Circles USA hosted the first of a two-part educational series on race, trauma, and healing, titled “Unrighteous Race,” facilitated by Los Angeles-based licensed clinical social worker Kalisha Vault. The first webinar includes a brief summary of the history of African Americans in America. This segment illustrates how the foundation of America created—and continues to sustain—systematic prejudice and barriers for people of color.
The recording is now available to Circles USA members in our online learning library, Freedcamp.
The purpose of her presentations, says Vault, is “to educate participants about the problems within the system to aid motivation for positive change. It’s very important to understand history in order to work on building our future.”
Kalisha Vault, LCSW, serves children and families by providing individual and group therapy to at-risk populations. The goal of her work is to provide psycho-education, psychotherapy, and resources to close the achievement gaps set by cultural and systemic barriers enabling individuals to become successful leaders in their community.
Vault’s second learning session was an interactive workshop designed to illustrate the impact of systemic racism on the mental health and success of those who are Black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) in the United States.
In this second webinar, Vault noted the 13th Amendment‘s relationship to systemic inequality in U.S. labor practice. She also discussed the impact of complex Post-traumatic stress disorder on American descendants of enslaved African peoples, and offered a checklist of today’s best practices for allyship, including:
The “Unrighteous Race” webinar training continues Circles USA’s focus on equity, which aims to break down systemic barriers to prosperity through partnerships and ongoing opportunities for learning. Circles USA first met Kalisha through our partnership with the Ideos Institute and the National Day of Dialogue event on January 5, 2022. Here is Kalisha’s story from the Dialogue Lab.
To learn how Circles can help advance equity in your community, contact gena@circlesusa.org