Foster Care Training

Hypernationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment are embedded into the social fabric of the US and ask us all to play a role in the systems of oppression we experience. What it means to be ‘American’ is most often defined by what is ‘not American,’ causing populations and identities to be excluded from access to resources we need to thrive. Asian people, for example, have been positioned as the ‘model minority,’ and as ‘perpetual outsiders,’ regardless of length of time an individual or family has been in the United States. The criminalization of Latine identity allows for both the imposition of immigration restrictions and a scapegoating of Latine individuals for economic problems while benefitting those deemed to be “”real Americans.”” Both of these roles also serve purposes in our larger systems of oppression, with the ultimate goal of keeping our systems in place as they are. How can we shift these systems? This day-long workshop will provide attendees with language, historical knowledge, and a supported space for guided examination of our anti-Latino, anti-Asian, anti-Arab, anti-Slavic, anti-African, and other anti-immigrant socialization. It is worth noting that we as a nation do not engage in anti-European-immigrant oppression. Through group process, experiential activities, lecture, and reflection, attendees will be supported in learning the history, construction, and institutionalization of anti-immigrant, and hyper-nationalist sentiment. Together, we will unpack our socialization into these systems, our roles within them, and how we might begin to interrupt and change these cycles. We will also begin to imagine new possibilities for the existence of immigrant and other identities outside of an oppressive model.