All Events
Race Matters Series
Facing the Elephant in the Room: Getting Comfortable with Communicating about Race Cindu Thomas-George
MCC Lounge
The reality is that many people feel uncomfortable and under-prepared to talk about issues of race.his interactive workshop will encourage us to face the elephant in the room and learn to feel a bit more comfortable in our uncomfortability. This experiential workshop will expose participants to skills and knowledge that can guide them in working toward creating an equitable and inclusive campus culture that values racial justice and strengthening interethnic/racial relationships on and off our campuses. Cindu Thomas-George, M.A., is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois. She is also the Founder of Shakti Communication and Diversity Training.
Psychedelic Cumbia Punk with Tropa Magica
MCC Theater
After receiving their blessing from Los Tigres Del Norte, East L.A. badasses, Thee Commons, metamorphosed into new stage outfit Tropa Magica. Still consisting of the chunster Pacheco brothers and their signature psychedelic cumbia punk, Tropa Magica boasts a “troop” of new “magical” sounds, now having added a second guitar to their repertoire. Tropa Magica has released monthly singles this year into the summer and their debut LP is dropping in the fall. From there, the tropical sky is the limit. $5 for UCSB Students and youth under 12; $15 for general admission.
Purchase tickets here: https://goo.gl/JjeD7G
Cup of Culture
Strong Island
MCC Theater
William Ford Jr.’s family is left restless as the murderer of their 24-year old son is allowed to walk free. William Ford Sr. suffers a stroke two years after the death of his son, Barbara Ford finds herself incapacitated with health issues, and Yance, William Ford Jr.’s brother, is left to pick up the pieces.
Judged by an all-white jury, Mark Reilly, a 19-year old mechanic, claimed he acted in self-defense against Ford in an altercation at the Auto Shop, where Reilly was employed, but Yance believes it runs deeper and along racial lines. In a film Yance created himself to find the truth, examine the consequences, and honor his brother’s memory, Strong Island promises to expose, empathize, and force audiences to consider what they thought they knew to be true. 1h 47m.
Engaging Communities with Resilient Love
Teaching in/from Freedom: Supporting Undocumented Students in Times of Terror Lorgia García-Peña
MCC Theater
These times of terror and repression have brought forth new challenges for teaching, particularly for those teaching in fields that intersect with race and immigration. How do we teach for/in freedom? How do we create spaces that protect our most vulnerable students while allowing for critical engagement and interventions? Sharing lessons from her work with Freedom University, Dr. García-Peña hopes to pose some practical questions for the future of our teaching and our learning that can contrast the climate of terror and fear lived in our country (and the world). Dr. Lorgia Garcia-Peña is Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of History and Literature at Harvard University. In 2003, she co-founded Freedom University, a “modern day freedom school” in Atlanta that provides tuition-free education, college application and scholarship assistance, and social movement leadership training to undocumented students banned from public higher education by Georgia state laws.
