Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Workshop 11: The Experience of Whiteness from Others Point of View

March 26, 2011

This workshop introduced perspectives on "Whiteness" from people who belong to marginalized racial/ethnic identity groups.

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We obviously have to talk about racism, White privilege and the topics we covered within the “greater congregation;” having it out in the open will give us the opportunity to become more compassionate in our dealings with each other.

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The big question that came from our group today was, again, where do we go from here in communicating with the congregation what we have learned this year. Today we grappled with the idea that Whites still do not see the privilege they have.

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Today was interesting but I wish there was more time for discussion about how to proceed in the congregation. Acknowledging with all humility that, we who are white, have within us some degree of racism—it is impossible to grow up in this society without absorbing some racist ideology. But, we fight against it, knowing how it hurts us as well as people of color, so I say to the congregation, JOIN THIS STRUGGLE.

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Developing one’s own identity can be a challenge for anyone. Society impresses its concepts on individuals and groups.  It is the right of each person to create or develop his/her own self identity.  All of us need to learn to respect this right in others even as we desire and expect respect for ourselves.

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This session was especially worthwhile and the study materials were excellent. The group discussion was also helpful.

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The four articles have a common thread of personal and group struggle with identity and race. It was surprising to me how much I have had experiences in my life with people dealing with similar issues.  It was helpful that one group member reminded me that “one does what you can in your own sphere of influence—and hopefully see results.

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This was a good session—I think folks are beginning to open up more.

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In this session we allowed more time for discussion which may have led to a greater depth and resulting in more questions than answers. Comparing the concept of the melting pot with the concept of stone soup—that is relishing differences rather than fearing them and wanting to make those differences go away.

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We had thoughtful discussions on the readings that challenged our usual assumptions. We are learning how important self-identity is in terms of race and culture, it is a key learning.

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