The U of A Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction joined forces recently to hold the inaugural Common Ties Conference.

Attendees included pre-service social studies teachers, local in-service teachers and student affairs staff. They spent three days examining how the concept of belonging impacts their work on campus and their future classrooms, with an eye toward using their newly-gained knowledge to take positive action.

"The idea of who belongs to a community is at the heart of our work at the MC," said Adrain Smith, director of the Center for Multicultural and Diversity Education, located in the Arkansas Union. "So, too, is understanding the ways certain groups are prevented from belonging. It was powerful to see both historical and modern examples of how such a basic concept can have profound effects."

The nearby city of Tulsa was used as a case study for the conference theme. Participants were tasked with addressing essential questions such as "What does it mean to belong to a place or community?" and "How can belonging be taken away and reclaimed?" Tulsa has a complex backstory, including Native American history and relocation, Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Massacre(s), as well as contemporary movements to address the city's past and present. The city's past provided rich subject matter to understand the conference theme. Attendees also drew connections between the historical case studies and their lived experiences.

An impressive array of guest facilitators shared their insights with attendees. Making up the roster of guest speakers were:

• Bethany Rosenbaum, U of A
• Sarah B. Shear, University of Washington-Bothell
• Steph Simon and Dialtone, Skyline Star Records in Tulsa
• Rev. Robert Richard Allen Turner, formerly of Vernon A.M.E. Church in Tulsa

The U of A Common Ties planning team led additional conference sessions. Team members include:

• Jason Endacott, associate professor of secondary social studies education
• Kathryn Hackett-Hill, Ph.D. student
• Bryan Hembree, director of arts & culture at the MC
• Hung Pham, director for the Center for Children & Youth in the College of Education and Health Professions
• Ben Ramirez, doctoral candidate
• Adrain Smith, director of the Center for Multicultural & Diversity Education
• Jacob Warren, Ph.D. student
• Leslie Yingling, associate dean of students and an assistant vice chancellor in student affairs

The Common Ties Conference served as the larger Common Ties Project kickoff. "One of our goals for this project was to move from knowledge to informed action," said planning team member Pham. "We want the participants to transform their learning and thinking into tangible work accomplished in their chosen areas."

Toward that end, conference participants will collaborate in small teams over the semester to design programs and curricula to address issues of personal and group belonging as applied to social studies teaching and the work of Student Affairs. The project groups will receive mentor guidance and material support toward making the action projects a reality. In April, participants and organizers will reconvene to share, celebrate and reflect on the experience.

"I'm eager to see what the project teams develop," Pham said. "They have so many good ideas to put into action."