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HUMANITY Second community conversation on racial attitudes Saturday Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 11, 2016 at 8:48 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 11, 2016 at 8:48 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Guest Opinion: A letter to our community • Racism must be fought with 'honesty and boldness,' OSF actor tells gathering... • Community discussion of racism set for Saturday • Got privilege? » Social News Social justice groups and the community this Saturday will have a chance to tell their stories and work on a “common language for diversity and inclusion, as well as micro-aggression,” as part two of a conversation that began July 2, after a verbal assault on a person of color from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The two-hour gathering, “Unpacking Racism, Part II” is free and the public is invited to share. It starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug 13, in the Rogue River Room of Stevenson Union at Southern Oregon University. It’s sponsored by Southern Oregon EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Collaborative, a union of area social justice groups and individuals, including United Way, Southern Oregon Health Equity Coalition, OSF and SOU. The forum seeks to strategically make change though EDI-focused community gatherings, organizing leaders of color, and advocating to elected officials and institutions of authority in the region, according to an EDI statement. “It’s about having a dialog for community building,” says Marjorie Trueblood-Gamble, SOU Director of Diversity & Inclusion. "This will be an opportunity to tell stories and learn about what racism looks like.” Trueblood-Gamble says the forum is not about the overt racial confrontations in Ashland in late June, which police believe were instigated by a mentally ill man. She says regardless of the source of the racist comments, they triggered awareness of the need for the whole community to confront “the racism that takes place in this valley.” She says it's a dialogue that needs to happen, but it’s not about those specific instances. In the first session, last month, there were storytelling moments and, she adds, “this will be an opportunity to tell more stories as we learn about what racism looks like." Racism can be overt and hostile or unintentional or unconscious — and is often expressed in what’s called “micro-aggression.” These are daily gestures toward under-represented or marginalized people, Trueblood-Gamble adds, communicating that they are "can be intentional or not.” Examples of micro-aggression might be: If a person walks up to you, whom you perceive to be Hispanic and you start speaking Spanish to them. Or, she said, after a person of color gives a speech, you say it was articulate, which carries the assumption you are surprised they’re not inarticulate. Another example, she notes, is if you ask an Asian-American where they are born, with the assumption they’re not a true American. Others are: slower restaurant service, hyper vigilance if a person of color walks in your store, asking for ID from people of color (POC) that are not being asked of whites, assuming POC are here because of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival — or locking your car if you see persons of color approaching, she said. “These aren’t slurs,” she says, “but they’re based on conditioned biases we hold in this society … some people might not be familiar with micro-aggressions or they might not understand it, so we’ll be unpacking that aspect of it.” Claudia Alick, OSF Community Producer will help facilitate the event. She notes, “It's so great to live in a community that cares about the people who live here and wants to be more welcoming. This is … responding to issues and specific recent incidents of racism in our community. In that first gathering people listed issues (and) steps we could take as a community to be more inclusive and healthier. This gathering is based on the specific suggestions from our community.” EDI members are taking presentations and meetings to organizations in the Jackson-Josephine Counties area, says Trueblood-Gamble, adding, “Ashland is trying to engage in the work and start the conversation, and it is much needed. There are lots of great, well-intentioned people here, but we are part of the macrocosm and we’re beginning action to address some of those issues.” John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 11, 2016 at 8:48 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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