The Racial Justice Summit, formerly known as the Summit Against Racism, is a flagship event for Pittsburgh organizers. The Summit creates opportunities for attendees to learn, connect, and act on behalf of racial justice. This year, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, all Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit events will be held on Zoom.

Workshop

In this workshop, attendees will be invited to engage in practical and experiential learning on racism within higher education. After defining key terms, facilitators will lead attendees through a series of activities in which multiple solutions can be explored for hypothetical or personal experiences. Attendees will gain an understanding of the ways that structural racism affects institutional spaces, and hopefully be better equipped to enter dialogues within structurally racist spaces. This workshop allows for a potential network of allyship to be created across attendees and higher education institutions (HEIs). This can provide a sense of accountability that can continue beyond the summit. Although the research for this workshop is framed within the academic setting, the tools and strategies can be applied to any space in which structural racism occurs. Anyone interested in exploring emotional labor, structural racism, and intersectionality are welcome to attend the workshop.

FACILITATORS
Anna Claire Walker (She/her/hers) – Independent Scholar and Politically Provoking Puppeteer

Mary C. Parker (She/her/hers) – Independent Scholar and Founder of Just Collaboration, LLC

Mary C. Parker and Anna Claire Walker began researching race and representation in the arts in 2019 as a part of their Master’s courses at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD). Mary C. Parker is an African-American dialogue facilitator and comedic actor with a BA in Sociology from Emory University, and an MA in Applied Theatre from RCSSD, where she researched how stand-up comedy can increase the visibility of Black women. She is a Certified Professional Coach through Duquesne University. Currently, she works with individuals and institutions, dismantling oppression through her business, Just Collaboration. Anna Claire Walker is a white American performer who holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Auburn University and an MA in Applied Theatre from RCSSD where she researched capitalism in children’s theatre. She currently works with a community arts center in Washington, DC, providing virtual workshops. Together, they’ve facilitated workshops as a part of their research on racism in higher education. Their research was recently published in the Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Equality and Diversity journal.