Day 23: Practice Makes Perfect

Dear White Friends and Fam, 

We are so looking forward to seeing you tonight via ZOOM.  As we continue our journey toward Radical Welcoming we are thinking a lot about hard conversations.  Both with strangers and our friends and families.   We are curious about why some are so reluctant to believe that racism is as bad and systematic as it is despite the available evidence. What is the payoff for staying entrenched in old beliefs?  How do we genuinely lead our friends and relatives to more realistic insights and understandings?    

A friend shared this video with us and it speaks to the need for us as white people to engage in hard conversations with our families and our white community.  Tonight on ZOOM we will brainstorm and practice taking a stand for our black sisters and brothers, and how to show through our actions that they are welcome in our spaces.  

The video has an interesting twist at the end, amongst the calls for white people to stand up, speak out and engage in the conversation, the last gentleman basically says “ sit down, shut up and listen”.  This is an important reminder that the black community is made up of individuals with their own thoughts and opinions, many of which vary on the role white people should play in this moment.  In this moment we feel like our actions as white allies are under a microscope and everyone is looking for us to do it wrong.  We acknowledge that sometimes we will get it wrong,  and sometimes we will get thanks and criticism for the same action, we commit to learning and growing from those moments.  It is easy to become so self conscious about doing the wrong thing that we become immobile.   We recognize that there is risk to our self esteem, our reputation and our friendships in “doing the work”.  But when compared to the fear our black sisters and brothers face everyday, this discomfort and risk seem like a luxury or dare we say; a privilege.  These feelings are real and hard, we acknowledge that, but we won’t let discomfort stop us from doing what needs to be done.  We hope you will join us in these acknowledgments and commitments.  But most of all we hope you’ll join us on ZOOM tonight.  If you can’t make it tonight we’d love to hear what you did today to practice radical welcoming or any other action you may choose to do.  

Need some new ideas? Take a look back at the actions of other participants and try one on.  Blog: https://day1ripples.blogspot.com/ 

Tuesday 6/23 6:30-8pm EDT: Radical Welcoming Brainstorming and Practice Event on ZOOM. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83120454923?pwd=QlpxTUt6a0FwNjZubFhuMGY4TVhNZz09


Peace,
Camerin and Beth

Upcoming Virtual Events: 

Tuesday 6/23 6:30-8pm: Radical Welcoming Brainstorming and Practice Event. Tuesday June 23 from 6:30-8pm on ZOOM. Mark your calendars and join us!


Tuesday 6/23 Rebby Kern (they/them), a local CLT yoga instructor & educator working for LGBTQ social justice, is leading a 'Race, Gender & Bias' workshop: https://rebbykernyoga.com/events


Tuesday 6/23 The Gantt Center: Unmasked: Charlotte’s Fight for Police Reform.https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unmasked-charlottes-fight-for-police-reform-tickets-110046026628?aff=EblastRegistrationButton&utm_source=Friends+of+The+Gantt&utm_campaign=3eb70600a0-Unmasked+-+June+23+%28D1%29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_931a2bacb4-3eb70600a0-401737187&mc_cid=3eb70600a0&mc_eid=33bbf9c54b


Wed 6/24, noon-1:00pm. “What Does Protesting Have To Do With Our Faith?” Facebook Live event sponsored by Candler School of Theology.  https://www.facebook.com/events/320706492262429?name=Candler+in+Conversation%3A+a+dialogue+on+faith+and+protesting&event_id=320706492262429


Wed. 6/24 Workshop, Yoga Practice and Town Hall: An Invitation to Learn. https://sweatnet.com/listing/workshop-yoga-practice-town-hall-an-invitation-to-learn/


Register Today: Finding Freedom: White Women Taking On Our Own White Supremacy https://www.eventbrite.com/e/online-finding-freedom-white-women-taking-on-our-own-white-supremacy-tickets-107423909806


Reading/ Watch/Listen List: 

Resources: 

 

Yesterday's Actions and Reflections from the group: 


  • My husband and I are going to move our money from Wells Fargo, which has a history (and present?) of racial discrimination, to a credit union

  • I am going to work with someone from our church on organizing a family black lives matter demonstration for kids. 

  • My business is going through a lot of transitions right now. I decided rather than sell them I would donate desks, cabinets and other office supplies to Juxtaposition Arts, a youth arts organization that educates and employees black teens on design, art and environmental design. They are a really fabulous org and they were damaged in the protests in MN. 

  • That was my Georgia history textbook in 8th grade, Druid Hills High, 1968.

  • Today I shared this initiative with some friends, we had an important conversation and they seemed to appreciate it. 

  • Today I was in need of some emotional support- this woke-ness is sure tiring.  But instead of reaching out to my black friends’ for approval I reached out to a group of white women to help me process.  It was really helpful and didn’t require asking black friends to use their emotional energy to help me process my white feeling #thatsnotmyijob

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