Upcoming Events on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
As graduate students, we must educate ourselves in order to create an environment that is supportive and welcoming to all people, both here at the Graduate School and throughout our careers. While we acknowledge that this is difficult and unending work, one step we can take is to attend workshops and seminars at the University. To make this information easier to find, we have created this permanent column of the Grad Gazette to compile events related to diversity, equity and inclusion taking place in the upcoming month.
This page will be updated regularly, so feel free to stop back here over the course of the month for newly announced events!
The following list has been compiled by the GSA; we have tried our best to find all related events, but we acknowledge we may have missed something. Feel free to reach out to Sydney Ashton, GSA Public Relations Officer and editor of the Grad Gazette, at umb.gsa.pro@gmail.com with questions, concerns or info about an event that should be included in this list.
February events:
February 5: Let's Get Critical!
Welcome to the Spring Semester! The Anti-Oppression Work Group's first event of the year will focus on being active advocates in the classroom and engaging and challenging our curriculum. It is up to us to make the most of our education and apply our skills to the world's greatest needs.
On February 5th at 12:00pm, join AOWG, MSU and DREAM to critically analyze, engage and critique our course syllabi through an anti-oppression/equity lens. Please have one of your course syllabi at this event!
"I entered the classrooms with the conviction that it was crucial for me and every other student to be an active participant, not a passive consumer.β β bell hooks, Teaching Critical Thinking
February 8 @ Noon EST: Faculty Webinar Series: What the Ungers Taught Us
In 2012, in Unger v. State, the Maryland Court of Appeals granted new trials to 237 people convicted before 1981 and sentenced to life with parole. They still were in prison over thirty to fifty years after their convictions. Known as βthe Ungers,β there were several commonalities among the group: their race, their extraordinary accomplishments in prison, and the instructions given to the juries in their trials, which left it to the jury itself to determine the applicable law in their cases. These instructions gave jurors the power to reject the fundamental rights of defendants. With the leadership of the Office of the Public Defender and the assistance of the Maryland Carey Law's Clinical Law Program and other private and pro bono lawyers, 200 of the Ungers gained their freedom.
The Unger cases offer crucial lessons for lawyers today about over-incarceration, systemic racism, the cynical politics of parole, the unreliability of old convictions and the importance of community. Moderated and introduced by Professor Michael Millemann, the webinar will explore these lessons in conversation with a key social work professor, a former Maryland Carey Law student and members of the Unger group. They will talk about what the landmark case, enforcement of its new-trial right and the post-release experiences of the Ungers have taught us, and how we can apply these lessons to our work as lawyers today.
February 8 @ 5 PM EST: Alliance General Body Meeting
Join The Alliance of Anti-Racist Social Work Practitioners on Monday, February 8th at 5:00pm for our first general body meeting of the semester! Learn a little about who we are, and how you can get involved. We are excited to continue learning together as much as we can about what it means to be an anti-racist social work practitioner.
Invite a friend, bring your pet, and chat with us!
February 11 @ Noon EST: Natural Hair Panel Discussion
Does hair matter? A panel of women and men will discuss their natural hair journey while answering some questions.
February 18: Perspectives on Diversity Part III: Moving from Understanding to Collective Action at UMSON
For the final session of the three-part series on Perspectives on Diversity and Inclusion presented by Steven K. Ragsdale, MSL, we focus on identifying ways the School of Nursing can come together to create collective change. Ragsdale provided a foundation in the first two sessions to understand the historical components and individual factors, including implicit bias, that have brought us to our present day.
In this highly interactive session, participants will work in small groups with an assigned facilitator to identify actionable steps to increase racial justice and enhance inclusion and equity in the School of Nursing.
Attendance at prior sessions is not required. We want to hear a chorus of voices on how to create a more equitable UMSON.
February 23 @ 4 PM EST: Eradicating Systemic Racism in the Government's Pandemic Response
The Law & Health Care Program at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law invites you to join Ruqaiijah Yearby, J.D., M.P.H., Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Institute for Healing Justice and Equity Center for Health Law Studies and Professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law, for a presentation on the urgency of eradicating systemic racism in the current governmental pandemic response.
Professor Yearby is a specialist in racial disparities in health care, the political economy of health care, and social justice in medical research. She has dedicated her career to improving the lives of vulnerable populations by addressing the lack of equal access to quality health care. Through her research and work with community groups, Professor Yearby advocates for equal access to quality health care and fair wages for racial and ethnic minorities, women, and the poor. Using empirical data, her research explores the ways in which inequities in society and the health care delivery system prevent minorities, women, and the economically disadvantaged from attaining equal access to quality health care, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality for minorities, women, and the economically disadvantaged. She serves as a Research Consultant and Board Member for the Investigating Conceptions of Health Equity and Barriers to Making Health a Shared Value, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant and was a Steering committee member for the Healthy Improvement Partnership for Cuyahoga County Health Department in Ohio.
This event is free, but registration is required. You will receive information on how to access the event in a separate email 48 hours before the webinar begins. If you have questions, please contact Gehan Girguis at ggirguis@law.umaryland.edu. This event will be recorded.
February 24 @ 1 PM EST: Parents and Caregivers of BIPOC Children
Parenting, balancing work, caring for children, and maintaining self-care can be quite the challenge during Covid-19 and racial injustice. Parenting children who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color creates unique challenges and opportunities. Let's pull together to inform and support each other during this extraordinary time. Participation in this group is open to anyone parenting Children of Color. This discussion is led by Courtney Jones-Carney, Executive Director of the Intercultural Leadership and Engagement Center.