Your health is your wealth. Meditate, sing, join a Zumba class, practice yoga and have a good time during these sessions! We’ll also share tips on stress management and more.
Saturday, August 24th
Location: Room 228
Yoga
10am – 10:30 am
Led by: Tameka Gray- Living Well
Bend, stretch and reach for the sky with Tameka Gray, Living Well instructor. Not only does Living Well offer tai chi, yoga, QiQong and Afro Cuban dance classes, but it is a venue to build learning, good will and social capital.
Being Black: Healing from Racial Stress and Trauma and Celebrating our Greatness
10:30 am – 12 pm
Led by: Dr. Kristee Haggins- Co-founder, Safe Black Space
Racially, these are trying times that weigh on our hearts, minds, and spirits. For Black people, witnessing or experiencing incident after incident of racism and oppression, can result in racialized stress and trauma. Come together in this workshop with other people of African ancestry and deepen your understanding of the root causes of our challenges. Learn the signs and symptoms of racial stress and trauma, as well as how to identify and practice what you can do to heal yourself and the Black community.
Mitigating Your Blackness at Work: A Harmful Survival Technique
2 pm – 3 pm
Led by: Reena Doyle- Human rights consultant- California Teachers Association
Historically, Black people in this country have had to make adjustments in the workplace to make others feel comfortable around them. This is sometimes referred to as “whitewashed,” professionalism, educated, or “Uncle Tom.” These terms are “dog-whistle” phrases that do great harm to Black workers. This session will focus on methods of targeting Black behavior that support “the rightness of whiteness” out of survival. Participants will go through hands-on skill building activities to view “blackness and professionalism” as affirming connecting concepts.
The Green New Deal
3 pm – 4:35 pm
Co-led by: Destiney Lee- Climate organizer; Yasmine Pauling- Policy fellow, The Sunrise Movement & Ericka Symmonds- Director of Workforce Development, GRID Alternatives
Talk about the Green New Deal–federal legislation to fight climate change, that, until it was introduced in February 2019 with much fanfare, was a cornerstone in the unlikely campaign of New York’s Alexandria Ocasio Cortez–and there are a dozen different reactions. What’s certain is that the legislation has emerged as a reference point in conversations about climate change, and has fostered many similar measures. It would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and calls for the United States to switch to 100 percent renewable energy in 10 years. It funds new jobs, including installing solar panels, retrofitting coastal infrastructure and manufacturing electric vehicles. Join three thoughtful activists to discuss the elements of the deal, how it will impact income inequities, and how it trended into the national consciousness.
Sunday, August 25th
Location: Room 228
Working Through Stress during the Workday Using Yoga
3 pm – 4:35 pm
Led by: Shannon McGhee- Spiritual Essence Yoga and Wellness Center
Shannon McGhee, a licensed clinical social worker in Maryland, demonstrates yoga asanas (poses) to relieve tension and stress. She explores simple, but effective, asanas that can be performed at your desk with minimal disruption to your work space and/or environment. Asanas will focus on the hips, shoulders, and lower and upper back where most people store tension when becoming overwhelmed and/or stressed. She also explores simple breathing techniques to utilize in conjunction with the asana
Making the Just City: Gentrification & Community Health
10:30 am – 12 pm
Co-led by: Serita El Amin- Organizer & Dominic Moulden- Resource organizer, One DC
The instability, displacement and destruction of relationships resulting from gentrification primarily affects low- and moderate-income people. Not only does it have a negative impact on the community, but it can undermine individual health. One DC, with its mission to create an equitable Washington, D.C., is working to turn research into action by changing the distribution of public dollars and supporting affordable housing as a way of building equity and improving public health. Discuss and practice some of the elements of their campaign in this interactive workshop, and find out what will and won’t work for your community.
Mindfulness
2:00 pm -2:30 pm
Led by: Baltimore and Beyond Mindfulness Community
Taking time to stop and find stillness is important for our healing and liberation. We will take time to practice stopping in community. Join us for 10 minutes of guided sitting meditation (in chairs), followed by 10 minutes of walking meditation or slow walking, and 10 minutes of sharing. Those new to meditation and experienced practitioners are welcome.
Take Care
2:45 pm – 3:30 pm
Led by: Roz Myers- Activist, Founding Member of the Bay Area Black Worker Center, and Board Member of the National Black Worker Centers Project
Takecare is national campaign that encourages care of our mind, body, spirit and community. It is a health and well-being initiative to inspire us through storytelling, tools and resources. This workshop features three Takecare film shorts which focus on individuals and communities that embody the Takecare spirit. The campaign features a website (takecare.org), online engagement through social media and tools that help people assess their own health.