• Events
    • 2022 SE3 Symposium >
      • Thought Leaders
      • FAQ
      • Symposium Link Tree
    • Past Events >
      • Racial Equity Book Club
      • 2020-2021 Long Term Mentorship Program
      • The Engineer's Role in Equitable Design
      • 2021 Speed Mentorship Event
      • 2021 Long-Term Mentorship Mid-Year Event
      • 2020 Summer Speed Mentorship Event
      • 2019 Workshop - Building an Inclusive Workplace
      • 2019 Symposium Event Recap
      • 2017 Symposium
  • Contributors
    • 2021-2022 Task Groups
    • Past SE3 Committee Contributors
  • Publications & Best Practices
    • SEAONC SE3 Publications
    • NCSEA SE3 Publications
    • Monthly DEI Spotlight
    • SE3's Commitment to Racial Justice
    • Best Practices
  • News
  • Contact Us

February 2022: Black History Month

1/30/2022

0 Comments

 
In honor of Black History Month, we will be learning more about Black and African American people who have made tremendous contributions to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM). SEAONC SE3 invites you to participate by completing one (or all!) of the options below:
  • Read/watch Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon (NMAAHC and Museum of the African Diaspora in SF): hardcover book or YouTube video (could read/watch with your kids)
  • Read about 50 Black Women in STEM You Should Know About (What did you learn? Most surprising? Who’s missing?)
  • Read about fifteen Black Men in Science: A Black History Book for Kids
  • Learn about ASCE’s list of Notable Black Engineers in History

Don’t have enough time to participate in this book club meeting? We challenge you to consider donating STEAM books centered on Black and African Americans to local underserved K-12 schools or community centers. Oftentimes, Black students do not have access to books with Black and African Americans portrayed as scientists, engineers, artists, and more. Here are other links with suggested books for young K-12 readers:
  • #BlackinSTEM: 17 Nonfiction Books That Spotlight Black Scientists, Thinkers, and Inventors | School Library Journal 
  • Ignite Their Curiosity: STEM Books Featuring African American Girls 

And check out Oakland’s African American Read-In 2022 Recommended Book List with the Read-In Week happening January 31st to February 4th! 

​
0 Comments

November 2021: Wildfires and Cultural Burning

11/1/2021

0 Comments

 
California residents have experienced many intense wildfires in recent years. These wildfires have caused devastating destruction, displacing many people living in close proximity to forests or dry vegetation. The current drought and global warming are perfect ingredients to generate more wildfires. As structural engineers, we are also being challenged to design buildings and structures in wildfire-prone areas. Government officials are now looking at prescribed burns as a tool for wildfire management, similar to those done by Native tribes before Western settlers arrived. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, which is in November, join SEAONC SE3’s book club to learn about Indigenous traditions in tending to the land and discuss how they can be incorporated into our changing ideas of wildfire management. Other discussion points will cover how we as structural engineers can harden our buildings and provide defensible space. 

We recommend checking out a few of the following articles and videos as background information prior to the discussion:

  • Learn more about the history of cultural burning by reading or watching one or both of these resources
    • How Native Americans Used Fire to Protect and Cultivate Land (7 min. read)
    • KCET Video - Tending the Wild: Cultural Burning (18 min. watch)
  • Learn about how California is implementing a long-known Native American practice of controlled burns to fight devastating wildfires 
    • Native American Burning And California's Wildfire Strategy (4 min. listen)
    • A new wildfire strategy for California | Stanford News (7 min. read)
  • Skim this series of guides on how to assess and mitigate wildfire risk for homes
    • Building in Wildfire-Prone Areas, specifically the Builder’s Wildfire Mitigation Guide

We would also like to share a series of lectures from the University of British Columbia about engineering, decolonization, and Indigenous design principles. These lectures go well beyond the scope of this book club, but we felt it was relevant to share if participants are interested in learning more.

Book Club Goals:
  • Generate awareness and individual learning on topics of racial equity,
  • Facilitate discussions with the wider SEAONC community, and
  • Create a safe space for discussion for everyone.
 
Note: We would like to emphasize that everyone is welcome to come share their opinions and experiences, even if they differ from the resources provided. While the resources provided are a launching point for discussion, SEAONC SE3 does not specifically endorse the material or the author.
​
0 Comments

September 2021: Housing access equity

8/26/2021

0 Comments

 
The affordable housing crisis has been at the forefront of discussion this year highlighted by skyrocketing home prices and eviction moratorium expirations. A host of solutions are being discussed and pursued to solve this seemingly intractable problem, including rezoning single family lots for greater density, promoting accessory dwelling units, offsite modular construction, and housing reparations. Join us on September 9th to discuss what role structural engineers can play in creating an equitable built environment specifically related to access to quality housing.
In preparation for this discussion please review the following materials:
  • Take a moment to review the redlining history of your home city to personalize the discussion (https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/).
  • Skim through the Introduction and The Legacy of Redlining section of the “Crisis, Response, and Recovery: The Federal Government and the Black/White Homeownership Gap” report from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley to understand the enduring impact of redlining.
  • Listen to or read one or both of these resources to connect the dots of our exclusionary housing history to the current discussion on equitable access to housing.
    • “Chapter 7: Living Apart” of The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee.
    • “Location! Location! Location!” Code Switch Podcast

