White Folks Dismantling White Supremacy
Co-sponsored by the Action Council and the Adult Religious Education Committee, this study/action group meets twice a month, on the second and fourth Tuesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:45 via Zoom. The second-Tuesday sessions, led by Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern, are focused on the series “Seeing White” from the podcast Scene on Radio. The fourth-Tuesday sessions, led by Kristi Iverson and Susan Owicki, are focused on action and reflection.
We are calling the group “White Folks . . . ” because we recognize the need for white people to do much of the work of dismantling white supremacy. It’s also important to have anti-racism learning spaces for white folks, where they can grapple with new ideas about racism and speak candidly about their fears and misconceptions. It can be painful for people of color to witness these conversations, so we have created this space apart from the main body of the congregation. That said, all people of whatever race or background are welcome to attend any or all sessions.
On Tuesday, December 8, we’ll listen to the very brief episode 7 together, and then share our answers to the question Dr. Chenjerai Kumanyika poses. This is a particularly personal episode, which asks those of us who are white to consider what being white means for us. This is a good moment to remember this guidance: “The point is not to attack every individual of European descent. None of us chose our ‘race,’ nor did we create the society that we were all born into. In this group, we’re in this together, trying to understand how we all got here. A conclusion of the Seeing White series is that white people must own and take responsibility for the advantages that come with whiteness, but that is not the same as saying that you as a white person are to blame and need to feel ashamed.”
If you have missed previous sessions and want to catch up, the series “Seeing White” begins here; transcripts are also provided on the program’s website.
If you would like to participate, please sign up to be on the class email list by sending an email to DismantlingWhiteSupremacy+subscribe@uucpa.org.
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