Earlier this month, my coworkers and I presented at the National Conference of Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) in Portland, Oregon. Our presentation was about the Mosaic’s use of Cross’ Theory of Nigrescence to understand social identity development and to lay a foundation for our programmatic series (e.g., What’s the (T)ea?: Social Justice Dialogue Series). Cross’s theory speaks to the psychological “process of becoming Black”. What I find most interesting is how we drew parallels between Black identity development and the development of other social identities (i.e., nationality). Depending on one's circumstances, such as their social environment, some identities may hold more power and privilege than others. However, the parallels we drew reminded me of my belief that we are more common than different. Cross’s foundation also allowed our NCORE team to find ways to improve our programmatic series. This is particularly exciting to me because improved programming can open pathways for more UMBC folk to gain a better understanding of themselves and others. I’m grateful for NCORE as it was our opportunity to welcome others in higher education to forge similar pathways.

Before our presentation, we attended three days worth of workshops, panels, lecture-like sessions, and keynotes. I was most inspired by Walidah Imarisha’s keynote about Oregon’s racist history. Prior to her keynote, I noticed Portland’s charm, progressiveness (e.g., environment-friendly businesses), and its lack of diversity. Fast forward to Imarisha’s keynote where I learned that deep-rooted structural racism is also true for Northern states like Oregon, not only for the Southern states of America. By using her Oregon Black History Timeline, Imarisha explained how systems in Oregon are not broken. In truth, they are working just as intended - to be racist white utopias. Thereafter, my perception of and the way I moved about Oregon changed due to my heightened awareness of the reasons for the lack of diversity outside of Northeast Portland, where most people of color (POC) live. 

My experience thereafter reminded me of the time period when I was learning a lot about Baltimore City and its racist history. The long-lasting effects of this history still leaves Black folk at a much greater disadvantage than white folk today. Just like in Oregon, I felt enraged by and in disbelief of the numerous human rights violations against Black Americans. However, as overwhelming as these experiences were, I would not trade them and my questions for ignorance. We should ask questions to challenge injustice and to advocate for equality and equity. Why is West Baltimore so “scary?” Why do most black people live in the Black Butterfly of Baltimore? Why is it that the metro, light rail, and busses do not directly connect West and East Baltimore? Keep asking questions to arrive at truthful answers that challenge how we navigate the spaces we occupy for the purpose of elevating each other with the justice that people deserve.   

Recently, folks from the Mosaic and I got the opportunity to travel to Portland, Oregon to present at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) to present a session on the theory and praxis used in our own Mosaic programming. We attended a variety of sessions ranging from keynote speakers, unique performances, lectures, workshops and more. One of the sessions I went to called "Centering the Impacted: A Facilitated Dialogue about the Challenges formerly Incarcerated Individuals Face Along the Path of Re-entry and Higher Education" talked about the experiences and hardship that justice impacted folk have to struggle with due to their incarceration. One participant of the panel failed to sign up for selective service due to being incarcerated and therefore was unable to receive the financial aid he needed in order to attend school and now has to jump through hoops to try and afford his education. Another person talks about how shocking it was for them to be released from prison with little to no resources or support which contributes to the high rates of recidivism. One of the amazing resources that was spoken about in this was colleges and universities having prison re-entry specialists that are equipped with the knowledge and experiences to help other justice impacted people navigate the higher education system. It is also beneficial if these staff members are formerly incarcerated people who need jobs and know what it is like to struggle with getting out of prison

As a person that has lived in Maryland for most of her life and having graduated from UMBC, an institution located only about 15 minutes outside of downtown Baltimore, made me think about what we are as a University. We should be ensuring that current and prospective students are being met where they are at instead of expecting them to meet us. In addition, thinking about Baltimore's long history with racism, segregation and police power- It challenged me to think about what we can do better as a community. For those that might not know, people that are justice impacted often lose a lot of rights that most Americans take for granted or simply do not care about. Such as voting, access to government programs like housing and food stamps. We should all think harder about the kind of policing that we support, if any. Read up on abolishing prisons, watch documentaries like the 13th that talk about mass incarceration. The work is much deeper than that but a great place to start. Gaining knowledge is one of the most effective ways to be an ally to marginalized people because you then are better suited to question the systems you are a part of and contribute to. In today's age, we cannot afford to be complacent, and we all should be asking ourselves- " is this the kind of world that I want for everyone?". If your answer is no, your work starts there.