This is a recording of a
Michigan State University Extension webinar that originally aired on October 22, 2014.
An important part of healthy youth development is
understanding multiple aspects of one’s identity—including those connected to
issues of race. Recent research shows that too often adults in the lives
of kids deny and ignore racial slurs and tensions because they are scared or
lack the skills to intervene. This webinar discusses barriers that get in the
way of our conversations about race and presents suggestions for engaging in
“race talk” based on building community, engaging in deep personal reflection,
dialoguing across differences and taking action for social justice. It featured
Shayla R. Griffin, Ph.D., M.S.W., drawing from her research and 2014 book
titled Those Kids, Our Schools: Race Relations in an Integrated American
High School (Harvard Education Press), a three-year ethnographic study of
how students, teachers, and administrators navigated issues of race in an
integrated, Midwestern school.
This webinar was developed as part of Be SAFE: Safe, Affirming
and Fair Environments, a
Michigan State University Extension initiative designed to help communities
learn about and address issues of bullying, bias and harassment in the lives of
young people. Be SAFE taps the wisdom and resiliency of young people and
invites youth and adults to work in partnership to create relationships and
settings that are physically and emotionally safe. Be SAFE includes a comprehensive
curriculum, which is designed for use within out-of-school time settings as
well as middle school settings and which includes more than 30 engaging and
experiential activities designed for group learning.