The general focus of the meeting was about how labels and identity play a vital role in social inequity.
206FORWARD

We traveled to Seattle to check out the Forward 206 community discussion.

This was a great learning experience because it encouraged a very diverse group of community members to engage, both young and adult from all ethnic

Respect I Earned

backgrounds. The discussion was well planned and structured in a way that kept the dialogue flowing around the room.

We were arranged in a large circle and each of us had a turn to contribute our thoughts and experiences on what shapes our self awareness of these ideas. We also broke into smaller groups of 3-4 people and interviewed each other about our experiences to gain a deeper perspective.                            There was also an exercise that helped gain perspective on self awareness. This required us to identify with labels placed around the room and group into categories we most identify with for various reasons. As questions were asked out loud, we had to group around other labels we identified with most. This was a powerful learning experience because it called on my ability to embrace or mask my personal beliefs in front of others. After engaging in the idea of the exercise, I became more confident in my personal beliefs from a social perspective. I also recognized how labels could create social barriers by marginalizing individuals. Community members were able to adopt the idea of embracing personal struggles,

judgements and insecurities. I found this to be very useful in recognizing similarities and respecting individual differences in the community. I really think this exercise could be useful in the public school curriculum. This also gave me a great platform to express my voice and I would be honored to stay in touch with more of these opportunities in my own community.

                        Social Justice Racism

Gender Bias