The Level Lunch & Learn Workshop Series is a continuation of our March 2019 Level Conversation. Beginning with emotional intelligence, the workshop topics will take a deeper dive into this important conversation by providing interactive training around organizational and individual cultural competence, true inclusion, and strategies to implement organizational change.

Session Three:

July 16th 2019

LOCATION: Stark State College - Akron Campus

TOPIC:Differential Aspects of Minority Majority Relations

PRESENTER: Martina Sharp Grier & Annisa Langworthy

Identity Development - Particularly within minoritized and marginalized groups - serves as a protective barrier against interpersonal and systemic discrimination in our communities. It provides a sense of connectedness and safety in an environment that can feel - and that oftentimes, is - hostile. This protective barrier, while useful is often misinterpreted and misunderstood by the dominant group structure, and has historically resulted in a response that further alienates groups already marginalized. How can we interrupt this cycle? In this interactive session, professors Sharp-Grier and Langworthy will outline the processes and rationale behind minority group identity formation and will discuss the social and interpersonal consequences of the process. Participants will be asked to actively consider how they can utilize the "contact hypothesis" as a means to bridge the knowledge gap between minoritized and non-minoritized communities, and as a mechanism to encourage opportunities for interpersonal, social, and economic collaboration between seemingly disparate groups.

Tickets for the LEVEL Lunch & Learn Series can be purchased on a per session basis at $30 each session.