by Judy Helfand I’m sitting in the audience for a post-production discussion of Kill Move Paradise, a play in which four black men try to make sense of their recent killing. A white woman in the first row is speaking and I’m thinking Stop! Don’t you, a white woman, tell …
At the January 11 dialog, after a brief history on the invention of whiteness (see below for an outline of points covered) participants divided into small groups to reflect on ways we individually perpetuate whiteness in our personal lives. Each group listed what came up and shared with the whole …
by Judy Helfand When a new member of Racial Justice Allies asked why there wasn’t more posting on our blog given all that is going on, I replied that we’d been too busy to write. But the question lingered and I reflected more deeply on what I’ve been doing over …
Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi founded #BlackLivesMatter in 2012, after George Zimmerman, responsible for the death of Trayvon Martin, was acquitted for his crime. Trayvon Martin was posthumously charged for his own death. These women moved the hashtag from social media into the streets, holding conference calls, connecting …
As told to Z It was a quiet summer afternoon and I was just getting home from playing tennis with my daughter. I parked in front of my home and was unloading my gear from my car. A silver car slowed down as it was passing me and the white …
by Judy Helfand At the July dialog on White Silence, 63 participants showed up for the meeting, creating an energetic buzz of voices. We were meeting in response to people of color calling out for white people to speak up. The need for active confrontation to the status quo of …
by Z In June there was electricity in the air; change was just around the corner. The non-white members of the Unitarian Universalist Association (Unitarians) were pressing for more visibility as a group and accountability from the white members at the upcoming General Assembly. My friend Laura was beside herself …
“By resisting (or even embracing) fear, guilt, and shame, we can open ourselves up to conversations about race that actually create a deeper understanding.” Amelia Shroyer How do you feel when you receive feedback that your behavior as a white person looked or felt racist to someone else? As a …
by Judy Helfand At the day-long singing and drumming retreat on Saturday, I failed to fully step up and confront cultural appropriation and lack of respect for the people whose drums were enriching our lives. In a circle of around 50, all of us but one appeared to be …
by Wendy-O Matik Because of white privilege, I decline to accept any position of power or authority, in the workplace and in other areas of my life. Because of white supremacy, I will shut up and listen when people of color speak. Because of the mis-education around white superiority, I …