The Black Lives Matter Movement

During the expert session, Jennifer engages the audience in insightful discussions about genuine allyship in social justice movements. She addresses queries regarding the instability of certain movements like Black Lives Matter and emphasizes the need for learning from past mistakes to build a stronger future. Using the Mentimeter app, she facilitates interactive exercises that encourage open communication, fostering growth and understanding among participants.

• Cultivating Allyship: Embracing genuine allyship means educating oneself about social justice issues, avoiding imposing new burdens on marginalized communities, and fostering open communication to promote growth and understanding.
• Building Sustainable Social Justice Movements: Acknowledging the challenges faced by grassroots initiatives, such as Black Lives Matter, in sustaining growth requires focusing on leadership development and creating a solid foundation for future progress.
• Learning from Past Mistakes: Reflecting on historical mistakes within social justice movements is crucial to prevent repeating past errors and effectively using platforms like the Black Lives Matter platform as part of a continuum for lasting change.

In this expert session, Jennifer Tosch explores the significance of authentic allyship in social justice movements. She initiates the conversation by emphasizing that individuals should not place additional responsibilities on those who are actively working towards change. Instead, she encourages everyone to invest time and effort into self-education and taking meaningful actions.

Jennifer delves deeper into the instability of certain social justice movements, specifically referring to Black Lives Matter, and their ambiguous objectives. She elucidates that this movement originated as a grassroots reaction to a specific event but lacked the necessary structure and leadership needed for long-term sustainability. However, she emphasizes that current advocates are striving to construct a robust foundation and framework for the future.

Furthermore, Jennifer underscores the importance of acknowledging past mistakes in order to prevent their recurrence within future movements. She recommends utilizing social media platforms like Black Lives Matter as part of an ongoing journey towards change, rather than a definitive conclusion.

During this enlightening session, Jennifer encourages open communication and the acceptance of discomfort between individuals as essential components for fostering growth and mutual understanding. She underscores that these interactions may not always be easy but are necessary in the pursuit of social justice.

At the close of the discussion, Jennifer expresses gratitude to participants for their active involvement and engagement in the session's topics. She concludes by inviting everyone to reflect on the lessons learned during this exploration of genuine allyship in social justice movements. 

History of Slavery

In this expert session, Jennifer Tosch delves into the intricacies of understanding the historical background and contemporary manifestations of exploitation, focusing on the emergence of modern-day slavery.  About 150 years ago, slavery was still fairly common in large parts of the Americas and Europe. She starts with addressing questions such as: How could such a cruel and absurd phenomenon become so widespread? Where did it happen? What did slavery look like? Was there no popular resistance? And could such a thing happen again? The second part of the session will focus on how the History of Slavery does not end with ‘legal abolition’. The system of slavery changed after the 19th century, and took on new forms of forced labor and exploitation. Jennifer will talk about the ‘future for the past’ that highlights the afterlife and legacy of slavery through ongoing activism, apologies, social justice, reparations and new research.

• I found it an excellent presentation, well balanced, and very open.
• Amazing speaker - I love these sessions and how they are offered at a corporate level.
• I greatly appreciate the information presented during today's session. I was not aware of the history of the Black Lives Matter movement (if that is the correct terminology). My hope is that this session will continue conversations for many people.
• I thought it was very good and very informative. Learning about each other is a step to towards us being able to accept each other...whatever that "each other" looks like and how we learn to be more inclusive as a society.