At the Racial Empowerment Collaborative (REC), we view the ability to cope with racial stress as a matter of skill, not character or morality. Occasionally, REC will hold training institutes on racial literacy or any of the REC Interventions (PLAAY, SHAPE-Up, EMBRace, or Can We Talk). Please check the website or contact us at REC for any upcoming training offerings.

Our professional training for educators is designed to help superintendents, administrators, teachers, and students who struggle to successfully resolve racial conflicts that all too often occur in schools and schooling relationships. Our training for leaders in other institutions (justice, health, and business) seeks to build relationships between leaders and staff who fail to act when racial conflicts disrupt work productivity because the stress of negotiating such conflicts is extremely high and competence is low. Stress affects thoughts, feelings, body reactions, relationships, and decision-making. Racial discourse is so stressful physically, physiologically, and intellectually that instead of facing conflict directly, professionals use avoidance instead. 

A healthier approach is to cultivate racial literacy by means of storytelling, journaling, relaxation, debating, and role-playing. By teaching professionals to regulate their racial fears, we believe these institutions will be able to provide climates where employees and youth from diverse identity backgrounds can thrive. 

Dr. Stevenson is the Co-Founder of The Lion's Story Village, which is a racial literacy skills training institute that holds sessions for leaders and practitioners from education, counseling, business, health, justice, and community institutions.

Attendees will learn: 

• A model that applies culturally relevant behavioral stress management strategies to address racial stress in schools and elsewhere, 
• Workable solutions for students, parents, teachers, and administrators, 
• Measurable outcomes and strategies for developing racial literacy skills that can be integrated into the K–12 curriculum and teacher/faculty/staff professional development, and 
• Teaching and leadership skills that will create a more tolerant and supportive school environment for all students.