Accountable Bystander/Upstander Training
Bystander intervention and de-escalation involve a series of tools that can be consciously employed to defuse volatile situations. In this interactive workshop, bystander intervention and de-escalation will be presented in the context of self-defense and harm reduction. Students will identify verbal and non-verbal techniques and tactics to de-escalate conflict. Students will also learn the four Ds of bystander intervention – direct, distract, delay, and delegate. All of these tactics will be presented in tandem with the importance of larger scale community organizing and alternatives to policing.
NOTE: This workshop is not about physical self defense. It is specifically about de-escalation and bystander intervention, using verbal techniques to defuse potentially violent situations, and emphasizing the importance of combining this with larger scale community organizing in confronting racism and white supremacy.
This workshop will take place from 11 AM – 1 PM. Capacity is limited to 35. Registration is required.
About the facilitator: Rachel S Blum Levy has a Master’s Degree from CUNY Hunter College in macro social work and community organizing. She has professional clinical experiences working in the field of HIV / AIDS and as a crisis counselor. She is a former Collective Member of Bluestockings Bookstore, one of the last 13 feminist bookstores in the country, and a co-founder of the long running feminist zine Hoax.
An image of the completed mural dedicated to the fight against gun violence in Crown Heights. The mural is painted on the wall of the Alternative Learning Center on Brooklyn Avenue, facing Brower Park, and diagonal to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.
Photo by Hanan Ohayon