HSU Joins Major Community Diversity Effort

Humboldt State University and more than 20 local organizations, agencies, and funders have joined forces with the UC Berkeley Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society for "Our North Coast":http://www.hafoundation.org/Community-Leadership/Our-North-Coast. This initiative of public talks and intensive workshops are aimed at creating a more welcoming and inviting climate for all cultures and backgrounds in the region.

The 18-month initiative starts next month at Humboldt State with a talk by Haas Institute director and renowned expert in civil rights and civil liberties, john a. powell. He will also be speaking in Eureka and Elk Valley Rancheria:

  • 1 p.m., Thursday, May 5
    Humboldt State, Goodwin Forum
    The Science of Equality: Addressing Racial Anxiety, Implicit Bias & Stereotype Threat
    The neuroscience of bias, and what research teaches about the concepts and strategies individuals and institutions can use to effectively address structural racism and exclusion.
  • 6 p.m., Thursday, May 5
    Humboldt County Office of Education Sequoia Conference Center
    Giving Birth to a Society in Which Everyone Belongs
    Understanding what we can do in our personal lives and workplaces to create a more welcoming community.
  • 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 6
    Elk Valley Rancheria
    Giving Birth to a Society in Which Everyone Belongs (see description above)

The initiative also includes classes for participants from various local organizations. They will explore best practices, tools, and resources. And they will create, test, and implement equitable, inclusive practices and policies.

Organizations involved in planning and funding this work include: The California Endowment, Patricia D. & William B. Smullin Foundation, Footprint Foundation, St. Joseph Health, Humboldt State University, First 5 Humboldt, the HSU California Center for Rural Policy, McKinleyville Family Resource Center, Multi-Generational Center, City of Arcata, Building Healthy Communities Del Norte, Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services, True North Organizing Network, HSU Associated Students, CASA Del Norte, and others.

About john a. Powell and Haas Institute
john a. powell is the director of the UC Berkeley Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, which brings together researchers and scholars, community partners, strategic communicators, and policymakers to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society and to create transformative change toward a more equitable world.

powell is a professor of Law, African American Studies and Ethnic Studies at the UC, Berkeley School of Law. A co-founder of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, he has been instrumental in leading community organizations, local governments and large institutions in adopting inclusive policies and practices. He’s also the author of Racing to Justice: Transforming Conceptions of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society.