Having Conversations About Race in the Classroom

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The powerful protests of the past few weeks sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and other injustices are giving voice to the profound changes needed in our country, in our communities, in our families, and in our individual lives to bring attention to and end systemic racism and inequality, but also in the classroom. The just, equitable, and thriving future we all hope for will depend in large part on how courageous each of us is willing to be to have difficult conversations with each other and those around us on and off campus. In this webinar, Stephanie Jirard offers suggestions on how to approach this topic in the classroom to help prepare students to have these conversation and to facilitate critical thinking, social justice, and change.

Stephanie Jirard is the Title IX Coordinator and a professor of Criminal Justice at Shippensburg University and has received training on how to lead Courageous Conversations on race. Prior to teaching at Shippensburg, she was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps and served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division; a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office; an assistant Public defender at the Federal Public Defender’s Office; and a death-penalty defense lawyer with the Missouri Public Defender’s Capital Litigation Unit. As a professional coach, she also provides training on diversity and inclusion to organizations and agencies surrounding race, gender, LGBTQ, mental health, and the differently-abled.

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Sage Webinar questions and Classroom Resources

Classroom Resources to talk about Race