. Goodwin: Public Health Project Coordinator, SEMHAC

Guests will contribute their perspective from Detroit, an epicenter of the pandemic and will join us in a conversation on how multiple personal identities make us more or less vulnerable to the virus and to its associated stigma and inequities. This follows on conversations the Faculty Allies for Diversity have been having for the past four weeks on social consequences of the pandemic. For the next few weeks, we will invite guests to speak on issues concerning other areas (New Orleans, Brazil) hard hit by COVID-19. Please join us!

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April 16, 2020 - 4:00 PM ET

The compelling documentary centers on the aftermath of the 2015 fatal shooting of nine African-American church members at the historic Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C.; namely, the public forgiveness by the families of the victims and the survivors of Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old white supremacist convicted of the killings. This act of grace ushered a way forward in healing their city — and the entire nation. A facilitated discussion will follow the 90-minute film. Refreshments will be provided. 

Campus partners include the Center for the Education of Women, North Campus Research Complex, Trotter Multicultural Center, and U-M Voices of Staff – Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. Michigan Medicine partners include Fast Forward Medical Innovation, Medical School Executive Administration, Medical School Faculty Development, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research, Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, and Rogel Cancer Center.

RSVP Here »

April 16, 2020 - 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET

Dear Social Work Community:

This week we will have special guest at our conversation on stigma in the time of COVID-19: Charles Sanky, MD Candidate from Icahn School of Medicine, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City.

Charles will contribute his perspective from New York City the epicenter of the pandemic and will join us in a conversation on how multiple personal identities make us more or less vulnerable to the virus and to its associated stigma and inequities. This follows on conversations the Faculty Allies for Diversity have been having for the past four weeks on social consequences of the pandemic. For the next few weeks, we will invite guests to speak on issues concerning other areas (Detroit, New Orleans) hard hit by COVID-19. Please join us!

Facilitator: Rogério M. Pinto 

Faculty Allies Co-Chairs Rogério Pinto and Addie Weaver

Faculty Allies members: Trina Shanks, Todd Herrenkohl, David Córdova and Lorraine Gutiérrez

DEI Director Larry Gant

We look forward to having a robust discussion.

April 9, 2020 - 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET

Dear Social Work Community:

For the past two weeks, the Faculty Allies for Diversity (FAD) in collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DEI), has held social support virtual conversations among those individuals wishing to prevent and stop stigmatization and all issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The April 9 conversation will add a focus on identity and intersectionality.

Please join:

Facilitator: Rogério Pinto 

Faculty Allies Co-Chairs Rogério Pinto and Addie Weaver

DEI Director Larry Gant

Faculty Allies members: Trina Shanks, Todd Herrenkohl, David Córdova and Lorraine Gutiérrez

We look forward to having a robust discussion

April 8, 2020 - 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM ET

The SSW Book Club will meet via Zoom to discuss a short novel by Louise Erdrich, The Birchbark House.

This novel for young readers tells a family story of an Ojibwa girl, starting in 1847 near Lake Superior.

You are welcome to join us, whether or not you have attended before, and whether or not you have finished the book.

All members of the SSW community are invited. Please email Betsy Williams, David Pratt, or Joe Galura for the Zoom link.

April 2, 2020 - 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET

Dear Social Work Community:

For the past two weeks, the Faculty Allies for Diversity (FAD) in collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DEI), has held social support virtual conversations among those individuals wishing to prevent and stop stigmatization and all issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The April 2nd conversation will add a focus on physical distancing and solidarity.

Please join:

Facilitator: Rogério Pinto 

Faculty Allies Co-Chairs Rogério Pinto and Addie Weaver

DEI Director Larry Gant

Faculty Allies members: Trina Shanks, Todd Herrenkohl, David Córdova and Lorraine Gutiérrez

We look forward to having a robust discussionCOVID-19: Stigma, Physical Distancing, and Solidarity

April 1, 2020 - 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET

Come take an opportunity to relax and unwind at the Free the Mind Wellness Fair! The fair will feature self-care activities, games, healthy snacks, and on-campus resources that support wellness. 

Co-sponsored by Mental Health Matters, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Office of Student Services.

March 28, 2020 - 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM ET

Learn about and discuss ways to bring back good/earned time credits within the Michigan prison system with local and state legislators. Featured Panelists include Senator Jeff Irwin, Senator Sylvia Santana and more!

RSVP Here »

March 13, 2020 - 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET

Common Roots invites you to join them for a fun, food-filled mixer with student organizations of color at the School of Social Work! The hope is to foster community building, collaboration, and networking opportunities for different student organizations and their leaders.

RSVP Here »

*Common Roots is a committee consisting of representatives from the SSW’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the LatinX Social Work Coalition, Black Radical Healing Pathways, Association of Black Social Workers, the Office of Student Services, the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition and other SSW students.

March 11, 2020 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET

Please join the University of Michigan MLK Health Sciences Committee and the Institute for Social Research as we host author and ethicist Harriet A. Washington on March 11 for a presentation and discussion on her book "A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and its Assault on the American Mind." 

Harriet A. Washington has been the Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada's Black Mountain Institute, a Research Fellow in Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School, and a senior research scholar at the National Center for Bioethics at Tuskegee University. She is the author of Deadly Monopolies, Infectious Madness, and Medical Apartheid, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Oakland Award, and the American Library Association Black Caucus Nonfiction Award.  

Does the dose make the poison? Are US patterns of environmental toxicity driven by socioeconomics or race? Are hereditarian scientists correct in ascribing intelligence to racial genetics? How have our habitual modes of thought blinded us to the true nature of environmental toxicity, and what challenges face public health practitioners as they assess the roles of industry, science and government?

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March 4, 2020 - 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM ET

Saeed Jones is an acclaimed queer Black poet.

The SSW Book Club will discuss his coming of age memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives.

You are welcome to join us, whether or not you have attended before, and whether or not you have finished the book.

All members of the SSW community are invited. Feel free to bring your lunch.

February 24, 2020 - 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET

For youth and adults of color, prolonged exposure to racial discrimination may result in debilitating psychological, behavioral, and health outcomes. To help their children prepare for and prevent the deleterious consequences of discrimination, many parents of color utilize racial socialization, or communication about racialized experiences. Given heightened awareness to discrimination plaguing Black communities, better understanding of how racial socialization processes and skills development can help youth and parents heal from the effects of past, current, and future racial trauma is important. Greater racial socialization competency is proposed as achievable through intentional and mindful practice, thus, this workshop will explore theories and practices important in the healing processes of racial trauma. 

This event is being co-sponsored by the School of Education and the School of Social Work.

RSVP Here »