Foster Care Training

Online Class

The image of white supremacy is often that of white hoods, the KKK, Nazis and extreme right-wing nationalists. While that is one image and aspect of white supremacy, it is important that the conversation is clearly about how white supremacy is the foundation of the systems and structures upon which the United States was built and continues to be upheld in culture, systems and organizations as well as ourselves.

This workshop will bring attention to how this dominant culture and the power dynamics that ensue in the child welfare system influence our work with system-involved children, youth and families. We will acknowledge the systemic impact of white privilege, white fragility and white supremacy and also explore its relevance at a personal, interpersonal and organizational level. Understanding and naming the historical and modern-day systems based on white supremacy that set the foundation for institutionalized oppression, is the first step to dismantling it. Similarly, understanding the internalization of oppression, dominant and subordinate, is key to our interrupting dynamics outside of our awareness.

We will unpack the ways childhood socialization helped us internalize the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about how to respond to racial stress and related conflict. We will also examine how accessing feelings frees our minds from the internal messages that perpetuate these dynamics. Participants will come away with tools and practices for engaging in courageous conversations across differences.