Support group ponders 'surviving' at 'predominantly white' Mizzou

The University of Missouri is hosting weekly meetings exclusively for “students, staff, and faculty of color” to discuss “skills for surviving and resisting hate” at the “Predominantly White Institution.”

According to a description promoted by the a Facebook page run by the Mizzou College of Education, the "Healing from Racial Injustices" group will meet every Friday throughout the semester to “share experiences as a person of color at a predominately white institution.”

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“Healing from Racial Injustices is a group for students, staff, and faculty of color to build community, share experiences as a person of color at a Predominantly White Institution, and heal together,” the description states, noting that past discussions “have focused on racial identity develop [sic], mindfulness, colorism, self-love, and experiences of holding two or three marginalized identities.”

Additionally, the group claims to provide students of color with the “skills for surviving and resisting hate through the use of emotional regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance.”

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According to a flyer advertising the meetings, the purpose of the healing group “is to provide a space for people of color” to “validate and affirm one another” while processing “race-related macro and microaggressions.”

Notably, the Department of Black Studies, the Department of Education, the Department of Psychological Sciences, and the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity are all listed at the bottom of the flyer, which also indicates that two doctoral students will serve as “facilitators” at the meetings.

A page on the university’s website introduces ambiguity regarding the school’s role, however, describing “Healing from Racial Injustices” as a “student-led support group,” though it also indicates that the group has a permanent location in the school’s Multicultural Center.

Campus Reform reached out to the university for additional comment on its involvement with the group, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski