Peter Manetta (CALPHO Project Coordinator) and Ashley Gallegos attended this conference, organized by the Haas Institute, from April 30 – May 2. Below of are some of their thoughts on this exciting conference:
Ashley:
The time I spent at the Othering and Belonging conference was tremendously meaningful, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to attend. The combination of current worldly topics dissected by scholars and activists with the weaving in of art and expression created a powerful experience. The Haas institute created a safe place to have difficult conversations and to challenge each of us to acknowledge our own barriers, our own judgements and to reduce the othering that we engage in personally and in our work. We were encouraged to create spaces of belonging, meaning practicing consideration and inclusion even with those that hold different views than our own. My biggest take away is the understanding that belonging isn’t one size, no one person or group determines its contents, it is instead, the result of giving space, valuing differences and making decisions based from an understanding of our deep interrelationship.
Peter:
Othering and Belonging brought together luminaries and pundits who are leading national conversations on race equity and social justice, and it was certainly exciting to hear from the vanguard of a snowballing movement. Perhaps more illuminating were the informal table discussions that followed the expert panels, where I found comfort in the realization that our peers in other states feel many of the same frustrations. One issue we all seem to struggle with is finding the right balance between educating ourselves and our peers (convening, fostering open dialogue, capacity building) and taking more direct action (policy advocacy and development, legal action, nonviolent protest).
I felt this most strongly after hearing the most energetic speaker of the conference, an Oakland-based labor activist who had only 5 minutes to speak because she was on her way to lead a May-day protest. After the standing ovation subsided and she had rushed off, the distinction between her day of action and our day of dialogue could not have been in greater contrast. As she headed out to the street with a raised fist, we sat in a soporific conference hall discussing how to move forward!
Obviously, we must act, and I think working in public health qualifies as a basic level of action. We and our partners are carefully planning how to move beyond the basic, but of course we cannot wait for equity concepts to reach a saturation point in our field. There are windows of opportunity to exploit and urgent needs to address. But those future actions will be more effective, inclusive, and informed because we participated in convenings, trainings, and open dialogues. Bay area communities started their dialogues decades ago and continue to sustain them, and their progress on some equity outcomes is evident (albeit slow). I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that their community’s sustained dialogue and education strengthened the Oakland labor leader’s activism and broadened her reach.
I could go on for pages about other inspiring and thought-provoking elements of the conference, so I’ll stop with one clear takeaway: we must create and sustain similar experiences for our own communities. We can certainly learn from other states’ successful initiatives, but Colorado is so different from the Bay area, from the pacific northwest, and from New York – our movement must be homegrown.
Ashley:
The time I spent at the Othering and Belonging conference was tremendously meaningful, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to attend. The combination of current worldly topics dissected by scholars and activists with the weaving in of art and expression created a powerful experience. The Haas institute created a safe place to have difficult conversations and to challenge each of us to acknowledge our own barriers, our own judgements and to reduce the othering that we engage in personally and in our work. We were encouraged to create spaces of belonging, meaning practicing consideration and inclusion even with those that hold different views than our own. My biggest take away is the understanding that belonging isn’t one size, no one person or group determines its contents, it is instead, the result of giving space, valuing differences and making decisions based from an understanding of our deep interrelationship.
Peter:
Othering and Belonging brought together luminaries and pundits who are leading national conversations on race equity and social justice, and it was certainly exciting to hear from the vanguard of a snowballing movement. Perhaps more illuminating were the informal table discussions that followed the expert panels, where I found comfort in the realization that our peers in other states feel many of the same frustrations. One issue we all seem to struggle with is finding the right balance between educating ourselves and our peers (convening, fostering open dialogue, capacity building) and taking more direct action (policy advocacy and development, legal action, nonviolent protest).
I felt this most strongly after hearing the most energetic speaker of the conference, an Oakland-based labor activist who had only 5 minutes to speak because she was on her way to lead a May-day protest. After the standing ovation subsided and she had rushed off, the distinction between her day of action and our day of dialogue could not have been in greater contrast. As she headed out to the street with a raised fist, we sat in a soporific conference hall discussing how to move forward!
Obviously, we must act, and I think working in public health qualifies as a basic level of action. We and our partners are carefully planning how to move beyond the basic, but of course we cannot wait for equity concepts to reach a saturation point in our field. There are windows of opportunity to exploit and urgent needs to address. But those future actions will be more effective, inclusive, and informed because we participated in convenings, trainings, and open dialogues. Bay area communities started their dialogues decades ago and continue to sustain them, and their progress on some equity outcomes is evident (albeit slow). I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that their community’s sustained dialogue and education strengthened the Oakland labor leader’s activism and broadened her reach.
I could go on for pages about other inspiring and thought-provoking elements of the conference, so I’ll stop with one clear takeaway: we must create and sustain similar experiences for our own communities. We can certainly learn from other states’ successful initiatives, but Colorado is so different from the Bay area, from the pacific northwest, and from New York – our movement must be homegrown.
