Foster Care Training

The establishment of the United States as a settler colonial capitalist society saw the arrival of affluent Europeans intent on exploiting the land’s resources, leading to the forcible displacement of indigenous populations and the enslavement of Black individuals, indentured servants, and other marginalized groups, including Asians. These deliberate actions created enduring hierarchies of resource allocation, profit distribution, and power dynamics, shaping our daily interactions and societal structure. What does this mean for how we understand our society and how we live, work, play, and move throughout it? How does this impact our interactions with each other on a daily basis, on scales large and small? In this workshop, participants will explore how settler colonialism serves as the root of racism and how it made and continues to make racism and other oppressions necessary. Through lectures, group activities, and reflection, attendees will gain insight into the historical construction and function of race and racism within the larger system of colonization-based oppression. Together, we will create a space for examining early influences, socialization, and complicity in systems of anti-indigeneity, anti-Blackness, and racism. By identifying these patterns, we can begin the process of dismantling oppressive systems and envisioning inclusive communities where everyone can thrive.