{"id":12221,"date":"2025-04-01T13:42:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T13:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/?p=12221"},"modified":"2025-04-02T22:55:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T22:55:18","slug":"red-bench-dialogue-recap-a-courageous-conversation-at-acc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/2025\/04\/01\/red-bench-dialogue-recap-a-courageous-conversation-at-acc\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Bench Dialogue Recap: A Courageous Conversation at ACC"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" On March 25, 2025, Austin Community College\u2019s (ACC\u2019s) Rio Grande Campus buzzed with heartfelt conversations, laughter, and quiet moments of reflection as nearly 150 students, staff, and community members gathered for the <\/span>Red Bench Dialogue Event<\/b><\/a> on the topic of \u201cCourage.\u201d Held at the Center for Government and Civic Service (CGCS), the event was a collaboration between ACC\u2019s Teaching and Learning Excellence Division (TLED), the Office of Belonging and Purpose, the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Center, and Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT).<\/span><\/p>\n

The evening opened with the stirring sounds of ACC\u2019s student string quartet, setting the tone for a meaningful night, followed by a warm welcome from the Office of Experiential Learning Director, Dr. Sam Greer. Simone Talma Flowers, Executive Director of iACT, led the program with this powerful reminder:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lots of noise out there saying we need to be afraid of each other, and to that, we say NO! We need to learn from each other.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Director of ACC\u2019s TRHT Center, Dr. Khayree Williams, framed the evening\u2019s theme with a deeply personal and motivational message:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCourage is embracing the greatness within you\u2026and being courageous enough to say none of us are perfect\u2026We are so much greater when we surround ourselves with people who think differently than us.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Guided by that spirit, the structured table dialogues invited participants to speak openly and listen deeply. The conversations were facilitated by 35 trained ACC students from Social Psychology, Peace and Conflict Studies, and English Honors courses. Attendees explored what courage means in their own lives\u2014how it shows up, how it feels, and how it connects us.<\/span><\/p>\n

First-time participants were struck by the openness of the space. Student Christina Longoria shared,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRed Bench offers everyone an openness to curiosity\u2026 people who tend to lean toward judgment have an opportunity to be more curious.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Others were simply grateful for the opportunity to connect. Christopher Rzigalinksi from the Office of Experiential Learning said,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to bond over the common journeys of courage that we all share.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Faculty support was also strong. Dr. LaKisha Barrett, Associate Dean in the Office of Belonging and Purpose, expressed the significance of showing up:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in a community with people who want to share deeply of their heart\u2026 makes me want to come out and be in community with them and also support my students. I would move the earth, I would move the stars, I would move the universe for them.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The event was filled to capacity and included 85 ACC students, 19 faculty and staff, and 40 community members. Thanks to the Office of Energy and Sustainability, it was also a Zero Waste Event\u2014demonstrating that care for our community can extend to care for the planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a time when division often drowns out dialogue, the Red Bench offers a different way forward\u2014one built on shared meals, honest stories, and a collective commitment to understanding. As Dr. Williams reminded us,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to be open and vulnerable about our story\u2026 puts us in a better position to be a better community.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For those who joined us, thank you for bringing your full selves into the circle. And for those curious about future Red Bench Dialogues, we invite you to lean in with courage\u2014and pull up a seat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Click here to view the event recap reel.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Red Bench is a program of Interfaith Action of Central Texas and takes place regularly throughout the year. Stay connected with the Office of Experiential Learning within TLED to learn about future opportunities to participate.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On March 25, 2025, Austin Community College\u2019s (ACC\u2019s) Rio Grande Campus buzzed with heartfelt conversations, laughter, and quiet moments of reflection as nearly 150 students, staff, and community members gathered for the Red Bench Dialogue Event on the topic of \u201cCourage.\u201d Held at the Center for Government and Civic Service (CGCS), the event was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":12222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[183,171,182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-purpose-belonging","category-service-learning","category-teaching-learning"],"acf":{"carousel_content":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/03\/Red-Bench-General-Instagram-Post.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/instruction.austincc.edu\/tledupdates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}