UWSA's December 2021 Unlearning Circle will explore the People’s Institute principle: Undoing Racism, more specifically, Tensions Experienced by People Who Identify as White in Racial Justice Work.

We can all agree that racism is harmful and we must work to eradicate it from ourselves and our systems. Undoing racism will be our topic for the December Unlearning Circle. This simple statement for messy, complicated and intersectional work is broad and we will be focusing on working as self-identifying “white” people as we explore some of the tensions we commonly experience. While our intentions are good, we often start down a path only to realize that we are engaging in practices that perpetuate racism. Sometimes, we encounter seemingly contradictory messages that leave us unsure how to proceed, that tempt us to drop out or paralyze us with fear of “getting it wrong”. The People’s Institute reminds us that Racism is the single most critical barrier to building effective coalitions for social change. How are we in accountable relationships when our actions and/or presence can be harmful in multi racial spaces? How do we balance compassion, care and universal love with holding each other accountable? How does the tension between our desire to act and not being sure about what to do, create a barrier to building effective coalitions?

Please join us this month to explore these confusing experiences and discuss what we can do to navigate these difficult situations so that we can be more effective co-conspirators. The following resources can be helpful in preparing for the discussion.

People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond - Antiracist Principles

https://www.pisab.org/our-principles/

Contradictions for White People:

https://reneeroederer.com/2020/06/18/contradictions-for-white-people-in-racial-justice-work/amp/

Tema Okun - White Supremacy Culture :

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XR_7M_9qa64zZ00_JyFVTAjmjVU-uSz8/view (direct link to 2021 updated version)

Website - https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/

We may be posting more recommended resources here soon.

About our Unlearning Circles -

UWSA’s first Unlearning Circle in the winter of 2017 was created as a place for white people to do the work of reflection and community self-education. As we continue to gather to critically examine our own participation in cultures of dominance, we build our capacity to show up as individuals and as a city-wide community network for Black, Indigenous and people of color-led anti-racist efforts in a positive and accountable way. The Unlearning Circles are an opportunity for white identifying people to explore white supremacy culture and our role and responsibilities in undoing racism. We welcome and recognize the gift of the presence of any People of Color who choose to join us.

In solidarity,

The UWSA Organizing Team