The Women in Leadership are holding a webinar on intersectionality, “By Their Nature: The Interlocking Way of Oppression and Liberation.” This webinar will take place this Sunday, October 11 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. MT / 4 p.m. PT.
This two-part event will offer an hour-long presentation, followed by an hour of optional caucus/accountability groups (see below), reporting back and closing.
It will be hosted by Shannon Dycus, member of the Women in Leadership steering committee and dean of students at Eastern Mennonite University. The presenter is AnaYelsi Velasco-Sanchez, an IndoLatinx mujerista working to create and agitate her way through the Latin diaspora. She is an educator, consultant, writer and artist working to assist people in building an interlocking framework for justice.
Here is more information and community guidelines for the caucus/accountability groups:
This year we are offering an opportunity for different groups of people to participate in processing their experiences through autonomous space. The groups available are:
- BIPOC
- Espacio para latin@s hispanohablantes
- LGBTQ folx
- LGBTQ BIPOC
- Non-binary gender / gender expansive folx
We are also offering two “accountability spaces.” Instead of asking people at the margins of dominant power to do the heavy-lifting of calling out the way white patriarchy inflicts itself on participants, we’re organizing a space for intentional accountability. These are not autonomous spaces (e.g., “white people only”) but spaces for those who have the energy and desire to engage in the work naming white patriarchy and ways to address the way we see it enacted in our space. We offer two spaces for this work.
- White women ally accountability space
- Cisgender men accountability space
Community Guidelines for Autonomous and Accountability Space
Given that we are using a virtual platform, there is a need to work with somewhat limited time that allows for autonomous/accountability space conversation and also coming together for whole-group sharing. Group sizes will be limited to maximize time for autonomous/accountability group conversations. We ask each participant to read and reflect on the following guidelines before coming into the space.
Confidentiality – What is said in the room stays in the room, unless permission has been asked and granted. Do not tell other people’s stories.
- Do not tell other people’s stories.
- Assure that you are in a space that is respecting confidentiality – your screen and audio should not be accessible to anyone who is not a registered participant in the event.
- These sessions will NOT be recorded.
Speak for yourself – Everyone has their own voice and agency to decide how and when they want to share. Please do not decide for someone else, speak only for yourself.
Take care of self – Only you know what you need during difficult conversations. If you need to process with someone else, please send a personal chat to one of the facilitators who can arrange for that to happen.
Acknowledge racialized and gendered history – Acknowledge that there is a shared history that people have experienced differently depending on their socio-political location.
Creating courageous space(s) – This entails intentionally creating a space that allows people to speak their truths with a commitment to first, do no harm, and a mindfulness of power dynamics and social constructs at play.
Listen to understand. Pause 2-3 second before responding to something someone has just said; carefully choosing language that you want to use.
We strongly encourage everyone to participate with their video on if possible. However, we recognize that this may not be a completely viable option for everyone. We trust that everyone will do their best to show up as fully as possible and be present to the conversation.
Practice basic tech etiquette – Mute your microphone when you are not speaking so that individuals speakers can be heard without disruption.