Social Class on Campus – On-Demand Training

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington and dr. becky martinez Explore Its Unspoken Impact to Improve Inclusivity on Campus

Today colleges and university are increasingly diverse environments. While there are many efforts to engage the identities of race, religion, gender, gender identities and sexual orientations, many campuses are slow to actively engage how “class matters”.

Why do we feel uncomfortable talking about class? Why is it taboo? Why do people often address class through coded terminology like trashy, classy, and snobby? How does discriminatory language, or how do conscious or unconscious derogatory attitudes, or the anticipation of such behaviors, impact those from poor and working-class backgrounds when they straddle class? How is class about more than the money one makes?  What does it mean to have an institutional culture that has unwritten rules about dress, music, language, food, and activities that suggest some folks are a better fit than others?

Our esteemed presenters – Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, President and Founder of the Washington Consulting Group, and dr. becky martinez, a member of the Social Justice Training Institute – engage in an innovative conversation on “class matters” and straddling class as a DEIB topic.

The subject of class is often not given the time needed to really explore its implications on our practice and community. The presenters will offer stories, tips, tools and frameworks to help you discover how this critical information informs your practice so you can continue to create a campus of belonging.

Topics Covered

Gain crucial, actionable takeaways that will help you:

• Identify class barriers and challenges in your practice – provide faculty and staff with tips and tools to explore the dynamics of “class straddling” and its impact on diversity in higher education as an opportunity for connection with students and colleagues.
• See the value of cultural wealth associated with diverse class backgrounds – break the silence as it relates to class issues and discover why we should focus more on this dimension of identity.
• Constructively engage in self-work – gain tips and tools that will help you unpack the guilt and shame related to class so you can better discuss this topic and inform your practice.
• Include class in your discussions and actions in DEIB efforts on your campus – engage critical stakeholders to recognize systems of privilege and create more inclusive and equitable policies, practices and campus norms to reflect the mission of your institution.
• Understand the role that class has played in your life and professional experiences – recognize its impact to ensure that you are providing opportunities for open, real and inclusive conversations with your students and colleagues and in your campus engagement efforts.

Presenter

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, Pronouns (He/Him/His) is the President & Founder of the Washington Consulting Group (WCG). WCG was named by the Economist as one of the Top 10 Global Diversity Consultants in the world. Dr. Washington has served as an educator, administrator, and consultant for over 38 years. He serves as an invited instructor in the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the President and Co-Founder of the Social Justice Training Institute and a Past President of the American College Personnel Association.
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Presenter

dr. becky martinez is a Mixed Race, Mixed Class Woman of Color and has learned to hold the dynamic of “the both/and” because of these identities. She is a proud aunt, friend, forever learner, person that likes to run, student of nature, fan of ice cream and hopes to always be in process. As a consultant and trainer, becky strives to create space for critical reflection and learning to increase self-awareness and create sustainable change. Her work focuses on engaging individuals and groups to recognize systems of privilege and oppression for more inclusive and equitable policies, practices, norms, structures and simply ways of being. She works with a range of groups within higher education and with non-profit organizations. She is a member with the Social Justice Training Institute, a Co-Lead Facilitator for LeaderShape, a Foundation Board member with the American College Personnel Association. Raised in a working-class family and now identifying as a class straddler, becky deeply values digging deep into the complexity of social class and classism to create more equitable spaces with a class lens. While DEI-centered work is complex, complicated, and sometimes messy, it is also joyous, soulful, and liberating, and gets us closer to our humanity
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