***We have NO EVENTS planned at this time***
Here’s what people are saying about Diverse Fort Collins events:
- “The conversation was fantastic! I loved hearing folks’ views and perspectives.”
- “I always leave these meetings feeling better about the human race.”
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Here’s what people are saying about Diverse Fort Collins events:
“The ‘Talking It Out: Being Black in America’ event was so informative and inspiring. Saja Butler, Phil Donaldson, and Anthony P. McGlaun were perfect choices for the panel, so articulate, honest, and encouraging. This was an important and timely event. Thank you so much for hosting.”
– Teresa
“That was a wonderful event. I’m so glad I could be part of it. Grew up in the Philadelphia area with Black friends and family, so this is near and dear to my heart.
“I’m grateful for Diverse Fort Collins and the opportunities they’re creating for meaningful interaction between the white population and people of color in our city.”
– Katharine
***PAST EVENTS***
Spanish Conversation Group
Diverse Fort Collins Book Group (2019-2021)
January 24 / February 28 / March 28, 2021
2:00-4:00 p.m. MT
So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
January 24: Chapters 1-5
February 28: Chapters 6-11
March 28: Chapters 12-17 (Discussion Questions 5-7)
This event has concluded.
Buy the paperback from Old Firehouse Books.
Download the free Reading Guide and Discussion Questions. These are also included at the end of the book.
Description from Old Firehouse Books website:
In this New York Times bestseller, Ijeoma Oluo offers a hard-hitting but user-friendly examination of race in America
Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy — from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans — has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair — and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?
Read more on the author’s website.
Other Possible Book Group Titles
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman (National Jewish Book Awards Winner)
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The Racial Contract by Charles W. Mills
All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
What The Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha
Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys Into Race, Motherhood, and History by Camille T. Dungy
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Brown Is The New White: How The Democratic Revolution Has Created A New American Majority by Steve Phillips
October 4, 2020, 2:00-4:00 p.m. MT. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
The New York Times called it “a powerful and disturbing history of residential segregation in America.”
Join us for a lively discussion! Judge Juan G. Villaseñor will kick off our gathering with a 10-minute talk on his impressions of this best-selling book, insights, and questions to consider.
Come with your questions and we’ll tackle them together in small-group facilitated discussions. Prepare by reviewing the Reading Guide Discussion Questions.
Buy the paperback from Old Firehouse Books (20% discount if you mention DFC book group)
FREE and Pay-What-You-Can tickets available.
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Read more about the book here.
Sept 15 and Sept 28, 2020 Action Committee kick-off meetings. Stay tuned for opportunities to get involved in four subcommittees: Voting, Policy & Legislation, Environmental Justice, and LGBTQIA+ Safe Spaces.
September 3, 2020 Town Hall on “Action and Allyship” presented by Fort Collins Interfaith Council and World Wisdoms Project, featuring Diverse Fort Collins and five other local groups. Here’s the link to the video.
- June 14: “A Space to Process and Breathe for Black Folx” (see summary below)
- June 28: panel discussion with live music performances, “Talking It Out: Being Black In America” featuring 3 Black community members: Saja Butler, Phil Donaldson, and Anthony P. McGlaun (see summary, video, and photos below)
- July 26: Three Native guest speakers and discussion of THERE THERE by Tommy Orange
- August 16: “Impacts of COVID-19 on the Larimer County Justice System”
Diverse Fort Collins Presents:
“Impact of COVID-19 on the Larimer County Justice System”
Free webinar featuring Judge Juan G. Villaseñor. Read his bio here.
Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020 at 3 p.m. MDT
30-minute presentation followed by Q&A
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Judge Villaseñor is the first Latino district court judge in Larimer County. Read more about his journey to the U.S. and to Colorado in his Community Voices guest commentary.
Diverse Fort Collins book group discussion of THERE THERE by Tommy Orange on July 26, 2020, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Mention this book group for 20% off the paperback at Old Firehouse Books.
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GUEST SPEAKERS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE NOVEL
We’ll hear from three Native community members about their thoughts on the novel, and what we should keep in mind as we begin the discussion.
GREGG DEAL is a husband, father, member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, artist and activist. As a provocative contemporary artist-activist, much of Deal’s work centers around Indigenous identity and pop culture, touching on issues of race relations, historical consideration and stereotype.
His first major performance piece, “The Last American Indian On Earth,” covered in The Washington Post Magazine, gained him notoriety and ground as an up-and-coming artist. Earlier this year, he premiered his performance “The Punk Pan-Indian Romantic Comedy” at Fort Collins Startup/Artup Week. A powerful retrospective of this work, “Voice,” was recently exhibited at the Duhesa Gallery in Colorado State University’s Lory Student Center.
AMBER LANE is affiliated with Seneca Nation, Wolf Clan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from University of Colorado, Boulder with a historical trauma and original language focus. She is an advocate with Herbal Gardens Wellness and a Plan Ambassador for City of Fort Collins’ Our Climate Future. She is a community advocate active in circles from all four directions trying to raise multicultural/national children in Fort Collins
JAN IRON is Navajo and co-founder of Northern Colorado Intertribal Pow-Wow Association (NCIPA)
ABOUT THE BOOK
“Powerful. . . . THERE THERE has so much jangling energy and brings so much news from a distinct corner of American life that it’s a revelation.” — The New York Times
Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize.
Sunday, June 14, 2020, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. MDT
A Space to Process & Breath for Black Folx
For Black communities, we are experiencing so much hurt, anger, grief, sadness, and fear. As we think about all the loss and grief we hold for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and many more, we may wonder how we can work through everything that’s happening.
Diverse Fort Collins invites you to this space to process and breath and find healing space in meditation with other Black folx. Zhalisa Clarke of Luna Vibrations will lead us in a meditation and invitation to process in community.
This event is open to folx who identify as part of the Black community. No meditation experience is required.
The event is free. Contributions welcomed but not required and will go toward Luna Vibrations and to the nonprofit Food Bank for Larimer County.
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Diverse Fort Collins Book Group – January/February/May 2020
Diverse Fort Collins hosted three book group meetings to provide a safe space for discussing White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.
Jan. 26 (Chapters 1-4)
Feb. 23 (Chapters 5-8)
May 17 (Chapters 9-12)
Photos and summary of our last book discussion.
Read The New Yorker book review.
Watch the 4-minute video “Debunking Common Myths White People Tell About Race” with Robin DiAngelo
Diverse Fort Collins Book Group discussion on The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Wolverine Farm Letterpress & Publick House, first floor. 316 Willow St. Free event. Please plan to buy a beverage to thank Wolverine Farm for the gift of this space.
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This is one week before the Fort Collins Reads event! See link to tickets below.
The House of Broken Angels is the 2019 Fort Collins Reads selection. It was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and named one of the Best Books of the Year by New York Times Book Review, National Public Radio, BuzzFeed, Newsday, BookPage, WBUR’s On Point.
Check out the following events by Diverse Fort Collins friends
MTOB (More Than One Box): A Mixed Gathering. Monthly meetup for multi-ethnic families and friends.
Diverse Fort Collins is a volunteer-driven community project connecting people with resources and each other.
Let’s create an inclusive community!
Diverse Fort Collins 