NASW-NYC Hosting 6-part Series: Understanding the Role of Racial Affinity Groups in Undoing Systems of Oppression

NASW-NYC will be doing a 6-part CE series as part of our B.O.L.D. (Building, Organizing, and Leading with Diversity) initiative and committee. The series is titled Understanding the Role of Racial Affinity Groups in Undoing Systems of Oppression and will be facilitated by Stoop Nilsson, LMSW (NY), LPT (CA). https://www.naswnyc.org/event/RacialAffinity

Racism is a system that is difficult to understand and therefore difficult to undo. Racial Affinity Groups support us in clarifying and connecting the dots between our individual experiences in relationship to our collective roles as racialized beings inside institutions and systems. With a racial affinity group in an anti-racist context, a committed group is focused on working with members of one’s own racial identity to examine one’s role in upholding White supremacy. These community reflective spaces support individuals in discovering and making connections between their shared experiences by bringing collective patterns of racialized behavior into awareness.

In this 6-part series, spanning 3-months, we will center, build, and internalize anti-racist foundations, while examining the role of racial affinity groups in organizing for systemic and institutional transformation. Through our time, we will both explore the history and purpose of racial affinity groups, the pitfalls and barriers, and participate in a variety of reflective modalities to discover the power and healing that is available through this intimate community practice. There will be readings, reflection questions, and/or community engagement assignments between each class. This workshop is open to practitioners of all racialized identities and will be taught through an intersectional lens.

Per their bio, Stoop Nilsson, LMSW (Stoop/they/them) is a White, queer, gender-expansive, creator, organizer, and cultural strategist. Stoop works in a Brooklyn clinic with young people experiencing first episode psychosis while also coaching White grasstops thought leaders in developing critical race consciousness through anti-racist education, family engagement, historical reconnection, and the expansion of humanity for ALL through Reparative Economics and Redistributive Wealth-Building. 

In this 6-part series, spanning 3-months, we will center, build, and internalize anti-racist foundations, while examining the role of racial affinity groups in organizing for systemic and institutional transformation. Through our time, we will both explore the history and purpose of racial affinity groups, the pitfalls and barriers, and participate in a variety of reflective modalities to discover the power and healing that is available through this intimate community practice.

12 SW CE Contact Hours (over 6 days)

·        THURSDAYS:

o   December 3, 2020

o   December 17, 2020

o   January 7, 2021

o   January 21, 2021

o   February 4, 2021

o   February 18, 2021