Providence is Not Your Playground

Providence is not your playground

Introductions

- Name- School- One way that you orient students at your

school to your city

Pre-Season 2017

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

-Swearer Overview

-Community Building

-Bonner Overview

-Identity Development

-Providence Context

-Community Partners

Day 4 Day 5 Day

-Match Day -Walking Tours -On-Site Meeting

-Reflection

Workshop goals1. Learn a (brief) history of Brown in Providence.2. Contextualize ourselves within that history.3. Establish some guidelines + norms for working

within Providence communities.

Definitions

We will use power as a catch-all term for ability, influence, and access, granted and reinforced by institutions, structures, history, and individuals. It is distributed inequitably.

Power

Definitions

Unearned power enjoyed by a dominant group, giving them economic, political, social, and cultural advantages at the expense of members of a marginalized group.

Source: The Anti-Oppression Networkhttps://theantioppressionnetwork.com/resources/terminologies-of-oppression/

Privilege

Reflect:

- Did you interact with student volunteers who provided you with a

service? - In what context?

- What was that experience like?

Turn and Talk:

- Did you interact with student volunteers who provided you with a

service? - In what context?

- What was that experience like?

Group Share:

- Did you interact with student volunteers who provided you with a

service? - In what context?

- What was that experience like?

History of Brown in ProvidenceAn abridged version

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1 Forced Displacement of Native American Communities

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Gentrification of Fox Point

4 Property Taxes

“

“Which said piece of land contains about four acres, and became the property of us, said Moses and John Brown, by a deed of bargain and sale … the present grantor’s great-grandfather, who received it by descent from his father Chad Brown, who was one of the original proprietors after the native Indians from whom it was purchased … “

- The Charter of Brown University, 1765.

Source: Remembering Race at Brown.

Forced Displacement of Native American Communities

Po Metacom Camp - Summer 2017

Brown’s role in the transatlantic slave trade

Martin Puryear Slavery Memorial, 2014

Definitions

Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district’s character and culture. The term is often used negatively, suggesting the displacement of poor communities by rich outsiders.

Source: Benjamin Grant, PBS.org.

Gentrification

The Cape Verdean Community in Fox Point

Compensation?

Pause

Contextualizing ourselvesWhat are the implications of Brown’s history for us?

3

I am Olivia VeiraI am a 21-year-old woman. I am Black + Caribbean-American. I was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Atlanta.

Hello!

I am Juan Carlos CarranzaI identify as a queer, Latino man from a low-income background. I’m a first-gen college grad. Home is San Diego, California and Providence, Rhode Island.

Hello!

“

The concept of translocational positionality addresses issues of identity in terms of locations which are not

fixed but are context-, meaning-, and time-related and which therefore involve shifts and contradictions...

Floya Anthias

“

Conceptualizing Brown privilege◉ Political Power◉ Economic Privilege◉ Social Capital

political powerPower here references our capacity to “get things done.” It is influenced by systems and institutions and is inequitably distributed. Political power describes our ability to influence and control politics.

Former mayor Angel Taveras, mayor Jorge Elorza, and Christina Paxson symbolically digging at the site of Brown’s expansion into the Jewelry District.

economic privilegeResources and advantages that have monetary value. Examples are the resources available specifically to the Brown community that aren’t afforded to other college students/community members.

social capitalRefers to the connections between individuals and entities that can be economically valuable, directly or indirectly. These relationships between individuals and companies can lead to a state in which each thinks of the other when something needs to be done.

Turn and Talk:

How do you think Brown’s political power, economic privilege, and social capital will impact you in your time at

Brown? How might it affect your work in Providence?

Rules of Engagement Things all Brown students should know before doing work in Providence

1. Learn But do not expect to be taught

2. Listen With the intent of learning, not responding

3. Ask why? Be critical of your actions and the space you take

4. Ally is a verb. Not a badge of honor. It works in the present.

5.Understand that you have power and know when to use it.

(hint: the answer is not all the time)

6. Take an asset-based approach

Value local expertise, knowledge, and experience

7. Know that Brown is a center of knowledge,

not the center of knowledge in RI

8. Own impactExpect to be held accountable for your actions. Welcome criticism.

Acknowledge and apologize for harmful actions.

9. Change

10. Consider Brown’s roleIn constructing and supporting systems that create and perpetuate

inequality

Any questions ?

Thank You!