Courses
As part of our Racial Justice & Liberatory Practice series, we offer a number of online continuing education courses through our partner universities. Our goal with these courses is to provide a mix of frameworks, knowledge, and skills to engage in anti-racist, anti-oppressive, liberatory practice.
We explore the historical and modern-day context of racism, white supremacy, and oppression from a systemic and interpersonal perspective. We emphasize an analysis of power and critical reflection on who benefits and who is harmed. All coursework is meant to allow participants to enhance their capacities to take action that challenges oppressive systems such as racism, sexism, classism, ageism, ableism, heterosexism, in the context of social work and related disciplines.
Course titles, descriptions, partner universities, dates, and registration links are listed below.
*Self-paced/Self-study on-demand courses launching September 1, 2024 at the University of Houston!*
Please reach out if you are interested in partnering with us.
Social Identity, Positionality & Defining Racism
In this course, we look at racism as a system and our positions within that system, with an emphasis on social, economic, and political power. We explore racial identity development and characteristics of dialogue about race and racism. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work
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Racism Has Always Existed in the U.S.
In this course, we look at the history of racism in the U.S., beginning with settler colonialism, genocide of Indigenous Peoples, and slavery of Africans, with an emphasis on how laws and policies have been used to institutionalize racism. We emphasize Indigenous and African resistance to white supremacy. We explore historical trauma and recognize it as an ongoing sociopolitical process. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work
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White Supremacy, White Privilege, Racism & Oppression in Social Work
In this course, we look at the systems of whiteness, white supremacy, and white privilege/advantage, with an emphasis on why and how they were created and are maintained. We examine how white supremacy and racism show up within social work and are perpetuated by social work, both historically and present-day. We challenge the concept of cultural competence and look at ways to work for social change, not social control. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work
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Social Movements, Black Liberation, Black Power & Social Work
In this course, we look at major social movements against racism and oppression and connect them to social work, specifically highlighting the community-based work of the Black Panther Party. We situate Black power and Black liberation within social work to these larger movements and explore Black social workers who have been excluded from mainstream/White social work education and history. We take an intersectional approach and look at Black LGBTQ+ activism and Black disability. We discuss what social work today and in the future would look like if the emphasis was on Black liberation. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
Applying Critical Race Theory & Intersectionality in Practice
In this course, we look at critical race theory and how to use it in practice. We break down the concepts of color-blind racism and the myth of meritocracy and look at how they show up in social work and related disciplines. We explore intersectionality as a framework to understand how oppression operates and how we can use this framework in our practice. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work
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Racial Justice and Anti-Oppressive Practice
In this course, we explore how to engage in racial justice and anti-oppressive practice. We look at how to do this work at the individual level, within organizations, and at the policy level. We review dangerous myths of why the racial wealth gap exists and ways to address it. We look at the impact of current social movements, such as Black Lives Matter. We examine how challenging antisemitism and Islamophobia are essential to this work. We explore questions to ask ourselves to help guide our work. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work
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Liberatory Practice
In this course, we explore ways to engage in liberatory practice. We look at anti-racist, anti-oppressive, decolonial approaches, with specific examples from folks doing this work in clinical, community, and policy practice areas. We identify barriers to liberatory practice and discuss supports needed to engage in this work. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.
Be Prepared for Backlash… Where Do We Go From Here?
In this course, we examine the multiple forms of backlash to racial justice work, with particular emphasis on the workplace, all situated within larger political and systemic factors. We explore ways to challenge organizational racism and how to prepare and cope with the backlash that is sure to come. We look at where we are going in our future liberatory practice and begin to conceptualize a future that centers Blackness, Indigenous Peoples, abolition, and more. We utilize a variety of learning methods with a focus on theory and action.