About the Speaker:

Tashel C. Bordere, PhD, CT is an internationally-known scholar, author, and speaker, and a grant-funded researcher at the Center for Family Policy and Research at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has specialized education and training as a Certified Thanatologist (Death, Dying, and Grief). Dr. Bordere is Vice-President of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG) and serves on the Boards of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). She recently completed a Forward Promise Fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focusing on the promotion of healing, growth and thriving among boys and young men of color. Dr. Bordere’s research is contextually based focusing on cultural trauma, stigmatized loss (homicide loss, assaultive violence–sexual assault), suffocated grief (a term she coined), and Black youth and family bereavement. She developed the SHED Grief Tools Training Program for Early Childhood Professionals and programs and K-12 schools. Dr. Bordere has received numerous awards including the Ronald K. Barrett National Award (ADEC), 2022 Excellence in Engagement in Outreach Award (MU), and the CASE Award for Outstanding Faculty Mentorship to underrepresented college students (MU). Dr. Bordere has done numerous workshops, keynotes, and published research relating to inequities (social, educational) and culturally relevant practices, including her co-edited book, Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief (Routledge). Dr. Bordere has been featured in multiple media outlets including USA Today, New York Times, Legacy.Com, Psychology Today, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, and NPR (WPSU: Take Note).

 

Description:

The presentation will address the role of identity and patterns of loss, disenfranchisement, and suffocated grief of marginalized youth and families. Social media and national movements have been pivotal in bringing widespread attention to the trauma and loss experiences of youth populations, families, and communities representing intersecting marginalized identities and backgrounds amid long-standing systemic inequities. This presentation is designed to contextualize the multidimensional components that characterize loss and grief for youth and families. Research, theory, and recent events will be integrated as we examine cultural strengths, systemic impediments to coping, and culturally resonant practices essential to diversity, equity, and inclusion in service provision, grief programming, and K-12 education.

 

Objectives:

• Describe foundational cultural concepts, including social identity and the intersection of identities

• Critically evaluate social justice theories and concepts to uncover strengths and barriers related to work with bereaved marginalized populations.

• Examine and apply strategies grounded in cultural humility and culturally conscientious practice, for effective work with individuals and families in normative/socially sanctioned (e.g., health) and disenfranchising death, loss and grief (e.g., homicide, suicide) experiences.