A professional development experience curated as a supportive space for anyone seeking to “skill up” their Anti-Racist Leadership acumen and practice. Participants engage in facilitated unapologetic dialogue and problem solving around race, racism and racial disparities.
ITS CONVENING TIME!
The People’s Gathering: Now expanded to a TWO DAY experience
April 11 and 12, 2024
Folks have been asking for an opportunity to gather “in-person” again!
We are now combing the virtual experience of the conference with the in-person vibe of the Lunch and Learn to offer you the 2024 Spring Convening
A Special Thank You to Our Sponsors
April 11, 2024
A Revolution of Consciousness Conference
8:30a-4:30p
Virtual Convening
$150.00
Theme: Yes, We Can, Can!
The theme for this virtual convening, “Yes, We Can Can,” draws inspiration from the 1973 hit by the R&B group The Pointer Sisters. The song’s empowering message, “I know we can make it – I know darn well we can work it out – Yes, we can, can,” serves as a rallying cry for resilience and unity.
In a world overshadowed by global conflict, the divisive nature of the upcoming U.S. national elections, incidents of police brutality and the killing of Black people, an increase in hate crimes, attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in education and workplaces, and attempts to obliterate the history of U.S. civil rights, there remains a beacon of hope. This hope is for a future characterized by a more compassionate society, stronger communities, and kinder humans across all races, ethnicities and cultures.
We invite you to the Spring Gathering of the Revolution of Consciousness Conference, a transformative experience designed to empower attendees on their journey towards self-realization and collective enlightenment. This event offers a unique opportunity for participants to delve into their innermost capabilities, supported by the conviction that each person is capable of emerging as a courageous, enlightened, and unwavering advocate in the ongoing battle against racism.
SESSION I: OPENING/WELCOME
8:30a – 9:10a
Moment of Silence
PLU Welcome – Geoff Foy, Associate VP, Continuing Education
Facilitator Welcome – Melannie Denise Cunningham, Director of Anti-Racist Leadership Education
Land Acknowledgement – Bree Black Horse
SESSION II: KEY DIALOGUE
9:10a – 11:10a
Unleashing Your Potential for Anti-Racist Leadership
Jahmad Canley, CEO, Potential Unleashed
TAKE A BREATH
11:10a – 11:15a
Facilitated by: Faraji Bahkti, Yoga Behind Bars
SESSION III: REFLECTION
11:15a – 11:45a
Summary of key takeaways from presentation
Presented by: Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. CEO, The Privilege Institute AND Melannie Denise Cunningham
BREAK
11:45a – 12:15p
SESSION IV: RACE DIALOGUES
12:15p – 2:15p
Participants are assigned to dialogue rooms based on how they identify racially in response to a question asked during registration, which mirrors the racial categories on the U.S. Census form. These discussions are led by DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) experts who share the same racial identity as the participants in their room, ensuring a facilitated conversation that resonates with shared experiences and perspectives.
BREAK
2:15p – 2:30p
SESSION V: COLLECTIVE DIALOGUE
2:30p – 3:45p
Facilitated by: Melannie Denise Cunningham
Participants reconvene with the larger group after attending the Race Dialogues. Each group shares the main insights and any action points from their discussions, informing the whole group of their session’s outcomes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & CLOSING REMARKS
3:45p – 4:30p
SESSION VI: AFTER CONVERSATION (OPTIONAL)
4:30p – 5:00p
A time to “process” what was said and heard.
April 12, 2024
Lunch and Learn
10a – 2p
In Person at PLU
$250.00
This event features a close interaction, lecture, Q&A and book signing with author Dr. Jonathan Metzel around his newly released book: What We’ve Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms
Book Description: A searing reflection on the broken promise of safety in America.
When a naked, mentally ill white man with an AR-15 killed four young adults of color at a Waffle House, Nashville-based physician and gun policy scholar Dr. Jonathan M. Metzl once again advocated for commonsense gun reform. But as he peeled back evidence surrounding the racially charged mass shooting, a shocking question emerged: Did the public health approach he had championed for years have it all wrong?
Long at the forefront of a movement advocating for gun reform as a matter of public health, Metzl has been on constant media call in the aftermath of fatal shootings. But the 2018 Nashville killings led him on a path toward recognizing the limitations of biomedical frameworks for fully diagnosing or treating the impassioned complexities of American gun politics. As he came to understand it, public health is a harder sell in a nation that fundamentally disagrees about what it means to be safe, healthy, or free.
In What We’ve Become, Metzl reckons both with the long history of distrust of public health and the larger forces—social, ideological, historical, racial, and political—that allow mass shootings to occur on a near daily basis in America. Looking closely at the cycle in which mass shootings lead to shock, horror, calls for action, and, ultimately, political gridlock, he explores what happens to the soul of a nation—and the meanings of safety and community—when we normalize violence as an acceptable trade-off for freedom. Mass shootings and our inability to stop them have become more than horrific crimes: they are an American national autobiography.
This brilliant, piercing analysis points to mass shootings as a symptom of our most unresolved national conflicts. What We’ve Become ultimately sets us on the path of alliance forging, racial reckoning, and political power brokering we must take to put things right.
