Special Chat - AFCC-MN’s Role to Implement its Statement on System Change

Our Chapter issued a public statement, which is posted on our website, on June 4 following the death of Mr. George Floyd describing his death as an example of a “devastating failure of society.” We stated, “The result of inaction on the part of our broader culture is not only the senseless loss of lives such as Mr. Floyd, but also the tragic loss of potential from the millions of other lives that are marginalized by these same forces.” The link to the statement is here.

On July 31, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. we will hold an additional community chat to discuss how we as a Chapter will implement the statement made June 4, 2020. We hope you can join us. To encourage as much participation as possible, this chat will be free to all who want to participate.

This community chat will address systemic and institutional racism. The focus of this chat is not to educate you about racism. Our intent is to develop a path from mere dialog to action, long overdue, that will foster a racially informed practice for members, professionally and personally. The goal for AFCC-MN, as an institution, is to examine our racial beliefs, and understand racism as more prevalent than discrete acts committed by individuals but rather as a complex interconnected system. All white people should be accountable to strive for systemic change resulting in a diverse, inclusive and respectful family law community.

We don’t expect to come to a resolution in an hour, but we want to acknowledge our position in this community without anger, fear, guilt, or silence. The past-president Referee James Street and current president Jennifer Joseph will share the Chapter’s plans relative to our commitment to action and goal to increase diversity. This Community Chat will be facilitated by Joe Reid, LMFT, Ph.D. To create space for as many voices and ideas as possible, we invite you to email your thoughts before and after the chat by emailing them to afccmnwebmasters@gmail.com.

For participants to begin from the same framework we strongly encourage participants to prepare for the discussion by reading White Fragility, available here from some independent book sellers:

For participants to begin from the same framework we strongly encourage participants to prepare for the discussion by reading White Fragility, available here from some independent book sellers:

White Fragility-Afriware Books

White Fragility-Brainlair Books