UCOP’s Black Staff and Faculty Organization (BSFO) is launching a new series of listening sessions: The “We Need to Talk” series. Download a flyer (PDF).

Facilitated by Ola Popoola, these sessions will provide a powerful opportunity for Black-identified staff (those who identify as Black/African-American, or who are of African descent) to connect with peers around personal experiences related to anti-Blackness and systematic racism. In addition to giving an opportunity for participants to share experiences within a supportive group of colleagues, Ola will provide strategies for coping with trauma, community-building and empowerment.

Session 1: You and Anti-Blackness

This listening session will be focused on how the climate of anti-Blackness personally affects you as you navigate through work and life. Some discussion points include:

• How you may have experienced systematic mistreatment
• Your earliest memories of being aware that people are mistreated based on skin color
• Your perspective regarding being black.

When: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2-2:45 p.m.

To participate: The Zoom information for this event will be posted in the BSFO Slack channel. If you would like to be added to this channel, please contact Ghanya Thomas or Latascha Magness-Cotton.

Save the dates for upcoming sessions

• UC and Anti-Blackness: Oct. 20, 2-2:45 p.m.
• Finding Your Voice: Oct. 28, 3-3:45 p.m.

For questions, contact Ola Popoola.

About Ola Popoola

In addition to serving as director of reporting and analytics for Institutional Research and Academic Planning at OP, Ola is the founder of Divine Strategies for Living, where she serves as a keynote speaker, life coach, personal development coach and career coach. As chief encouragement officer, she has provided leadership training, strategic planning services, staff development and executive coaching for a variety of professionals and industries. She holds graduate degrees in information technology and psychology.

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