Asian Affinity Pods: Lessons in Loving Our People and Building Pro-Blackness

ASIAN AFFINITY PODS:

LESSONS IN LOVING OUR PEOPLE & BUILDING PRO-BLACKNESS


Convening in racial affinity groups is a powerful way to transform relationships, access healing, feel a sense of belonging, and support people in reaching political consciousness and alignment. For diasporic Asian people working in the social change nonprofit sector, participating in an Asian affinity group with one's peers can further encourage us to liberate our own voices, lean into community, live into our values, challenge stereotypes of what Asian people are expected to be, and disrupt both anti-Blackness and internalized racism within ourselves and our organizations.

Whether you are an Asian person working at a nonprofit who is simply curious about participating in a racial affinity group or someone who already has experience in practicing racial affinity or caucus work, we invite you to join us in an intimate virtual gathering where we explore the value of racial affinity work as diasporic Asians in social change nonprofits, and connect our learnings to a politic of solidarity between each other and with our Black colleagues and comrades.

This event is open to people who...

  • work in nonprofit organizations (in any role)
  • identify as Asian*
  • are interested in or curious about participating in a racial affinity space that explores our Asian identities in connection to building solidarity with Black colleagues, comrades, and communities

*Asian as a racial category in this context includes Southeast Asian, East Asian, South Asian, Southwest Asian, multiethnic Asian, and multiracial Asian. We welcome all Asian folks for whom this offering resonates and, at the same time, can only speak from the specificity of our experiences.

A note on the facilitation team: This offering is co-facilitated by 3 visibly Asian, queer, English-speaking, and college-educated white collar nonprofit workers who were born and raised in the state of California, U.S.A and are sharing personal insights based on their positionalities and work experiences at a social change nonprofit organization. While the three facilitators are generally read as East Asian, two of the facilitators are of Southeast Asian descent. The team consists of 1 cisgender man, 1 cisgender woman, and 1 non-binary person. The team is intergenerational, and has varying class upbringings (middle class, working class, and poor) and levels of neurodivergence represented.

 

Event participants will:

  • Understand the value of racial affinity groups for learning and supporting each other in service of pan-Asian & pro-Black political solidarity within their workplace.
  • Have more information and tools to support their own process of organizing an affinity group in their workplaces.
  • Experience a meta racial affinity gathering together by sharing stories, insights, and knowledge with one another through a mixture of discussion groups, reflective prompts, and hearing from CompassPoint facilitators on lessons and highlights from convening their own Asian staff affinity group.

 

Sample Resources

 

Get ready to participate! Our virtual trainings come alive with everyone's participation and willingness to engage. Please come prepared to share your experiences, creativity, questions, and challenges with us and each other. There will be a mix of presentation, group discussions, and opportunities for self-reflection. We'll share visual and verbal information as well as resources before, during, and after the event.

Accessibility is very important to us! Closed captioning will be provided. If you require specific accommodations, please notify us at workshops@compasspoint.org two weeks in advance of the scheduled offering so that we can do our best to meet your needs. ASL interpretation is not provided unless requested.

 

Date & Time >>

 

Tuesday, Oct. 22 (10am to 12pm Pacific)

 

Pricing >>

 

Registration for this training is offered on a sliding scale depending on your individual and organizational access to financial resources. Our sliding scale is an intentional effort to distribute resources equitably between organizations and individuals we work with. If your personal or organizational budget allows (based on the criteria below), please pay the Sustain or Redistribution cost so we can keep registration accessible for leaders and organizations who may not be in the same position. Greater access strengthens us all!
Redistribution Fee: $225
This price covers the cost of your registration and also makes it possible for us to offer a Solidarity price for individuals and folks from organizations with fewer financial resources. This price level is intended for:
  • Folks who are able to personally pay this price without financial hardship, OR
  • Folks paying with financial support from a foundation or an organization with a budget greater than $4 million
Sustain Fee: $150 
This price allows us to sustain our work. This price level is intended for:
  • Folks paying without financial support from an organization and who are able to pay this price without financial hardship, OR
  • Folks paying with financial support from an organization with a budget between $1 million and $4 million
Solidarity Fee: $75
This is a discounted price we offer to make our programs more accessible to folks with fewer personal and/or organizational financial resources. This price level is intended for:
  • Folks paying without financial support from an organization and who are not able to pay the Sustain price without financial hardship, OR
  • Folks paying with financial support from an organization with a budget of $999,000 or less

    How to Sign Up >>

     


    If you don’t already have one, create a CompassPoint account. You are required to have an account in order to sign up for this series. Once you have created your CompassPoint account, you can register by adding the series to your cart.


    If you have questions about registering, please contact workshops@compasspoint.org. If you have any questions about the series, please contact Jessy.

     
    **Please note that registration for this panel discussion is subject to our cancellation and refund policy!**

     

    CANCELLATIONS
    We can only issue a full refund if you cancel (at least) ten business days before the event starts. We can provide a 50% refund if you cancel 7-9 business days before the date of the event. We can’t provide refunds if you cancel within six business days or less of the date of the event. If you need to cancel your registration, please contact workshops@compasspoint.org.

     

    TRANSFERS
    This event is non-transferable! Unfortunately, we cannot transfer this registration to another event or training at CompassPoint.

     

     

    MEET THE TEAM


    Steve Lew
    (he/him/his)
    Co-Facilitator | Content Designer

    Jessy Zapanta
    (he/she/siya)
    Co-Facilitator | Content Designer

    Learkana Chong
    (she/her/hers)
    Co-Facilitator | Content Designer