At the Intersection of our Privilege and our Oppression

Issues surrounding race, class, sexual identity, gender and religion have exploded into the national dialogue. These are difficult and confusing issues to discuss, especially when social and cultural identities overlap. “Intersectionality is the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups” (Webster’s). The theory of intersectionality is also the idea that when it comes to thinking about how inequalities persist, categories like gender, race, and class are best understood as overlapping and mutually constitutive rather than isolated and distinct. This training provides thoughtful discussion and self-reflective activities to help you lean into the discomfort by increasing your awareness of the intersecting social dynamics impacting us all.

Instructor Jesse Pitt has spent the last 18 years working with diverse groups of middle and high school students. He loves facilitating courageous conversations about the uncomfortable social issues affecting our diverse culture. He moved to Asheville in 2002 to work with the NC Outward Bound School as a climber, wilderness instructor and eventual Director of the high-school based Unity Project. He is a graduate of Skidmore College, and Western Carolina University and has been a counselor at Asheville Middle School since 2007.

To learn more and to register, email rochelle@jccavldev.wpengine.com.  Registration fee is $10 for the class and is open to the entire community.