Leveraging The Interpersonal For Social Change

Workshop with Kara Murray-Badal, Mosaic Board Member and Alumna, and Dr. Michael Baran, Mosaic Advisory Board Member and Co-author of the Recent Book, Subtle Acts of Exclusion

We are in a moment of reckoning. There is the pandemic which is revealing and heightening separation, fear, discrimination, and inequality between groups of people. We are also experiencing a groundswell of awareness and activism around these issues due to the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and George Floyd. Of course, we know we did not get to this point overnight. There have been countless acts throughout history, from overt to subtle, from systemic violence to micro-aggressions, that have brought us here. Our interpersonal interactions have been shaped by this history, and have the power to shape our future.

How do we navigate our interpersonal interactions to contribute to a more just, equitable world? How do we address micro-aggressions (or what Dr. Michael Baran and his coauthor Dr. Tiffany Jana would call, “subtle acts of exclusion”) when they happen to us or when we witness them happening to others? As we interact with those who have different experiences from our own and try to recognize what they may be going through, we ourselves may still commit “subtle acts of exclusion,” even with the best of intentions. How do we handle it when we do?

In this interactive virtual session, Dr. Michael Baran and Kara Murray-Badal will first unpack these subtle interactions and why they continue to happen. They will then provide some guidelines for how people can be more effective changemakers by using Mosaic’s Three Keys to Peace (Listening, Empathy, and Assertiveness) to— (1) proactively hold space and support others, and (2) interrupt subtle acts of exclusion when they happen.

This was a free event, however donations are greatly appreciated.

We look forward to learning and sharing together in hopes of building a safe, more just world not only for ourselves, but for our children. Thank you!