Short Description of the Workshop:

In this workshop, I share my academic activism as a Black Studies professor/scholar within the California State University (CSU) system, the largest, four-year public university network in the United States. I delve into the struggle of the Third World Liberation Front student strikers' demands that established Ethnic Studies as an academic discipline within formerly segregated colleges and universities. I analyze my experiences through narrative/critical autoethnographic storytelling and within Black Studies, Black Feminism, and Critical Race theoretical frameworks to examine the intersection of the personal and political as a leader on my campus in solidarity with students launching the first Black Lives Matter chapter within the Central Valley in California. Additionally, I share how I have been leading the implementation of the landmark AB1460 legislation, spearheaded by California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, to mandate Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement in the CSU on my campus. I would like participants to gain deeper and/or new understandings about their own positioning and agency in building co-solidarity within university, governmental, and/or community-based spaces by elucidating the complexity, challenges and opportunities to dismantle white supremacy at a time that is rife with possibility and age-old barriers. Specifically, I will facilitate reflections and discussions focused on brainstorming strategies for engaging in social justice activism specific to participants’ positioning, experiences and interests. The materials I will need are the ability to project from my laptop or from a flashdrive. I will provide reading, writing and electronic materials for participants to record their blueprint for moving forward with their own social justice activism, and offer the option for attendees to support one another through ongoing communication. This workshop is intended for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and those outside of academia.

Who is the intended audience?:

Undergraduate students, Graduate students, Professional students, Faculty, Industry Professional

What is the intended experience level for your desired audience?:

Beginner, Intermediate

Presenter Bios:

Mary Roaf began a 20-year career in social justice and equity in K-12 schooling and higher education in 1993. Following a stint in teaching public school and serving in a variety of outreach and education programs geared toward youth, completion of M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology of Education from Northern Arizona University and Temple University, respectively, Mary joined higher education as a faculty member at Northern Arizona University with a dual appointment in the departments of anthropology and ethnic studies. She then accepted the offer to join the CSU-Stanislaus Ethnic Studies program in 2018. Mary’s research, teaching and social justice activism addresses interlocking oppressions of race, class, and gender. Specifically, her research addresses dismantling the “school to prison” pipeline, and building upon her work on Black decolonial feminisms after participating in the 2019 Black Decolonial Transnational Feminism Program in Cocheira, Brazil. Additionally, she has been supporting an emerging Black Lives Matter movement in the Central Valley region in California. Dr. Roaf’s commitment to exemplary decolonial pedagogy garnered her the Elizabeth Papageorge Faculty Award in Teaching for the 2020-21 year.  

Follow Up:

A Zoom link will be provided to everyone who registers to this event via email when you sign up.

Join us now for this FREE online event for all members!

NOTE: This workshop series will be audio and video recorded.