Unpacking Whiteness
A 7-Week Embodied Journey
from two recent participants:
“I’m writing to thank you so much for how exquisitely and lovingly you are holding the space for all of us to unpack our whiteness. This course is changing my life on a very deep level and I am ever grateful to you.”
“I just want to extend my deepest gratitude to you and Kimber for the remarkable course, Unpacking Whiteness. It was phenomenal. I most appreciated the sessions where you settled us by leading us through meditation and the ways that you both expressed that since this material is very difficult, we would need to honor our breath and notice how our bodies are feeling throughout. This gave space for us to fully absorb and process the most difficult material.”
What is whiteness? What is white privilege/white supremacy?
How can folks who identify as white see and dismantle our racism?
At this historic moment of uprising against the violence and injustice of systemic racism and white supremacy, how can we practice waking up to and dismantling these systems both internally and externally? And how can relational, mindfulness, and somatic practices support white folks to courageously follow this inquiry without collapsing in shame, guilt, or defensiveness?
Racism is not only racial hatred and bigotry, it includes the vast array of visible and invisible systems that give advantages to people who are considered white while disadvantaging people of color. Simultaneously, it includes deeply conditioned somatically held ways of being and relating, usually unconsciously.
For white identified folks, looking at racism it can be painful, provocative—and ultimately liberating.
This series is a introduction to whiteness and racism, with an emphasis on integrating the history and current context of systemic racism in the US with relational, emotion-focused, and somatic practices to actually digest the material and allow ourselves to be transformed by it.
We are dedicated to creating an anti-racist culture of connectedness and solidarity among white identified folks, rather than one of judgment and shame.
The curriculum of this series is designed primarily for people who identify as white to do the important work of waking up to racism in ourselves and the world– i.e. it is intended to be a white caucus space as one very small part of larger social justice movement spaces that are BIPOC led and centered. If any BIPOC folks are interested in joining (at no charge), please be in touch at the email below. For my co-facilitator Kimber and I, this course offering came out of requests from our BIPOC mentors to work with our people around racism.
The next Unpacking Whiteness series will begin Wednesday October 30th
The 7-week series format will allow time to digest and inquire in a supportive and challenging environment. We are limiting the course size to approximately 16 people so that there is ample time and space to deepen in this work.
Course Details: Wednesday afternoons 4:00-5:30 beginning October 30th. We will meet over zoom.
Cost: The base cost for the course for 2 facilitators is $65/class/$455 for the course. It is important to us that this class is accessible to anyone who is interested, so please reach out over email if cost is an issue-- no one turned away for lack of funds.
Class recordings will be available after each class for those who miss a session, although the relational practices that happen in class are a core part of the learning.