Triangle DEI Alliance: Courageous Conversations: Coping with Racial Trauma - May 2023

This event is virtual. 

Courageous Conversation: Coping with Racial Trauma in the Workplace

Our speaker this month will be Cara Valentino, senior manager of the racial justice and equity program at RTI International.

This interactive workshop will provide insight into the nature and presence of racial trauma in the workplace. Our speaker will provide actionable strategies for managing the impact of racial trauma as well as tips to start the healing process. Black people have been experiencing racial trauma for centuries and the workplace is no exception. The extrajudicial murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery garnered worldwide attention to anti-Black racism and racial inequity. At that time, many organizations made commitments to address systemic racism and promote the well-being of the Black community. A common theme was a willingness to have conversations about race in the workplace and to increase their commitment to diversity. An unintended outcome of these commitments has been more racial trauma for the Black people who are now being asked to educate, advise, or lead these efforts in the workplace, while simultaneously continuing to experience microaggressions and microinsults. The racial tensions of the world outside of work also follow Black people and other people of color into the workplace. Racial trauma impacts organizational health alongside the personal health and well-being of those individuals being traumatized. Attend this workshop to learn tips and strategies for those experiencing racialized trauma as well as those witnessing it.