DigitalCommons@PCOM

About the Speaker: Tim Wise is among the nation's most prominent anti-racist essayists and educators. He has spent the past 20 years speaking to audiences in all 50 states, on over 1000 college and high school campuses, at hundreds of professional and academic conferences, and to community groups across the nation. Wise is the author of six books, including his highly-acclaimed memoir, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, as well as Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority and Colorblind: The Rise of Post-Racial Politics and the Retreat from Racial Equity. His next book, Culture of Cruelty: How America's Elite Demonize the Poor, Valorize the Rich and Jeopardize the Future, will be released in early 2015. More information is available at www.TimWise.org

Ever since the civil rights movement, Americans (liberal and conservative) have advocated a retreat from color-conscious public policies such as affirmative action, and even from open discussion of racism as a key factor in the perpetuation of racial inequity in the United States. They have argued that the barriers faced by black and brown Americans are largely divorced from racism, and that these stem either from race-neutral economic factors such as deindustrialization and inadequate funding for education, jobs programs, and other programs of social uplift or cultural factors (single-parent families, welfare dependence, and a "culture of poverty"). From this starting point, they contend that "universal" programs intended to help the poor and working class are the best means for narrowing the racial inequalities, or that "self-help" and "personal responsibility" will suffice. In discussing the pitfalls of "colorblindness" in the Obama era, Wise argues against colorblindness and for deeper color-consciousness in both public and private practice. He also debunks the notion that racial inequalities can be blamed on cultural attributes specific to people of color, or that those inequalities can be solved with race-neutral economic policies. Wise explains that we can only begin to move toward authentic social and economic equity through what he calls "illuminated individualism" - acknowledging the way racial identity continues to shape our experiences and perceptions (consciously and unconsciously) today. The presenter will use his extensive experience in this area to support his arguments.

Educational Objectives: Based on the presentation, the participants will be able to:

• Describe how the concept of "colorblindness" manifests in individuals, public policy, and institutions, particularly in the Obama era
• Describe how so-called "colorblindness" impacts work to eliminate racial inequities
• Discuss how racial disparities manifest in the U.S. health care system
• List the factors crucial for racial and social justice

About the Speaker: See above.

Target Audience: Doctoral Level Psychologists and Other Mental Health Professionals

Level of Instruction: Basic

Location: Ginsburg Amphitheater

CE hours/credits: 1.5

This presentation will focus on the emerging and expanding field of global mental health and how its emphasis, on understanding culture and developing cross- national solutions to decrease the burden of mental illness, help to promote human rights and social justice. Discussion will address the global, traumatic impact of conflict and war and the importance of cultural competency when working with diverse populations internationally. The presenter will use the clinical and empirical literature as well as practice knowledge in this area to inform guidelines for best practice.

Educational Objectives: Based on the presentation, the participants will be able to:

• Define global mental health and its connection to human rights and social justice
• Describe ways that culture impacts mental health and how people experience and express mental health
• Explain the impact of trauma due to war, conflict and displacement on diverse populations globally
• Describe cultural competence considerations for working with diverse populations, including immigrants/refugees, Muslims, ethnic minorities and others.

About the Speaker: Dr. Nicole M. Monteiro earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Howard University. She has extensive international clinical, research and consulting experience in places such as Bahrain, Botswana, Ethiopia and Senegal. Her expertise in treating trauma among diverse populations includes work with refugees, African Americans, Muslims and other under-served groups. She has been the recipient of numerous honors, awards and fellowships. Dr. Monteiro is the author of many publications and has conducted many workshops nationally and internationally. Her area of expertise is cross-cultural psychology and global mental health.

Target Audience: Doctoral Level Psychologists and Other Mental Health Professionals

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Location: Ginsburg Amphitheater

CE hours/credits: 1.5

The disproportionate expulsion of African American and Latino youth from schools and arrests for minor infractions is a traumatizing health crisis. Despite civil rights progress in societal systems, these advances rely upon legal remedies. Disproportionate treatment toward African American and Latino youth involves face-to-face dehumanization of Black youth behavior, conflicts that are emotional, not remedied by legal strategies. Many of these youth are exposed to neighborhood stressors that promote mental health challenges that interfere with school and family functioning. Daily racial micro- and macro-aggressions add trauma to many youths’ life experiences. Focusing on cultural strengths of Black and Latino youth is the thrust of the workshop and training. Preventing Long-term Anger and Aggression in Youth (PLAAY), teaches youth, parents, and authority figures to manage stress during intense racial and non-racial face-to-face conflicts toward safe outcomes in classrooms and neighborhoods. PLAAY uses the physical activity of basketball and group therapy to build stronger relationships with Black youth. The presenter will use the clinical and empirical literature as well as practice knowledge in this area to inform guidelines for best practice.

Educational Objectives: Based on the presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Describe research on the trauma of racial/gender discrimination and how dehumanization of Black and Latino youth and family leads to disproportionate exclusion
• Discuss how authority figures can engage Black and Latino youth and families in conflicts (through affection, protection, and correction) by embracing their coping styles as strengths not threats
• Describe a culturally relevant intervention that uses physical activity to help youth resolve personal traumas that interfere with academic and social well-being and engage in racially healthy and literate behaviors (feeling confident to speak up assertively in classrooms, with partners, and in social spaces)
• Discuss racial literacy coping skills to personal and professional racial encounters (based on a model of racial socialization, literacy, and stress management)

About the Speaker: Dr. Howard Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Africana Studies, and former Chair of the Applied Psychology and Human Development Division in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. From 1994 to 2002, he was faculty master of the W. E. B. DuBois College House at Penn. In 1993, Dr. Stevenson received the W. T. Grant Foundation’s Faculty Scholar Award, a national research award given to only five researchers per year which funds five years of research. In 1994, Dr. Stevenson was a Presidential Fellow at the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies, where 35 other community activists and researchers from 30 countries presented their community health intervention projects. In 1995, Dr. Stevenson served on a 12-member academic panel to consult on the development of a National Strategic Action Plan for African-American Males, sponsored by the National Drug Control Policy Office in the Office of the President. Dr. Stevenson has served for 29 years as a clinical and consulting psychologist working in impoverished rural and urban neighborhoods across the country.

Target Audience: Doctoral Level Psychologists and Other Mental Health Professionals

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Location: Ginsburg Amphitheater

CE hours/credits: 1.5