The Table at UMB

Trans students are navigating the challenges of pursuing a higher education while also living in an increasingly hostile socio-political environment targeting trans people. So, what can colleges and universities do to affirm trans students and create spaces of safety and belonging?In this episode, we invited Edgar Fields, MS, a recent graduate of the master's program at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, to discuss his lived experience as a trans student and to talk about how higher ed institutions can create supportive and inclusive spaces for trans students to thrive both personally and academically.

Trans people are being attacked across the country. In the past year alone, more than 480 bills have been introduced into legislative sessions, many of them targeting gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ+ educational materials in schools. However, some states like Maryland are increasing protections for trans and LGBQ+ people, including the most recent Trans Health Equity Act.In this episode we discuss the specific legislation impacting the lives of trans people and the broader LGBQ+ community with Lauren Pruitt, J.D. the legal director of Free State Justice, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in the state of Maryland. 

What does it mean to be a Black man? We're opening season two by  unraveling the multitudes that exist in understanding Black masculinity, including the fears, pains, strengths, and joys expressed by our guests Dariel Vasquez, BA and Durante Barringer, MEd. You'll also hear about their work with Brothers@, an organization dedicated to supporting young men of Color as they pursue their academic and professional goals.

The Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, and Me Too are examples of movements in the 21st century that brought together large collectives of people in response to oppressive social, political, and economic institutions. What made these movements unique compared to those of the past was the use of an emerging digital space to share stories and spread news and information. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram may not have had their roots in social activism, but they quickly became fertile grounds for people from across the globe to connect, learn about various social issues, and figure out how to get involved. In this episode, we feature Ki-Yong Park, a School of Nursing student, to discuss his experiences learning about and engaging with social movements via social media as a Gen-Zer. 

After the election of President Trump in 2016, students across the country organized and demanded that universities become sanctuary campuses to protect the rights of undocumented students and other vulnerable populations. The Intercultural Center at UMB is a direct result of this student advocacy. We invited Laura Bohórquez García, M.Ed. to discuss her personal and professional journeys advocating for undocumented students and pushing back against dominant narratives about immigrants that are rooted in white supremacy and capitalism. Through her expertise, we hope this episode serves as a resource for undocumented and DACA students as well as for staff and faculty who are interested in supporting this student population. 

This episode is dedicated to unpacking the historic and present day harms of white feminism. We're calling out these harmful practices so that we can move forward towards collective liberation for all bodies, not just those of white women.  Joining us for this episode is Kinley Millett, a student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a leader of the Intersectional Feminism and Social Work student organization. 

As a response to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, many institutions, businesses, and organizations across various sectors in the U.S. dedicated more resources to developing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives within their organizations. In the two years since the protests, how are these EDI initiatives institutionalizing racial equity and social change? In this episode Diane Forbes Berthoud, PhD, MA, UMB's first chief equity, diversity, and inclusion officer and vice president (CEDIO/VP) joins us at the table. Together, we explore her journey to her current role, and her vision and philosophy for organizational change as it aligns with EDI. 

As the end of the year approaches, we may become more aware of the messages from the media, our families, or ourselves that are centered on losing weight. The pressure to lose weight can be tied to negative perceptions of fat as evidence of a person's lack of self-control, laziness, or failure to care for themselves. These negative perceptions are what many fat activists and scholars are naming as anti-fat bias. We're dedicating this episode to unpacking the history and present-day impacts of how anti-fat bias and weight stigma, not solely fat itself, harms and dehumanizes people who are deemed as "overweight" or "obese" in our society.  In this episode, you'll hear from three guests, Tierra Major Kearney, the prevention and outreach program coordinator at the UMB Student Counseling Center (SCC), Chaia Grubbs, a licensed clinical social worker and senior counselor at the UMB SCC, and Ariana Meinster, a final year student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. They'll share their experiences and suggestions for dismantling anti-fat bias. 

“You're pretty for a dark-skinned girl” and “don't play outside in the sun, you'll get too dark” are comments that are sometimes overheard in Communities of Color. They highlight the issue of colorism, which is a form of prejudice and/or discrimination that values lighter skin tones over darker skin tones, specifically within the same racial and/or ethnic group. In this episode you'll hear from three individuals who speak to their respective experiences with colorism within the Black, Asian, and Latinx communities, Lisa Nicholson, a healthcare manager, Reina Pomeroy, MSW, a certified coach at Reina + Co, and Ayda Gonzalez, MS, a recent graduate student from Emory University.

What are the differences between the terms "Hispanic", "Latino", and "Latinx" and how should we define one of the largest growing ethnic groups in the United States? In this episode, we provide a brief history of the terms and how this identity has come to evolve over time. You'll also hear from Dr. Isabelita Rambob, DDS, an assistant professor at the School of Dentistry, and Rosemary Ferreira, MEd, who share their personal experiences identifying as Latinas.

