Community Conversations

The Community Conversations series concluded at the end of 2022.

• Fall sessions in the Community Conversations series

  Share Fall sessions in the Community Conversations series on Facebook Share Fall sessions in the Community Conversations series on Twitter Share Fall sessions in the Community Conversations series on Linkedin Email Fall sessions in the Community Conversations series link
  

  The remaining sessions in the Community Conversations have been finalized! Please see the articles below for more information and to sign up to attend.

• October 24, 2022: How to Be an Ally (Teens)

  Share October 24, 2022: How to Be an Ally (Teens) on Facebook Share October 24, 2022: How to Be an Ally (Teens) on Twitter Share October 24, 2022: How to Be an Ally (Teens) on Linkedin Email October 24, 2022: How to Be an Ally (Teens) link
  

  Please join us for an interactive training to learn tips and strategies on how to deal with racism and harassment in the real world. Participants will gain an understanding of what harassment is, how it’s different than bullying, and that it can happen anywhere – at school or on campus, on playgrounds, buses, or in stores and other places of business. We’ll talk through five strategies for intervention – Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct – and teach participants how to prioritize their own safety while offering support. This training is meant for youth grades 8 - 12.

  Monday, October 24, 6:30-7:30pm.

  Register for this online session here.

• October 26, 2022: How to be an Ally (Adults)

  Share October 26, 2022: How to be an Ally (Adults) on Facebook Share October 26, 2022: How to be an Ally (Adults) on Twitter Share October 26, 2022: How to be an Ally (Adults) on Linkedin Email October 26, 2022: How to be an Ally (Adults) link
  

  We all have a responsibility to do something when we see street harassment happening, but too often we freeze. We don’t know what to do. Learning how to be an ally in the face of harassment gives us tools to intervene without compromising our own safety. When we intervene, we don’t just reduce trauma for the person being harassed. We also start to chip away at the culture that allows harassment to be so prevalent. Alone we can’t shift the culture — but together — our actions matter. In this training, our goal is to give participants the tools to safely and confidently intervene the next time they witness harassment in public spaces. This session is geared toward adults.

  Wednesday, October 26, 6:30-8:00pm.

  Please register for this online session here.

• November 7, 2022: Disability as a Strength

  Share November 7, 2022: Disability as a Strength on Facebook Share November 7, 2022: Disability as a Strength on Twitter Share November 7, 2022: Disability as a Strength on Linkedin Email November 7, 2022: Disability as a Strength link
  

  Mercer Island resident and Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie will lead a discussion on how diversity and the inclusion of people with disabilities enrich our communities, workplaces, and lives. Held in-person at City Hall and streamed live online.

  Monday, November 7, 6:30-7:30pm.

  Register to attend in-person here.

  Register to attend live online here.

  Update: View the recording of this session here.

• December 8, 2022: Mitigating Implicit Bias

  Share December 8, 2022: Mitigating Implicit Bias on Facebook Share December 8, 2022: Mitigating Implicit Bias on Twitter Share December 8, 2022: Mitigating Implicit Bias on Linkedin Email December 8, 2022: Mitigating Implicit Bias link
  

  Everyone holds implicit biases. That doesn’t make us “bad people,” it just means that we have work to do. This interactive training will teach you how to understand your own implicit biases in order to begin to undo them. We’ll start by learning the brain science behind implicit bias and how the part of our brain that is hardwired to assess danger has evolved to hold us back. Through polls, brief thought experiments, and writing exercises, we’ll reflect on how implicit bias can show up in our actions and they can have on ourselves and those around us.

  Thursday, December 8, 6:30-8:00PM

  Register for this online session here.

• June 5, 2022: Oral History Family Interview Workshop

  Share June 5, 2022: Oral History Family Interview Workshop on Facebook Share June 5, 2022: Oral History Family Interview Workshop on Twitter Share June 5, 2022: Oral History Family Interview Workshop on Linkedin Email June 5, 2022: Oral History Family Interview Workshop link
  

  This interactive program is presented in partnership by ONE MI, Do the Work MI, the SJCC, Mercer Island Historical Society and the Washington State Jewish Historical Society.