Picture
0 Comments

July Book Club: The Sum of Us

7/15/2021

0 Comments

 
We will be discussing the New York Times Best Seller The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. While racism is typically discussed as a force that negatively affects people of color, in this book, Heather McGhee takes us to different corners of the USA to dive into how racism and the zero-sum game mentality negatively affects everyone. The author showcases several examples throughout American history of how racist policies and practices have negatively affected BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and, indirectly, white people too. McGhee also discusses how the Solidarity Dividend, which is a gain resulting from people joining forces across racial lines, can help us achieve a common goal as a collective rather than failing to do so individually. More specifically, we will be discussing the following chapters:
  • Chapter 2: Racism Drained the Pool
  • Chapter 9: The Hidden Wound
  • Chapter 10: The Solidarity Dividend

Here’s a preview of the book in an interview with Heather McGhee on NPR’s Fresh Air:
'Sum Of Us' Examines The Hidden Cost Of Racism — For Everyone

​
Additional references for discussion:
  • Page 4 of the NCSEA SE3 Discrimination and Harassment Topic Brief, summarizes how discrimination/harassment affects the career satisfaction of those who experience it:
  • The article How Diversity Makes Us Smarter  argues that working and collaborating with others across race, gender, national origin, etc. leads to innovative and creative solutions.
Picture
0 Comments

May Book Club: PBS Series "Asian Americans"

5/13/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
According to the 2020 NCSEA SE3 Survey findings in the Performance Feedback topic brief, Asian structural engineers are the least likely to be satisfied with their professional development opportunities. Join us to discuss possible causes and how we can help to close this gap.

During Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, on Thursday, May 13, from 6:30-8:00pm, the SEAONC SE3 Racial Equity book club will be discussing the Asian Americans PBS 5-part documentary series (watch time: 1 hour per part), which can be streamed online for free. While all 5 parts can be viewed beforehand, we’ll recommend Part 3 “Good Americans” and Part 5 “Breaking Through” to discuss the model minority myth and how it can play out within the structural engineering workplace. We would also like to provide a safe space to discuss the recent anti-AAPI attacks occurring in the Bay Area and around the country, which are profoundly affecting many AAPI structural engineers today. SEAONC SE3 Chair Tiffany Hwang will be moderating this discussion. 

0 Comments

March Book Club: Discussions on Whiteness

3/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Tune into this month’s book club, in which we will be discussing the concept, history, and construct of whiteness, different views of racism and unconscious bias, and their impact on how we interact with each other. As a group, we’ll discuss some of the narratives in the video, our response to the podcast, and our awareness and comfort level in talking about race and racism. We will reflect on our personal experiences in living in primarily white environments, expectations of people of color “acting white”, and the ways in which we can move past just talking.

Estimated Preparation time: Less than 1 hour
  • Video | “Debunking The Most Common Myths White People Tell About Race”  | DiAngelo  3.5 minutes
  • Video | “Why Are We Still Talking About Racism?” | DiAngelo  4.5 minutes
  • Podcast | Scene on Radio: Seeing White | Biewen: Excerpt of Part 1 (7.5 minutes) and Part 2 (29 minutes)
  • Article | Understanding My White Privilege | David Phillips - 5 minute read


This will be a casual discussion open to all and no registration is needed; just join via the Zoom Link provided. Please email se3@seaonc.org with any questions.
0 Comments

January Book Club: Between the World and Me

1/14/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
On January 14, we’ll be having an informal discussion on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book  Between the World and Me (reading time: 2 hrs) written as a letter to his son, which has also been adapted into a  movie  that can be viewed for free until December 27.
​
Join the SEAONC SE3 Racial Equity Task Group to talk about a book, podcast, movie, or article on the second Thursday of every other month. This will be a casual discussion open to all and no registration is needed; just join via the Zoom Link provided. Email se3@seaonc.org with any questions.

0 Comments

    SEAONC SE3 Committee

    Racial Equity Task Group

    The SEAONC SE3 Racial Equity Book Club meets every other month, with the goals of generating awareness and individual learning on topics of racial equity, facilitating discussions with the wider SEAONC community, and creating a safe space for discussion for everyone.

    SEAONC SE3 does not specifically endorse any materials or authors.

    Archives

    January 2022
    November 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Events
    • 2022 SE3 Symposium >
      • Thought Leaders
      • FAQ
      • Symposium Link Tree
    • Past Events >
      • Racial Equity Book Club
      • 2020-2021 Long Term Mentorship Program
      • The Engineer's Role in Equitable Design
      • 2021 Speed Mentorship Event
      • 2021 Long-Term Mentorship Mid-Year Event
      • 2020 Summer Speed Mentorship Event
      • 2019 Workshop - Building an Inclusive Workplace
      • 2019 Symposium Event Recap
      • 2017 Symposium
  • Contributors
    • 2021-2022 Task Groups
    • Past SE3 Committee Contributors
  • Publications & Best Practices
    • SEAONC SE3 Publications
    • NCSEA SE3 Publications
    • Monthly DEI Spotlight
    • SE3's Commitment to Racial Justice
    • Best Practices
  • News
  • Contact Us