Chinese Language Seminars
In-language workshop spaces for immigrants are another important strategy for community education about social issues and policy. Conducting workshops directly in-language with culturally competent facilitators allows participants to connect more readily to content and process information with people who share a language and cultural background. Participants may also feel more comfortable sharing their opinions within a more familiar group.
CCSJ members hold a variety of in-language workshop series geared toward different audiences and interests. For example, CPA organizes a community healing and solidarity seminar series dedicated to community safety. CAA holds monthly immigrant rights workshops on general immigrant-related issues, with several sessions dedicated to community safety per year.
Example Topics
Prisons
This seminar explored the US prison system, people’s preconceived notions about people who are incarcerated, racism in the criminal legal system, and effective strategies to prevent crime. After learning about incarceration statistics and spending, attendees reflected on the ineffectiveness of incarceration. They discussed the reasons why they think people commit crimes and offered other solutions, such as meeting people’s basic needs with education, shelter, food, and clothing.
Policing
This seminar explored the role of police and other solutions for community safety. Attendees shared their stories of their experiences with police, including stories of not receiving adequate help. One activity had attendees think about how a police officer, community ambassador, and mental health responder would each respond to a scenario and reflect on which responses they preferred. The seminar also shared statistics about the police department’s budget and performance metrics.
Language Access
This workshop discussed recent amendments to the city’s language access ordinance, which strengthened requirements for city agencies, including public safety offices, to provide in-language services. Additionally, attendees learned about the history and importance of language access laws through a presentation and quiz game. The goal of the presentation was to both prepare community members for the implementation of the amendments, educate them on their rights, and engage them in holding local agencies accountable for the implementation.
Spread AAPI Love
This workshop featured guest speakers from Stop AAPI Hate (SAH) who shared findings from its incident reporting database and surveys. SAH also engaged participants in their “Spread AAPI Love” campaign, which seeks to collect and share stories of joy, resilience, and solidarity. These stories aim to combat the negative stories about AAPIs and fear that anti-AAPI hate has caused.
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