Workshop 5: Problems and Promises of Unearned Privilege

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Building the World We Dream About

In This Section

Introduction
From Building the World We Dream About

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. — Nelson Mandela This workshop and Workshop 6 introduce “White privilege,” the idea that there exists a system of racial preferences that are automatically awarded to people who identify as…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 20 Activity 1: Considering Privilege and Advantage 15 Activity 2: Introducing White Privilege 20 Activity 3: Large Group Discussion 15 Activity 4: Digging Deeper into White Privilege 25 Activity 5: Large Group Discussion 15 Closing 10…
Spiritual Preparation
From Building the World We Dream About

I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken away from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity. — Nelson Mandela Take a few minutes before leading this workshop to consider how unearned…
Welcoming and Entering
From Building the World We Dream About

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet and pen or pencil Name tags for participants (durable or single-use) and bold markers Optional: Music and player Optional: Snacks and beverages Preparation for Activity Arrange chairs in a circle and set out name tags and markers on a table….
Opening
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Worship table or designated space Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle Leader Resource 1, Black Pioneers in a White Denomination (Excerpt) Workshop 4, Handout 1, Racism and Spiritual Death in the United States of America…
Activity 1: Considering Privilege and Advantage
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Description of Activity Invite participants to brainstorm a list of the advantages (e.g., benefits, perks, free passes, and so on) that people in each of the following groups enjoy….
Activity 2: Introducing White Privilege
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, White Privilege Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Make copies of Handout 1. Write on newsprint, and post: What is my response to the handout?…
Activity 3: Large Group Discussion
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, White Privilege Description of Activity Lead a discussion about the concepts in Handout 1 and any insights that arose from the triad sharing. This should be a short discussion that gets a lot of ideas into the room….
Activity 4: Digging Deeper into White Privilege
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Handout 1, White Privilege Description of Activity Invite participants to form groups of three to seven people….
Activity 5: Large Group Discussion
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Group-generated lists from Activity 4 Description of Activity Lead a large group discussion about the lists generated by the small groups. Draw out participants’ insights that arose in the process of creating the lists. You might ask: How easy or…
Closing
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Lined paper and pens/pencils Taking It Home Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint, and post: What ideas were most interesting or challenging to you? What powerful ideas, concerns, or puzzlements are you holding as a result of this session?…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Building the World We Dream About

Take a few moments right after the workshop to ask each other: What went well? What didn’t? Why? What do you think was the best moment of the workshop? Why? Did anything surprise you? Do we need to make changes in the way we work together?
Taking It Home: Problems and Promises of Unearned Privilege
From Building the World We Dream About

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. — Nelson Mandela As you go about your normal routines, take mental notes of how you see “White privilege” at work. You will most likely notice White privilege in places where the majority of…
Handout 1: White Privilege
From Building the World We Dream About

Adapted from a piece originally published in Weaving the Fabric of Diversity (Boston: UUA, 1996). If I am a White person in America: I can turn on my television or watch a movie and see many images of people of my race in a wide variety of roles, including many positive and heroic ones….
Leader Resource 1: Black Pioneers in a White Denomination Excerpt

Mark D. Morrison-Reed

From Building the World We Dream About

Excerpted from Black Pioneers in a White Denomination (Boston: Skinner House, 1992). The problem of segregation in all churches seems more unfortunate when one recognizes that there is much to gain, beyond the realization of liberal values, and racially diverse congregations. Here there is a…
Find Out More
From Building the World We Dream About

The UUA Multicultural Growth & Witness staff group offers resources, curricula, trainings, and tools to help Unitarian Universalist congregations and leaders engage in the work of antiracism, antioppression, and multiculturalism. Visit…

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The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 5: Problems and Promises of Unearned Privilege

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