Workshop 7: Discerning Race/Discerning Power

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

Although race has become such an obvious source of conflict, identity, and debate in almost every arena of our lives, few attempts are made to clarify what we mean by the term “race.” Immeasurable confusion develops wherever peoples talk about racial issues because they are not speaking the same…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 10 Activity 1: Musical Meditation on Racism 35 Activity 2: Reconciling the Various Faces of Racism 65 Closing 10 Alternate Activity 1: Not Somewhere Else, But Here 35…
Spiritual Preparation
From Building the World We Dream About

Reflect on your own life experiences: When and how did you learn about race? If you are a person marginalized by race or ethnicity, when and how did you learn what it means to be a Person of Color or someone marginalized by race or ethnicity? What early messages did you receive?…
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: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship table or designated space Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle Participant evaluations from previous workshop List of this workshop’s Goals Covenant established in Workshop 1 Preparation for Activity Practice reading …
Activity 1: Musical Meditation on Racism
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 35 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Recording(s) of song(s), totaling ten minutes or less, that speak to the interplay between individual actions and participation in “the system” of racism Music player Participant journals Variety of writing and drawing…
Activity 2: Reconciling the Various Faces of Racism
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 65 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint — one sheet for each of four tables Color markers and crayons Handout 1, Definitions of Racism Leader Resource 1, Discussion Cafe Instructions Sticky dots or other means of identifying participants in a color group Preparation for Activit…
Closing
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Lined paper and pens/pencils Taking It Home Handout 2, Not Somewhere Else, But Here Preparation for Activity Write these questions on newsprint and post: What ideas were most interesting or challenging to you? What powerful ideas, concerns, or…
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?
Alternate Activity 1: Not Somewhere Else, But Here
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 35 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 2, Not Somewhere Else, But Here Newsprint, markers, and tape Participant journals Writing and drawing materials Preparation for Activity Copy Handout 2 for all participants. Write on newsprint, and post: What is the image or passage from…
Taking It Home: Discerning Race/Discerning Power
From Building the World We Dream About

Although race has become such an obvious source of conflict, identity, and debate in almost every arena of our lives, few attempts are made to clarify what we mean by the term “race.” Immeasurable confusion develops wherever peoples talk about racial issues because they are not speaking the same…
Handout 1: Definitions of Racism
From Building the World We Dream About

These definitions are adapted from the work of Louise Derman-Sparks and Carol Brunson Phillips, published in Teaching/Learning Anti-Racism: A Developmental Approach (New York: Teachers College Press, 1997). Racism An institutionalized system of economic, political, social, and cultural relations…
Handout 2: Not Somewhere Else, But Here

Rebecca Ann Parker

From Building the World We Dream About

Excerpted from an essay originally published in Soul Work: Anti-Racist Theologies in Dialogue, eds. Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Nancy Palmer Jones, 171-98. Boston: Skinner House Books, 2003. Used with permission….
Leader Resource 1: Discussion Cafe Instructions
From Building the World We Dream About

Adapted from World Cafe Model. CAFE SETUP Arrange the room so there are four tables with enough chairs around each to accommodate one-fourth of participants. Place a large sheet of newsprint and markers/crayons at each table….
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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Workshop 7: Discerning Race/Discerning Power

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