2009 CMA Workshops

For a complete listing of Fall 2009 workshops please visit:

http://www.colorado.edu/cu-diversity/cma/workshops.htm

2009 CMA FALL CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Heritage Month Spotlights

September 2009
Deaf Awareness and Hispanic Heritage Month

On September 17, 1968, the U.S. Congress established Deaf Awareness Week. The last full week in September is Deaf Awareness Week. It is also known as the International Week of the Deaf (or International Week of Deaf People). The purpose of Deaf Awareness Week is to draw attention to deaf people, their accomplishments and their issues.

In September 1968 Congress and then President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed National Hispanic Heritage Week in order to celebrate the culture and traditions of people with roots in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Twenty years later the observance was extended to a month. According to the United States Census Bureau, September 15 was chosen as the first day for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively.

Film & Discussion
Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard 118
Film Title: Beyond the Silence
Film Overview: This film is a powerful story about a gifted young musician whose parents are deaf and the challenges they face as a family.
Facilitator: Karen Boyd, Disability Services, 720-210-5827

Book Club Read &Discussion
Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Time: 12 noon-1:00pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard 118
Book Title: So Far from God, by Anna Castillo
Book Overview: A tale both tragic and funny; a hymn to women’s’ endurance and to the harshness of their lives.
Facilitator: Cleo Estrada, CMA, 303-492-5668

Speaker of the Month
Date: September 25th
Location: Law School/Wittemyer Court Room
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm
Speaker Name: Christy Smith and Dave Justice
Speaker overview: Christy Smith and Dave Justice have studied cultural diversity, perseverance and inspiration from deaf communities around the world.
Contact person: Karen Boyd, Disability Services, 720-210-5827

Game & Food Night
Date: Friday, September 25, 2009
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard 118
Facilitators: CEB/ Student

October 2009
GLBT History & World Blindness Awareness Month

GLBT History Month was conceived in the mid-1990’s by educators and embraced by major GLBT organizations. It is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.

World Blindness Awareness Month strives to raise awareness about vision impairment, ways to prevent it, and resources for those who are visually impaired. Over 20 million Americans are afflicted by cataracts, a curable disease, which is the leading cause of blindness in the United States, so it's especially important that you know how to protect your vision and prevent its loss.

Speaker of the Month
Date: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard Hall 118
Speaker Name: Ethan Esubalew Johnston
Speaker Overview: Mr. Johnston will share his personal and inspiring journey on how he brings life and hope to the blind.

Film & Discussion
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Time: 12 noon-2:00 pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard Hall 118
Film Title: A Litany For Survival: the Life and Work of Audre Lorde
Film Overview: An epic portrait of the eloquent, award-winning Black, lesbian, poet, mother, teacher and activist, Audre Lorde, whose writings - spanning five decades - articulated some of the most important social and political visions of the century. From Lorde's childhood roots in NYC's Harlem to her battle with breast cancer, this moving film explores a life and a body of work that embodied the connections between the Civil Rights movement, the Women's movement, and the struggle for lesbian and gay rights. At the heart of this documentary is Lorde's own challenge to "envision what has not been and work with every fiber of who we are to make the reality and pursuit of that vision irresistible."
Facilitator: Steph Wilenchek, Director GLBT Resource Center, 303-492-1377

Book Club Read & Discussion
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Time: 12 noon-1:00 pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard Hall 118
Book Title: Surpassing Expectations: My Life Without Sight, by Lawrence Scadden
Book overview: Dr. Scadden, born in 1940 and blinded at the age of five, is an internationally renowned scientist who has specialized in design of technology applications for people with disabilities. He has spent his career working to improve the lives of people with disabilities and has received international acclaim for his contributions to science education and technology for disabled people.
Facilitator: Cath Stager- Kilcommons, Assistive AT Lab Coordinator
Disability Services, 303-492-4049

Game & Food Night
Date: Friday, October 23, 2009
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard Hall 118
Game: Fact or Crap-It’s your Call!
Facilitator: Karen Boyd, Disability Services, 720-210-5827

November 2009
National American Indian Heritage and Islamic Month

National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month is celebrated to recognize the intertribal cultures and to educate the public about the heritage, history, art, and traditions of the American Indian and Alaska Native people.

America’s Islamic Heritage is a month where many Americans are discovering that Muslims from West Africa had an early presence in the Americas’ before Columbus.

Speaker of the Month
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2009
Time: 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard 118
Speaker Name: Semira Abdu Kassahun & Rasheed Lawal
Speaker overview: Speakers will share their personal stories about their culture, their art, their music and dance, holidays and literature.

Film & Discussion
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: CMA Conference Room, Willard 115
Film Title: Smoke Signals
Film Overview: Smoke Signals gained notoriety for being the first major release to be directed by, written by, and star Native Americans. The journey the two mismatched young men take to the home of Victor's estranged father in far off Arizona brings out of the past the remarkable events that brought them together.
Facilitator: Sue Lentz, CMA, 303-492-3360

Game & Food Night
Date: Friday, November 13, 2009
Time: 4:00-5:30 pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard 118
Facilitator: CEB Students

Book Club Read & Discussion
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Time: 12 noon-1:00 pm
Location: CMA Conference Room, Willard 115
Book Title: Ten Little Indians, by Sherman Alexie
Book overview: Sherman Alexie is one of our most acclaimed and popular writers today. Ten Little Indians offers eleven poignant and emotionally resonant new stories about Native Americans who, like all Americans, find themselves at personal and cultural crossroads, faced with heartrending, tragic, sometimes wondrous moments of being that test their loyalties, their capacities, and their notions of who they are and who they love.
Facilitator: Sue Lentz, CMA, 303-492-3360

December 2009

Film & Discussion
Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Time: 12:00-2:00pm
Location: CMA Lounge, Willard 118
Film Title: The Great Debaters
Film Overview: Inspired by a true story, The Great Debaters chronicles the journey of debate coach Melvin Tolson, an outspoken Wiley College professor who boldly challenged the discriminatory Jim Crow laws of the 1930s, who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from Wiley College, a small African-American college in the Deep South, into a historically elite debate team. In their pursuit for excellence, Tolson's debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University's championship team.
Facilitator: CEB Students