Nov 4, 2021 Meeting Notes
/As All Stars continues to support the individual growth of our members, we are excited and proud to welcome our guests for this month's virtual luncheon, Rakeem Washington and Kasia Rutledge from Engage to Change! Rakeem and Kasia will be discussing anti-racism, with an emphasis on vocabulary, the entry-points to anti-racism work, and anti-racist frameworks and ideology.
Engage to Change was created in 2017 by Rakeem and Kasia to facilitate anti-racism and anti-oppression training and workshops, and promote leadership development.
A graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School, Rakeem has worked with Oregon Public Schools, the Oregon Judicial Department, served as the Director of the Opening Door Project at Portland Community College, and teaches classes on race, class, gender and social justice at Portland State University.
Kasia is a capital defense lawyer and adjunct professor at Portland State, and has been developing workshops and training organizations, law firms, academic institutions and others in equity and anti-racism for more than 18 years.
Anti racism and equity work is community work and coming together in groups, but we can each share and grow in it individually.
Word cloud - Some folks think anti-racism means protesting and going to city hall but it can also include the desk you are working at, at the dinner table you eat at, and can include change in policy
Positionality gives you a unique perspective on this conversation. Your gender, your race, your sexual identity, your past experiences etc. 2 people could choose a word describing their feeling but because of their positionality they are coming from different perspectives. Consequences and responses might be different based on positonality
Dr King quote:
Its a call to action - to move from inaction to action
There are different levels of racism
Racist
Non Racist
Anti Racist
Come with connection and curiosity when you hear racism and choose to speak up about it
“I’m curious why you chose to call her “such and such?