No matter how the presidential transition goes, we still have Work to Do.

Let's turn our attention at least a little bit away from post-election chaos and re-focus on what we can do.

This anti-racism work group is a highly interactive support and accountability group for White folks looking to Do the Work. We’ll dive into those lists of “things white people can do”; we’ll compare notes on what we’re learning in our reading and our podcasts; and we’ll individually set homework for ourselves each week so we can put our learning into practice at our own level of ability.

To be honest, now that we’ve opened our eyes to the pervasive and devastating effects of systemic racism, it’s a lot to take in. And it’s hard to know where to start.

So let’s help each other get down to doing the work that’s laid out for us.

The basics

Seven-week online session, January 11 - February 22

Monday nights, 5:00pm - 6:30pm Pacific / 8:00pm - 9:30pm Eastern

3-5 hours a week of homework (self-assigned)

Cost: $52

All proceeds (less Eventbrite fees) will be donated to an anti-racist cause chosen collectively by the participants at the end of the course.

Limited to 8 participants. More groups will be formed throughout 2021 if you'd like to join the waitlist.

The details

In the intro meeting, we’ll share where we are and what resources we’ve found most helpful, beginning a group bibliography to support our continuing journey. We’ll also build an overview of major topics and issues in anti-racism work, and participants will each choose an issue to dive deeper into.

Subsequent sessions will include informal presentations by 1-2 participants on the issues they’ve chosen to research, offering background, resources, and recommended action steps. We’ll have time for group discussion, and each participant will commit to complete an action step that week.

What kind of action steps, you ask? The specifics will be informed by participant research, but we’ll work together to come up with achievable practical steps like …

• requesting specific equity measures in your school or workplace
• hosting an anti-racist movie-viewing party with your COVID pod
• moving your savings account to a Black-owned bank
• reading and discussing an anti-racist children’s book with your family

So that you can show up for the first meeting feeling like you know what to expect and already have a friend in the group, I’ll set up a 15-minute intro call with you the week before our session starts.

For maximum effectiveness and group cohesion, it’s important that all attendees are reliably present. After considering the course dates and times, and your own personal obligations, I am asking each participant to commit to missing no more than 1 meeting.

This work group is for White folks who have begun their anti-racism journey. If you’re still working to understand anti-racism or what the Black Lives Matter movement is all about, this group isn’t for you (yet!), but there are a lot of helpful resources online. We’d recommend starting here:

• What is anti-racism, again?
• What are people actually protesting?
• How did racism even become a thing?
• “Who gets to be afraid in America?”

About me: The gifts I bring to the table are community building, discussion facilitation, a structure, a desire to know better, and a joy to learn and practice with you all. I am your facilitator and co-learner. I am not an expert in any of the topics we’ll be researching and discussing together. I’m simply the person who says, “This homework is hard. Study group?”