Creating Cultures of Equitable Belonging in the Classroom Using the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge

Presenter
Karen Spiller, KAS Consulting & the Thomas W. Haas Professor in Sustainable Food Systems at University of New Hampshire

For the past seven years, Food Solutions New England has hosted the 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge that has inspired thousands to learn, reflect and act in service of creating a culture of belonging and just practices, with our food system as a frame.  Food system practitioners, policy makers, educators, community activists, college students, soil scientists, healthcare professionals and their agencies are among those in diverse sectors who earnestly continue to find ways to build and nurture new relationships, shift policies and challenge norms that once included some and excluded most. With the lens of racial and social equity, we together have been able to create space for dialogue, authentic engagement and allyship leading to action and changes in beliefs and aspirations; the ways in which the work is done, and how decisions are made. With intentionality and intersectionality, the Challenge has been used as a tool to transform the culture at higher education institutions by engaging faculty in syllabi development for their courses across disciplines of agriculture, social work, and business; promoting student-led campus conversations; and hosting point of service and learning activities in the university’s dining services and meal plans. In this session, participants explored ways and strategies to use the 21-Day Challenge as a tool to prepare our younger students to be thoughtful and brave about their multiple identities and celebrate the fullness of the communities in which they will live, work and play. We will together build a menu of possibilities for our school communities – starting with our K-12 students, then their families, school faculty and staff in the quest to be one a community of excellence, equity and belonging.

Resources

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Recording