Tapestry of Faith: Building the World We Dream About: An Anti-racism Multicultural Program

Activity 4: Digging Deeper into White Privilege

Activity time: 25 minutes

Materials for Activity

Description of Activity

Invite participants to form groups of three to seven people. Assign each group an area of congregational life, such as music, governance, worship, friendships/family, or children's programs. Give each group a sheet of newsprint and a marker and explain the activity using these or similar words:

Your group is invited to consider how White privilege manifests in congregational life. Using Handout 1 as a model, create a list of no fewer than seven examples of White privilege at work in your area of congregational life. Please write your list on newsprint so it can be shared. You will have 15 minutes to work.

Here are some examples to jump-start small groups:

  • Music: I can be assured that I will hear music from my cultural tradition.
  • Governance: I can assume people who look like me hold leadership positions.
  • Worship: I can assume sermons will reflect the experiences of people like me.
  • Friendships/family: I can assume that when I invite a friend of my race and/or ethnicity to the congregation, they will find the setting comfortable.
  • Children's programs: I can assume most children's activities will be led by someone from my racial background.

After 15 minutes, ask each group to post their list. Invite participants to move around the room to look at each list, or invite one person from each group to read their group's list aloud.