On July 29, 2020, Abbie Adams (Anthropology) and co-presenter Candice Bolger (master's student in higher education management, University of Pittsburgh) presented a workshop during Pitt's virtual conference, "Advancing Social Justice: A Call to Action."
The virtual workshop, titled "Anti-racism in the Ivory Tower: Creating Welcoming Campus Environments Through Conversation," was attended by 160 people. The workshop engaged the intersection of social justice theory and the Critically Compassionate Intellectualism model of transformative education to decolonize classrooms and campus climates in higher education. The facilitators accomplished this by presenting a brief history on racism in higher education, creating an understanding of the Critically Compassionate Intellectualism model, and discussing how faculty and administrators can support students along their social justice journey.
The workshop included discussions on building conversations with trust, acting anti-racist in a racist culture, and demystifying implicit bias.
The conference's keynote speakers included Angela Davis and Ibram Kendi.
The three-day virtual diversity forum fostered community learning, discussions, and actions necessary to advance social justice.