Upward mobility is considered a cornerstone of the American Dream, but what about the personal, communal, and cultural sacrifices made to achieve this dream? What about the guilt and dissonance that some first-generation college graduates express from transitioning into a social class different from their family and community members?  In this episode Rosemary Ferreira, M.Ed. reflects on her experiences with upward mobility as she transitions from growing up in a working-class household to being the first in her family to graduate college to becoming a higher education professional. She interviews her mother, Maria Ferreira, to unpack her mixed emotions about her upward mobility and to hear about her mother's experience as a working-class immigrant. 

Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) is an increasingly popular term to identify people from countries such as Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, and Syria. In the U.S., SWANA communities toddle between invisibility due to the U.S. Census Bureau's decision not to develop a distinct SWANA race and/or ethnicity category and hypervisibility due to stereotypical depictions of SWANA people as violent and barbaric (ever listen to the introductory song of that popular Disney movie Aladdin?). In this episode, we unpack SWANA invisibility/hypervisibility with Sama Sahibi, M.A., program coordinator for the Women in Engineering program at the University of Maryland, College Park.

In honor of Pride month, we are releasing a special episode that provides a brief history of Pride, its roots in the Stonewall uprising against police, and the present-day struggles that LGBTQ+ people experience, particularly Trans Women of Color. We also invited three staff members at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Gregory Brightbill, MEd, MBA, associate director for student leadership and involvement in the Intercultural Leadership and Engagement unit, Zanne Gogan, testing center coordinator for Educational Support and Disability Services, and Mishawn Smith, MPA, executive administrative assistant at the School of Nursing's diversity and inclusion office, to share what Pride means to them. If you're interested in learning about additional LGBTQ+ resources, be sure to check out the transcript of this episode for a list of local and national LGBTQ+ activists and organizations. 

156 years after the first Juneteenth was celebrated in Galveston, Texas, companies and organizations across the U.S. are officially recognizing Juneteenth as a paid holiday. So, what is the history of Juneteenth, how do we celebrate it, and why are some people only just hearing about it? In this episode we are joined by Danielle Harris, LCSW-C, associate director of the Community Engagement Center, Chrishna Williams, director of alumni relations at the School of Social Work, and Seante Hatcher, LCSW-C, associate dean for continuing professional education at the School of Social Work, three Black women who share their experiences and thoughts about the holiday and its significance not only in Black history, but American history. 

In part two of the Anti-Asian Racism is Not New series, we talk to Crystal Han, MD and Angeline Pham, MD about their group Crazy Stressed Asians, a support group for Asian and Asian American students at UMB and other local universities. We also discuss the impact of racial trauma on the mental health and overall well-being of Asians and Asian Americans and Communities of Color, more broadly. 

In this two-part series, we invited Crystal Han, MD and Angeline Pham, MD, psychiatry residents at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt, and the facilitators of the Crazy Stressed Asians group at UMB, to discuss anti-Asian racism and its impact on the mental health and well-being of Asians and Asian Americans.  Part one focuses on the history of anti-Asian racism in the U.S. and how to build solidarity movements across racial and ethnic groups. Part two will be released later this month and will focus on racial trauma and mental health for Asian and Asian Americans, and People of Color more broadly.

Language is a powerful tool that allows for people to make meaning of themselves and the world they live in. How can we ensure that the language we use is also racially aware and inclusive? Our guest for this episode is James Wright, MFA, associate director of the Writing Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and associate faculty member in the Science Communication Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore's Graduate School. Together, we discuss the impact of social media and the 2020 racial justice protests on the decision to capitalize the B in Black by major news outlets. We also discuss how to incorporate inclusive language in academia. 

Cultural leeching? Blackfishing? Racial fraud? What do we name the recent phenomenon of white American women such as Jessica Krug and Rachel Dolezal posing as Black and Latinx women? Listen in as Courtney and Rosemary unpack this phenomenon with Kyla Liggett-Creel, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor at the School of Social Work.

Could you identify how many bubbles are on a bar of soap? For decades, questions like these were used to deter Black people from voting. While some of the tactics have changed throughout time, the goal to suppress the right to vote from Black people and other historically marginalized communities has not. Listen in as Courtney and Rosemary discuss the history (and current-day issue) of voter suppression in the U.S. In this episode we are joined by Mr. Nicholson, a Black Vietnam veteran who grew up in Alabama during the 1960s.

In June of 2020, the Intercultural Center (IC) was founded as a space of belonging for historically underrepresented students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In this episode, we are joined by two of the leading players in the establishment of the IC, Patty Alvarez, PhD, the Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright, MSW, an active student leader and alum of the University of Maryland School of Social Work. 

Learning about our identities and the identities of others can be a messy and complicated process. That's why we're launching The Table, a podcast that will unpack questions regarding race, ethnicity, culture, norms, and current events. New episodes will be released every month.