Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Webinars and Programs

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office provides webinars to give space for open discussion on issues of race, equity, culture, and inclusion. Our goal is for each of us to be heard and respected, all for the purpose of making for a better place to live, thrive, and share.

Please review the webinars, discuss with others, and pass along the message of growth through conversation that moves to action. DE&I webinars and programs are located on the DE&I YouTube channel: Video Access

Afternoons of African American Awareness

TCC’s African American Student Association and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion present the Afternoons of African American Awareness to Tulsa Community College for the annual showcase of community professionals during the month of February in recognition of Black History Month. The purpose of the talks is to bring professionals from the community to TCC to discuss recent issues and present potential networking opportunities. All students and employees are invited to attend, along with Tulsa community members. This event is sponsored by Tulsa Community College’s Student Life. (This event is free to attend.)

February 2023

February 2022

2020 Summer Race Equity Series

The Summer 2020 Race Equity Series responds to the murder of George Floyd and the continued unrest of the social and racial injustice in our city, state, and nation. The horrific events occurring over the summer of 2020 following Floyd's murder produced trauma, loss, grief, and anger. The series explores a variety of topics as members of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community share personal experiences of social inequalities and fear for their own safety. The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is committed to making a difference and helping our students, faculty, and staff become better and more informed citizens and education who will transform the community of Tulsa and the world.

This series is the first of many series committing our College to anti-racist action, and to countering anti-Blackness, anti-Hispanic/Latinx, anti-LGBTQ+ and any other anti-identity suppression in all that we do. This will require the dedication of our faculty, staff, and students to engage in our work through a different lens. It might start by seeking out and learning from the excellent work already being done in this area by a number of our colleagues in the College, as well as identifying what else may be needed.

  • Who's Afraid of the Big Black Man?:

YouTube Recording: "Who’s Afraid of the Big Black Man?" is a conversation on policing and racial discrimination in the United States. Participants include Dr. Jason Johnson, Langston University’s Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, Student Success Initiatives, and Chief of Police for Tulsa Community College Melvin Murdock.

This presentation features Dr. Johnson’s research on the experiences of “Big Black Men” in the U.S. and how they are often perceived as being aggressive, violent, and physically larger than their White counterparts. Johnson explains that negative perceptions of Black men often lead to negative encounters with police, educators, and society.

The conversation continues with Chief Melvin Murdock sharing his perspective, today’s climate of policing and his personal encounters of racial discrimination while working in law enforcement.

Additional Resources:

https://www.pnas.org/content/115/11/2711

https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/black-men-threatening

  • What Can Whites Do to be an Anti-Racist?:

YouTube Recording: "What Can Whites Do to be Anti-racist?” explores Whiteness as defined by white privilege, culture, and socialization and how it can be a stepping stone to becoming an anti-racist. While not a new language, you may have seen a shift in the public dialogue where it is not enough to say, “I am not a racist.” Now, it is important to be anti-racist, which requires you to take action.

Panel discussions provide a variety of concrete suggestions and tools needed to help Whites on their continued journey to be a voice against racism as they support colleagues and friends who cope with racial injustices daily.

Additional Resources:

https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/white-privilege

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/why-whites-downplay-their-individual-racial-privileges

  • Racial Battle Fatigue:

YouTube Recording: Racial Battle Fatigue

In this conversation, our panelists present findings and insight on the early effects of trauma and posttraumatic stress across the lifespan among Black men and People of Color in the United States. Participants explore health and treatment disparities, discuss masculinity and race-related barriers to the underutilization of mental health care services, and learn specific culturally competent trauma-informed approaches to therapeutic care. We will also discuss why COVID-19 is hitting Black and Brown communities, especially hard, and what this pandemic is teaching us about the extreme structural, health, and racial disparities that exist for People of Color.

Additional Resources:

https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/understanding-racial-battle-fatigue/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00957984211002615

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1222863.pdf

Intercultural Engagement Programs:

The Office of Intercultural Engagement aspires to be a model of excellence for inclusive student-centered intercultural engagement and education, dialogue, and community building.

We care about our students and we believe in their potential to change the world, and we seek to inspire students, faculty and staff through programs that are rooted in the values of empowerment through inclusive community building, education through sustained engagement, and growth and transformation through dialogue.

OIE creates and delivers innovative, student-centered co-curricular programs that are educational, developmental, fun, and challenging; that nurture and cultivate a life-long passion in students, faculty and staff to be kind, to be brave, to know themselves, and to serve others.

  • Day in the Life:

"Day in the Life" events are conversations with our students about their life here at Tulsa Community College and their community. This dialogue is an inside view of our students' concerns, needs, celebrations, and a look at how COVID-19 has affected their community and personal lives.

Highlighted Groups: Hispanic/Latinx Students; Native Indigenous Students; Students with Disabilities, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

November 12, 2020: YouTube Recording Student Discussion of Supreme Court Decision

Supreme Court has ruled that about half of Oklahoma is Native American Land. The ruling greatly impacts the Northeastern part of Oklahoma. We will be joined by Muscogee (Mvskoke Creek) Nation Lighthorse Tribal Deputy Police Chief Daniel Wind, Native American law professor Stacy Leeds, and former Chief Justice of the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court Jonodev Chaudhuri. This discussion is a deep dive into how the ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma affects Native Americans in the state, TCC, and Tulsa.

Additional Resources:

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889562040/supreme-court-rules-that-about-half-of-oklahoma-is-indian-land

  • Afternoon with Joy Harjo:

November 20, 2020: YouTube Recording with Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo is an internationally renowned performer and writer of the Muscogee (Mvskoke Creek) Nation and was named the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States in 2019.

The author of nine books of poetry, several plays, and children's books, and a memoir, Crazy Brave, her many honors include the Ruth Lily Prize for Lifetime Achievement from the Poetry Foundation, the Academy of American Poets Wallace Stevens Award, a PEN USA Literary Award, Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund Writers' Award, a Rasmuson US Artist Fellowship, two NEA fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Harjo is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and is a founding board member of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. Join US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (2019-2020) for a virtual lecture combining talk with poetry readings and musical performance, all connected to spirituality.

Additional Resources:

https://www.joyharjo.com/