The Center for Black & Indigenous Praxis joins Generations’ Legacy

In late February, to round out the Black Psychology Project and Center for Black & Indigenous Praxis’ (CBIP) 28 Days of Blackness celebration, Center director Preston Vargas and a number of CIIS students and alumni participated in Generations, an annual San Francisco event honoring Black LGBTQIA+ cultures and creativity. Each event gathers Bay Area organizations serving queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming BIPOC communities, including Glide Memorial Church, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Oakland LGBTQ Center, Rafiki Coalition, San Francisco Community Health Center, Bridge HIV, and others.
 

For the past two years, CIIS and CBIP have been invited to join based on the connections fostered by the counseling and clinical programs, and the work of CBIP fellows with participating organizations. “These are our communities,” Vargas noted. “I think our community here and our CIIS community, they have the same vision, the same goals.” Vargas was joined for the evening by Shawna Holbrook, Executive Director of Admissions, who spoke with those interested in a CIIS education about the many opportunities available to do work supporting organizations like those in attendance. Vargas noted that participating in events like Generations embodies the connection-weaving vision of CBIP. “We're supporting students through their studies, through their research, through their academic engagement, but also making connections in community like this event tonight.”  Vargas exemplifies this work, having followed a path from CIIS alum and community counselor to his current role as CBIP director. “It's a humbling experience to be invited back. I used to work with these organizations when I was working in community behavioral health,” he shared. “It's an honor to be here again.”

We're supporting students through their studies, through their research, through their academic engagement, but also making connections in community like this event tonight. 
- Preston Vargas, Director of the Center for Black & Indigenous Praxis

Over the course of the night, participants were able to view a screening of the legendary documentary Paris is Burning and attend a panel discussion on its influence. The film is a loving take on New York’s ballroom culture in the 1980s and early ‘90s, and the queer Black and Brown drag families that made it their home during a deeply conservative political era and the height of the AIDS epidemic. The event began with a ballroom demonstration by Oakland to All, who energized the room with their style and stunts, and concluded with a mini-ball that everyone could join, featuring categories like Butch Queen, Femme Fatale, and Performance (Vogue Battle).

CBIP events continue this spring with an interfaith community iftar to honor Ramadan on March 21st, on campus and open to CIIS students, faculty, and staff. On May 8, Professor Deanna Jimenez, head of the Emerging Black Clinicians Fellowship, will join nonviolence and restorative justice practitioner Kazu Haga for a Public Programs discussion of fierce vulnerability, cultivating love, and movement building. To take part in the conversation, register for the in-person event or livestream.