KEYNOTE LECTURES
White Immunity: Working Through the Pedagogical Pitfalls of Privilege
This presentation is Dr. Cabrera’s development over “White Privilege.” In it, he explores the historical development of whiteness, and shows how white advantage developed through systemic racism to which white people were socially inoculated. This lecture links the history of racial oppression to contemporary times, and helps work through some of the pitfalls of “privilege” such as, “How can white kids from Appalachia be ‘privileged’?”
Creating ‘Different Mirrors’: History, Theory, and Impacts of Ethnic Studies
As ethnic studies is undergoing a nation-wide renaissance, it is important to remember how this very unique form of academic and educational work developed. This presentation engages the history of Ethnic Studies as well as the contemporary issues that its expansion poses. While it is important that Ethnic Studies is expanding, Dr. Cabrera cautions that it needs to expand with fidelity and attention to the history of its struggle.
Whiteness: A Primer
When conversations arise regarding ‘diversity’ or ‘race,’ this usually implies a focus on People of Color. Generally absent is the subject of whiteness. This lecture explores the historical construction of whiteness. Additionally, it examines how this concept has evolved, been challenged, and continually reconstructed over the past five hundred years in the U.S. Ultimately, this lecture gives audience members insight into the “other side” of diversity.
History Is Not Destiny: Developing Servingness at Hispanic Serving Institutions(HSIs)
There are always a number of growing pains associated with universities becoming Hispanic Serving Institutions(HSIs). In this talk, Dr. Cabrera utilizes the concept of servingness to examine institutional changes that need to occur - changing the culture of HSIs and the outcomes they produce - to truly support the needs of Latinx students. Of particular note, Dr. Cabrera will explore how anti-racism and decolonial education are core components of HSIs developing servingness while offering some practical considerations of how this can be developed.
“By the Time I Get to Arizona”: The Racial Politics and Resistance to State-Sponsored Racism
In 2010, the state of Arizona banned a highly successful Mexican American Studies program. This lecture details the incredible (and frequently unbelievable) story of the banning and the resistance that eventually led to a judge ruling the ban to be racist and unconstitutional. This mixture of firsthand accounts, scholarly analyses, and grassroots struggle, is instructive to those implementing Ethnic Studies during its current national renaissance.
TRAININGS
Race is, Race Ain’t: Creating Racially-Engaged Campuses and Classrooms
This workshop (1-4 hours) engages practitioners to critically engage race in their everyday practice. It accomplishes this by first providing an in-depth overview of what racism is and its relevance to educational space. It then engages audience members to both deconstruct how it is present in their practice while dialoging about how to structure racially-inclusive learning environments.
“I learned it by watching you”: Working through the self-inflicted wounds of masculinity. (training or keynote)
The issue of ‘vanishing’ Men of Color in higher education makes headlines, including President Obama’s My Brothers Keeper initiative. Dr. Cabrera, as part of President Obama’s initiative, has a slightly different take on this issue of underrepresentation. He argues that the core of this issue is the self-harm masculinity inflicts on young Men of Color. This training engages normative scripts of masculinity and demonstrates how they are responsible for this larger social trend. Within this context, Dr. Cabrera illustrates how a feminist, anti-sexist masculinity is both a path to gender liberation and the solution to the under-representation of Men of Color in institutions of higher education.
Dr. Cabrera also lectures and offers trainings on issues of Critical Race Theory, Whiteness, systemically creating racially inclusive campus environments, and using programmatic assessment to anti-racist ends.
