Over the next few months the Sacred Conversations on Race team will be leading three workshops that we’re calling White Privilege 101.
This series is in response to conversations that we’ve had with many Old First folk who want 1) to develop a deeper understanding of the origins of racism and white privilege, and 2) to gain the tools needed to have substantive conversations with others, and especially folk who we might disagree with.
This series will cover the following topics
- Origins of American Racism 1 (8/28/16)”Where did American racism come from” We’ll trace the origins of American racism from its precolonial roots in Iberia (modern day Spain and Portugal) to see how it grew and what purpose it had in the establishment of our country.
- The Economic Cost of Mass Incarceration (9/25/16)What impact does the prison industrial complex have on our country’s economy?
- Origins of American Racism 2 (10/30/16) We’ll use this session to explore the social construction of race, and in particular the origins of whiteness. the questions that we will focus on are “How did white (as an identity) come to be?” and “What purpose does whiteness serve?
We believe these sessions will give us a solid foundation upon which to begin to break through the paralyzing vastness of racism, which is the first step towards dismantling this enduring form of oppression.
These sessions will be both informational and conversational and should take about 90 minutes and will occur directly after worship.
