Volunteers build understanding and deep relationships through learning community events.
Volunteers get to know one another, learn from nationally renowned speakers, engage in interfaith dialogue, and develop strategies to engage others in the work of creating real, systemic change in Greater Saint Paul.
This program year we are looking closely at the five neighborhoods in Saint Paul in which we work most deeply: Rondo, Rice Street, Payne-Phalen-Dayton’s Bluff, Frogtown/Midway, and West Side. We seek to better understand how these neighborhoods came to be in this moment and to understand their strengths. But we also want to understand how our community has failed these neighborhoods, resulting in barriers to economic mobility.
Next Learning Community Event
Thursday, July 23, 2020, 7:00-8:30 pm by Zoom
Challenging Inequality: The Six Degrees of Segregation with Dr. Yohuru Williams
Dr. Yohuru Williams is Distinguished University Chair and Professor and the founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. A nationally known author and commentator, he is the author and/or editor of seven books including Rethinking the Black Freedom Movement and The Black Panthers: Portraits of an Unfinished Revolution. Dr. Williams joined the Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul board in July 2020.
In this presentation, Dr. Williams will explore the history of racial inequality in America from the end of the Civil War through the murder of George Floyd through the lens of what he calls the “Six Degrees of Segregation,” six firm barriers to equality that continue to bar access to first class citizenship, economic stability, and health and safety for African Americans, Indigenous People, and Immigrants of Color in the United States.
2019–2020 Learning Community Event Materials
May 21, 2020: Daniel Karpowitz: College in Prison
Assistant Commissioner MN Department of Corrections Daniel Karpowitz; Interfaith Text Study – Earl Schwartz & Zelda Roland Director, Yale Prison Initiative at Dwight Hall
January 16, 2020: Transportation History in Saint Paul
Infrastructure is, quite literally, the backbone of the Twin Cities. However, access to transportation is not equally distributed, and infrastructure projects such as the building of Highway 94 have had devastating effects on communities in St. Paul. Rep. Frank Hornstein provided a look at the history of such projects, as well as how we can approach future projects with a greater sense of equity and justice.
Video: Rep. Frank Hornstein | Video: Text Study
December 12, 2019: Immigrant Patterns in Saint Paul
Peter Rachleff, co-founder of the East Side Freedom Library, shared insights into immigrant patterns in Saint Paul. Who came to our neighborhood, and from where? Why, and what do we all have in common?
Video: Peter Rachleff | Video: Text Study
October 17, 2019: Housing
Margaret Kaplan, president of the Housing Justice Center, led a discussion about understand the history of redlining, racially restrictive covenants, and other deliberate policies that led to disparities in housing ownership by race, and then led to staggering gaps in assets and wealth.
Video: Margaret Kaplan | Video: Text Study | Redlining PowerPoint
2018–2019 Learning Community Events
July 18: Impact Stories: Opportunity Saint Paul’s Impact on our Community
Year-in-review of volunteer experiences and impact on community partners
May 9: Trauma-Informed Care
Understanding trauma and its impact on brain development, cultural resilience, and new tools to help volunteers in their work with students and clients
March 14: Motivational Interviewing
Understanding how Motivational Interview can help people of differing cultures and socio-economic backgrounds learn to work together and communicate better
January 29: Building Strong Volunteer Relationships
Learning how successful volunteer experiences rely on building effective, authentic relationships between volunteers and clients
November 29: Unconscious Bias
Understanding how unconscious bias can negatively affect our thoughts and behaviors, how it manifests itself in our relationships, and how we can take steps to create more innovative, caring, and inclusive relationships
October 11: Experience Poverty—Interactive Poverty Simulation
Experiencing what it feels to like to live in poverty through an online simulation tool developed by Urban Ministries of Durham
Learn more, download resources and watch videos from 2018-2019 here.