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You Are Not a ‘Resource’ (Even Though You Have Resources)

$0.00

For educators of color in predominantly white schools, the burden of “adding diversity” or explaining oppression often falls squarely on your shoulders, framing you as a convenient “resource” rather than a full human being. You Are Not a ‘Resource’ (Even Though You Have Resources) addresses how this dynamic can be both extractive and dehumanizing—requiring you to fulfill endless “diversity requests” without recognition of your emotional labor or personal boundaries. In this boundary-setting workshop, participants will learn how to affirm their agency, protect their mental well-being, and offer resources on their own terms—maintaining dignity, ownership, and rest within systems that too often seek to appropriate their insight and labor.

For educators of color in predominantly white schools, the burden of “adding diversity” or explaining oppression often falls squarely on your shoulders, framing you as a convenient “resource” rather than a full human being. You Are Not a ‘Resource’ (Even Though You Have Resources) addresses how this dynamic can be both extractive and dehumanizing—requiring you to fulfill endless “diversity requests” without recognition of your emotional labor or personal boundaries. In this boundary-setting workshop, participants will learn how to affirm their agency, protect their mental well-being, and offer resources on their own terms—maintaining dignity, ownership, and rest within systems that too often seek to appropriate their insight and labor.

Key Focus Areas

  1. Recognizing Extractive Dynamics

    • Examine how schools and colleagues may treat educators of color as a one-stop “diversity solution,” overlooking your personal boundaries or full humanity.

  2. Humanizing Your Expertise

    • Explore methods to reframe your contribution as skilled collaboration or consulting—rather than indefinite or automatic resource extraction.

  3. Creating Boundaries & Affirming Agency

    • Discover practical boundary-setting strategies, conversation scripts, and self-advocacy techniques to safeguard your time, emotional energy, and professional well-being.

Who Should Attend?

  • Educators of Color (K–12 & Higher Ed)
    Eager to disrupt tokenism or perpetual “cultural translator” roles in predominantly white institutions.

  • Administrators & DEI Leadership
    Committed to understanding how constant “diversity requests” can burden staff of color and seeking ways to create institutional guardrails.

  • Union & Staff Advocates
    Looking to empower members of color with negotiation language, self-protection policies, and support networks.

  • Community Organizers & Activist-Educators
    Hoping to foster a shared ethic of care, respect, and equitable collaboration, rather than expecting endless emotional labor.

Learning Objectives

  1. Name & Interrupt Tokenism

    • Recognize everyday scenarios where colleagues or administrators treat educators of color as a resource, token, or “expert” on all marginalized experiences.

  2. Boundary-Setting Tools

    • Learn communication tactics—like polite refusals, resource handoffs, or formal scope-of-work outlines—that maintain your well-being and autonomy.

  3. Reclaim Your Agency & Perspective

    • Reflect on how to re-offer your knowledge on your own terms, ensuring it is valued, compensated (if appropriate), and never reduced to extraction or erasure.

Why It Matters

Being constantly called upon to “explain race,” develop “diverse” lesson plans, or serve on committees “because we need your perspective” can feel dehumanizing and exhausting. This dynamic positions educators of color as an unlimited well of insight, rather than complex professionals with agency and personal needs. By setting boundaries and clarifying expectations, teachers of color can maintain control over their expertise, push back on exploitative cultures, and guide colleagues to do their own anti-oppression work. Ultimately, this shift from resource extraction to genuine collaboration affirms each educator’s dignity, rest, and sense of self-determination.

Is This Workshop For You?

  • Feeling pressure to attend every equity or diversity meeting because you’re the only educator of color?
    We’ll explore boundary scripts that gently redirect tasks and highlight communal responsibility.

  • Often tasked with “fixing” or reviewing curriculum for racial representation without extra pay or acknowledgment?
    Learn negotiation tactics to ensure your labor is recognized and fairly compensated when you do choose to contribute.

  • Worried about interpersonal conflict if you decline “diversity advisory” roles?
    Gain confidence in forming respectful refusals while suggesting alternative resources or next steps for colleagues.

  • Eager to preserve your emotional energy so you can remain fully present for your actual teaching and personal life?
    We’ll map self-care routines, supportive relationships, and institutional changes that protect your boundaries long-term.

If these concerns ring true, “You Are Not a ‘Resource” equips you with the reflection, language, and strategies to stand firm in your humanity and autonomy—resisting tokenizing requests and forging healthier, more respectful collaboration.