  The stories of our family and the experiences of our elders shape how we see ourselves and how we experience the world. In this workshop we will talk about how oral history interviewing is different from other types of conversations, strategies for conducting rich and effective interviews, and best practices on recording and archiving oral histories.

  This workshop will be taught by Robin Li. Robin is a former director of the Advanced Oral History Summer Institute at the University of California, Berkeley Oral History Center. She has also worked as a research historian on projects such as the Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park and a UW Women's Center project documenting Asian American women activists in Seattle. She currently works with Voices in Contemporary Art teaching oral history methodology to contemporary art curators and conservators and is at work on an oral history how-to manual/theory of memory with the working title, "How We Remember & Other Stories." She received her B.A. from Vassar College and a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

  The event is free, and will be held at the Stroum Jewish Community Center from 1-3 PM. This workshop will include paired interview exercises, so please be prepared to meet some new neighbors!

  Register in advance here.

  View the presentation here.

• May 25, 2022: Intergenerational Conversations: A Roundtable with Asian American Islanders

  Share May 25, 2022: Intergenerational Conversations: A Roundtable with Asian American Islanders on Facebook Share May 25, 2022: Intergenerational Conversations: A Roundtable with Asian American Islanders on Twitter Share May 25, 2022: Intergenerational Conversations: A Roundtable with Asian American Islanders on Linkedin Email May 25, 2022: Intergenerational Conversations: A Roundtable with Asian American Islanders link
  

  ONE MI, Do The Work MI and the Mercer Island High School's Education Coalition for Asian American Representation (ECAAR) present an Intergenerational Conversation with Asian Americans of Mercer Island, moderated by Islander Maggie Tai Tucker.

  Maggie Tai Tucker is an occupational therapist who is currently enrolled in the MSW (master's of social work) program at Fordham University. Maggie Tai has an MOT degree and undergraduate degrees in U.S. history/literature and zoology. In her professional capacity, Maggie Tai strives to help clients find their unique voice and use it to explore the meanings they place on their and their family's experiences. She has been a community organizer and volunteer for more than 20 years, the last 10 of them on Mercer Island. Maggie Tai is in her third year serving on the Mercer Island School Board.

  This intergenerational conversation will explore differing perceptions around academic achievement, body image and social norms; roundtable participants come from the diverse Asian American community of Mercer Island. This is the second event sponsored by the City of Mercer Island's Community Conversations on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

  Please join us from 7-9pm at the Mercer Island Community & Event Center (register for free here) or online via Zoom (register here).

  Update: If you missed the discussion but would like to view it, you can find the recording here.

• February 2, 2022: Towards Inclusive Community

  Share February 2, 2022: Towards Inclusive Community on Facebook Share February 2, 2022: Towards Inclusive Community on Twitter Share February 2, 2022: Towards Inclusive Community on Linkedin Email February 2, 2022: Towards Inclusive Community link
  

  The MIHS Black Student Union Presents: Towards Inclusive Community. A conversation about the history of segregation and racial covenants on Mercer Island and steps we can take to build more inclusive neighborhoods.

  • Find the recording of the program here.
  • More information from the University of Washington's Racial Restrictive Covenants Project can be found here.

  Interested in volunteering with the UW Covenants Project? Find out more about how you can help here.

• Community Conversations Program Series

  Share Community Conversations Program Series on Facebook Share Community Conversations Program Series on Twitter Share Community Conversations Program Series on Linkedin Email Community Conversations Program Series link
  

  At the August 4, 2020 City Council meeting (see AB5738), the Council adopted a goals statement with regard to the proposed community listening sessions, which included the intention for those sessions to guide future community actions around race, racism, diversity, and inclusion.

  In August of 2021, the Mayor and City Manager connected with ONE MI and Do the Work MI to discuss their interest in collaborating with the City on an event series to engage the community on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion on Mercer Island. Members of ONE MI and Do the Work MI expressed an interest in partnering and supporting this work.

  In November of 2021, the City Council voted to set aside funds to collaborate with ONE MI and Do the Work MI to plan and present the Community Conversation series throughout 2022 (see AB5956).