Building Skills for an Inclusive Community

Over the past few months, Montana has seen a rise in hateful acts perpetrated by white supremacists. Whitefish, Polson and Missoula have all been in the national spotlight due to acts of racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of oppression. While this is not the Montana we know and love, we also realize that these handful of incidents are part of a much larger problem we are facing, and that we ignore at our peril.

Many of us are wondering what we can do to build a more inclusive community in this new reality. How can we confront and interrupt oppression and mistreatment when we see it? How can we work together to create spaces where everyone can be safe?

EmpowerMT, which has been working for nearly two decades to end bigotry of all kinds, is poised to address these concerns. Over the next couple of months, we are partnering with local community organizations across the state to bring our “Building Skills for an Inclusive Community” training to as many Montanans as possible.

The three hour training will teach:

Skills to identify our own cultural lenses, and the cultural lenses of others.

How to build a shared language and foundation of understanding about oppression and its impact on fellow community members.

Skills for interrupting oppression when we see it in our communities.

Currently trainings are scheduled in the following locations:
We are currently offering two versions of this training. A 3-hour training that will be held in Missoula & Whitefish. We are partnering with the Montana Racial Equity Project to do a 6-hour training in Billings and Bozeman.

Building Community 3 Hour Training: ($15 -$30 Registration Sliding Scale)

Missoula – Sunday February 12th from 2pm to 5pm  Completed
Har Shalom
3035 S. Russell St.
Missoula, MT

Whitefish / Kalispell – Saturday April 1st from 10am to 1:30pm  Completed
Flathead Community College Arts & Technology Building
777 Grandview Dr.
Kalispell, MT

Helena – Sunday April 23rd from 1pm to 4pm
Helena Indian Alliance Gym
501 Euclid Ave
Helena, MT

Building Community 6 Hour Training: ($30 to $80 Registration Sliding Scale – Lunch Included)

Bozeman – Saturday February 25th from 9am to 3pm Complete
Come on Inn
6139 E Valley Center Rd.
Bozeman, MT

Billings – Saturday March 25th from 9am to 3pm  Cancelled 
Mayflower Congregational Church
2940 Poly Dr.
Billings, MT

(If you would like to help organize one of these trainings in your local community contact Jesse Jaeger at jesse@empowermt.org or 406-541-6891)

Please register for the training in your community below:

Partner Organizations Include:

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