April 12, 2024 – 10:00a -2:00P
Chris Knutsen Hall
Pacific Lutheran University
12180 Park Avenue South
Tacoma, WA 98447
10:00A
PLU Welcome – Geoff Foy, Associate VP, Continuing Education
Facilitator Welcome – Melannie Denise Cunningham, Director of Anti-Racist Leadership Education
Land Acknowledgement – Bree Black Horse
10:30A – 11:45A
Presentation: Dr. Jonathan Metzl, Author
What We’ve Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms
11:45A – NOON
Break
NOON – 1:15P
Lunch/Networking
Q&A with Dr. Metzl
1:15P – 2:00P
Closing Reflections
Book Signing and Photos with Dr. Metzl
THE PEOPLE'S GATHERING PRESENTERS:
Melannie Denise Cunningham, MBA, MA, PhD (candidate)
Melannie Denise Cunningham currently serves as the Director of Anti-Racist Leadership Programs in Continuing Education at PLU. She spearheads the ecosystem development efforts to assist clients in cultivating an anti-racist workforce. She is the visionary and producer of The People’s Gathering: A Revolution of Consciousness Conference and also The People’s Golf Gathering: Out of Bounds Conversations About Race.
In 2018, Melannie was honored by the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Committee for her lifetime body of work in racial reconciliation. As part of this recognition, she was awarded a trip to Oslo, Norway, to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Melannie documented this unique experience in a 30-minute documentary titled “Peace Queen.” In 2021 she was awarded a Northwest Regional Emmy® Award for the work.
In service, Melannie is on the Board of Directors for Northwest Harvest, the largest food justice organization and food distributor in Washington State. She is also on the Board of Directors of the newly formed South Sound Leadership Foundation in Tacoma, WA and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Melannie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington State University, an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University, an MA in Organizational Leadership and Change from Fielding Graduate University, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Change as a doctoral student at Fielding.
Geoff Foy, Associate Provost for Graduate Programs and Continuing Education
Geoff Foy currently holds the position of Associate Provost for Graduate Programs and Continuing Education at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU). Before joining PLU, Geoff worked at Central Washington University, where he served as the Director of Global Services and Initiatives and as the Assistant Director of the Office of Continuing Education. Additionally, he has a background as a Senior Faculty member and Academic Liaison at City University. Geoff earned his B.A. from Gonzaga University in 1988, followed by an M.A. in 1992. He further pursued his academic journey, culminating in the attainment of a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in 2002.
Bree Black Horse
Bree is an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, and a senior associate at the law firm of Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton in the Native American practice group. Bree advises Tribal governments and enterprises on all aspects of federal, state and tribal law, including tribal sovereignty, economic development, treaty rights, and complex Indian country litigation.
Bree is a 2013 graduate of Seattle University School of Law, where she was a Douglas R. Nash Native American Scholar, President of the Native American Law Student Association, and co-founder and editor in chief of the American Indian Law Journal. Bree is a former law clerk to Chief U.S. District Court Judge Brian M. Morris in the District of Montana.
Bree is Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section, President of the Washington Women Lawyer’s Yakima Chapter, and Co-Founder and Administrator of the Women of Color Legal Education Fund. She is also the Program Director for the 2023 LSAC Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program at Heritage University, which aims to make a law degree more accessible for Latinx and Indigenous people from Central Washington. Bree also serves on the Northwest Harvest Board, the ACLU-WA Board of Directors, and is Chair of the ACLU-WA Legal Committee.
Kilpatrick Townsend awarded Bree the Pro Bono Associate of the Year in 2022. Washington Women Lawyers awarded Bree the Chapter Member of the Year in 2022. Bree is a 2019 recipient of the Public Service and Leadership Award from the WSBA Washington Young Lawyers Committee. The National Center for American Indian Economic Development recognized Bree with its “40 Under 40” Award in 2016.
The Puget Sound Business Journal recognized Bree as the “Next Gen in Law” in 2023. She was recognized in 2023 and will be again in 2024 as one of the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” for Native American Law by The Best Lawyers in America®. Bree was deemed a Washington “Rising Star” in 2023 and the four years immediately preceding for Native American Law by Super Lawyers magazine. The Yakima Herald featured Bree as one of its “39 Under 39” in 2022.
Bree lives and works in Yakima, Washington.
Philip “Sharp Skills” Jacobs, PMP
Philip “Sharp Skills” Jacobs inspires and motivates organizations, large and small, to push past their comfort zones in conversations about race, and gives them effective strategies and tools to advance racial equity in their workplaces. He was instrumental in getting people and organizations to “talk about race” before that concept became popular (after the murder of George Floyd). Philip is the author of Elephant in the Room: A business parable about race and equity conversations in the workplace. He is an Inglewood, CA native who now lives in Tacoma, WA.
Faraji Bhakti
Faraji Bhakti is a Certified Trauma Informed Yoga Instructor and soundbowl practitioner. He uses the multiple yogic practices and poetry to bring people into deeper states of nervous system regulation. His guided meditations invite others to dive into the core of their being and find light.
If you are registering a group of people
and would like assistance with registration, we have an excel worksheet for you to use in gathering participant information to assist with the registration survey. If you would like a copy sent to you or have any other questions, please send a request to ce@plu.edu.
7.0 OSPI clock hours are available for Educators; please contact ce@plu.edu for more information
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