From Conceptualization to Actualization: A Look Inside We CU's Anti-Racism in Service Learning Workshop

In 2020, a year crippled with uncertainty and social isolation, the creation of We CU’s virtual, campus-wide summer program was a beacon of light and hope in an otherwise bleak year. Launched during a time when many programs were being canceled, We CU was a much-needed means for students to connect with one another and develop a sense of community. Since then, the virtual program has continued to evolve and improve. New this year is the “Anti-Racism in Service Learning Workshop,” crafted by We CU’s very own graduate assistant, Karla G. Sanabria-Véaz. The seminar is divided into three parts, and each session is about an hour and a half. The length of the curriculum, however, is deceptive to the hours put in behind the scenes.    

“It’s been a process of nearly a year of exploration,” Karla recalled when asked how long it took her to design the workshop series. “It took reading and getting exposed to literature, friends, and other people who have done this work before me… I still believe that I have a lot to learn.”

During this period of discovery, Karla drew from her experiences as a Black, biracial woman born and raised in Puerto Rico, an occupied and enslaved US colony. She explored critical concepts such as colonialism and coloniality – practices centered around the acquisition of full or partial political control over another country. One of the goals of the first workshop was to examine the intricate relationship between racism and the development of capitalism through colonization.  

“We can’t abolish racism without abolishing capitalism and colonialism,” Karla explained. “They are intrinsically related. Oppression is systemic and we can’t reform systems that were meant to oppress and kill us.”

Workshops in the anti-racism series also introduce a critical vocabulary, consisting of terms such as internalized racism and white saviorism, to describe racist practices used to confront and abolish racism, offer opportunities for students to apply anti-racist knowledge to case studies involving service learning, and help students learn to narrate their service as a unique professional development experience in becoming an anti-racist community scholar.

The notion of confronting and abolishing racism became an integral aspect to the workshop following the murder of George Floyd. “The assassination of George Floyd was a huge wake-up call for me as a Black, biracial woman,” Karla remarked. The tragedy was a deciding factor in her decision to create the anti-Black racism program. She explained the impact of George Floyd’s death as monumental; opening many eyes to the harsh realities of police brutality, both globally and locally in Champaign-Urbana.  

We CU boasts a diverse array of students from the university, with individuals coming together to support one another in a tight-knit community. While this workshop draws from Karla’s experiences and focuses on anti-Black racism, she hopes to soon expand the workshop to include Anti-Asian and Anti-Latinx racism.

“I have the conflict that it’s not necessarily my story to tell. For example, my experience as a Latina in Puerto Rico is different from my cousins who were born and raised in the US. I believe that I should be supporting and echoing the voices of other people doing that work.”

On the topic of change and improvement, Karla is hopeful that there will be some immediate changes in the community following student’s participation in the anti-Racism workshops. “I hope that our students can critique the organizations that they are in and that they can be good ambassadors of an anti-racist society. Hopefully, when students see situations similar to those in the case studies we went over in real life, they can become upstanders against racism and not bystanders.”

The term upstander refers to a person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, most commonly on the behalf of someone being attacked and bullied. Karla acknowledges that stepping up and taking initiative, particularly when it comes to the matter of race, is not an easy thing to do. Still, she stresses its importance, providing an example of the type of change that she’d love to see going forward.

“I hope that White students support our students of color. Whenever they see a colleague of color struggling or in need of support, I hope that they don’t think twice before offering it.”    

In We CU, it is never too late to get involved. Students who missed out on the anti-racist workshops this summer will have future opportunities to attend workshops this year. Make sure to join We CU and keep an eye on the weekly newsletter for more details.