Facing White Privilege/Racism

Workshop # 18
Melody Brazo

A time for Friends who identify as white to dismantle the barriers that conceal the fullness and depth of Spirit’s voice in others. Through deep listening, we will hear about the pain that racism inflicts on all people, and also the gifts available to those working to heal the damage.

Percentage of time:
Worship/worship-sharing 40; Lecture 10; Discussion 30; Experiential 20

Open to all

This workshop will provide a time for people who identify as white to examine how we can grow in our awareness of the pernicious effects of racism. While we may believe that the Divine speaks through everyone, and that we need to listen deeply for the truth in each person's voice, there are many barriers which separate us from people who are different from us. These barriers keep us from being able to hear the fullness and depth of the Holy Spirit's voice in our own hearts.

Over the course of this workshop we will look at these differences, and the barriers that keep us apart, in a worshipful setting. Through the use of brief readings, videos, queries and worship sharing, we will practice listening deeply to the voices of people of color, and to each other. Using the material of our own lives as a place to start, we will examine the institutional and personal beliefs and practices that support racism. We will examine the construction of racial identity in ourselves and others.  We will look at privilege as it intersects with race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual identity, and other aspects of identity. We will practice strategies for effectively dismantling racism in ourselves and in our communities.

Our goal will be to hear not only about the pain which racism inflicts on all people, but also about the gifts available to those who work to undo the effects of racism.

Objectives for this workshop:

To make whiteness and privilege visible.

To examine ways that privilege creates an imbalance of power and access.

To explore what white people gain/lose by accepting privilege.

To move the discussion of privilege out of the intellectual realm into the spiritual realm.

To practice the skill of listening deeply to oneself and to others.

To practice having difficult conversations about race and privilege.

To examine what effects racism and privilege have on our home meetings.

To develop a language and comfort level necessary for talking about topics which are often taboo in the prevailing culture.

To formulate and share concrete, personal action plans for use beyond this workshop.