Discussing Whiteness

Currently, there is a weekly series of discussions on whiteness and anti-racism titled Whiteness Accountability Space: Processing Emotions and Moving to Anti-Racist Action. Once you register you can attend any of the noon sessions on the calendar.

Meeting Times

• Thursdays 12:05-12:55pm

Register today!

Everyone is welcome to these sessions that are intended to provide a space for White folks to process feelings around anti-blackness, police brutality, and systemic racism in order to move toward anti-racist action. These sessions will encourage participants to stay connected to their feelings and their bodies as we discuss and share.

The purpose is to allow for people to discuss whiteness and critically reflect, process, and ask questions with the intention of mitigating harm caused to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) colleagues, community, and students when White people participate in conversations and spaces that are diverse. These sessions will be facilitated by White facilitators.

This is a weekly series to hold a space for what can be difficult conversations. Though we encourage people to join as often as they can, there is no expectation that anyone should attend every week or even more than once. Everyone is welcome and can join at any time.

To support people who have several daily Zoom or other online commitments, these sessions begin at 12:05pm and end at 12:55pm to allow for people to move from previous and following appointments.

Facilitators: Meridith Oram, Tim Miller, Loren Collins, Len Wolff, Chuck Powell

Below is a list of resources that have been shared and/or used during the Whiteness Accountability Space sessions. Familiarity of these is not required for people to attend future sessions.

Ally vs. Co-Conspirator: What it means to be an Abolitionist Teacher

Dr. Bettina Love

Discussion Prompts

Small Groups

• What does this stir up in you? What are you feeling?
• What parts of this are new to you?

Whole Group

• What does Dr. Love's idea of 'using your privilege' look like?
• Provide an example of Ally vs Co-conspirator

Self Reflection

• Find a concrete thing that you will do.
• Are you being an ally or co-conspirator? What are you risking?

Resources

How to be an Antiracist

Ibram X. Kendi

Definitions

Racist

One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea.

Antiracist

One who is supporting an antiracist policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea.

Discussion Prompts

• What comes up for you when considering the framing of anti-racism vs ‘not being racist’?
• How might you pursue anti-racist work as an ally? As a co-conspirator?

Self Reflection

• In what ways are you anti-racist?
• What does this look like - what do you do or not do?
• As an ally? As a co-conspirator?

Resources

Is Our Anti-Racist Work in Systems?

Ijeoma Oluo (author of So You Want to Talk about Race)

Resources

How anti-racism is a treatment for the ‘cancer’ of racism

PBS News Hour interview with Ibram X Kendi (How to be an Antiracist) and Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility).

Resources

The Invention of Whiteness

with john a. powell, Professor of Law, UC Berkeley

Discussion Prompts

What resonated with you?

What did you hear that was new to you?

What are the implications of your understanding of the function of whiteness?

How does this impact your perception of who benefits from the existence of racial categories?

Resources

The Fall 2020 Big Read was held in Humboldt County (virtually) during October and November of 2020.

"The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The main feature of the NEA Big Read is a grants program, managed by Arts Midwest, which annually supports community reading programs, each designed around a single NEA Big Read book."

Several events occurred during the Big Read around Claudia Rankine's book, Citizen: an American lyric.

Resources