Foster Care Training

“One of the consequences of oppression and historical trauma is lateral violence. Lateral violence happens when people who are victims of dominance, turn on each other rather than confront the system oppressing them. Lateral violence occurs when oppressed groups or individuals internalize feelings, such as anger and rage, and manifest them through other behaviors, such as gossip, jealousy, putdowns, and blame,” writes SAMHSA. Another name for lateral violence is horizontal hostility. Horizontal hostility occurs when members of a targeted group believe, act on, or enforce the dominant system of discrimination and oppression. This day-long workshop will focus on the impacts of horizontal hostility on communities of color and the interactions between and among these groups. Attendees will be provided with fundamental vocabulary to discuss race-based horizontal hostility so that we can begin to recognize these dynamics when they occur. Participants will be provided with a historical knowledge of the socialization of communities of color within a white supremacist society and an understanding of the roles communities of color play in upholding white supremacy. We will all begin to examine our own socialization within systems of oppression in order to develop interdependent community within and beyond the construction of race. Participants will be guided, supported, and pushed to see the wholeness and humanity of people of color in order to imagine new possibilities for our communities outside of a racist model.