Alternate Activity 1: Not Somewhere Else, But Here

Activity time: 35 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Copy Handout 2 for all participants.
  • Write on newsprint, and post:
    • What is the image or passage from Parker's essay that speaks most deeply to you?
    • In what ways does your own story resonate with Parker's?
    • How does Parker's essay illuminate and deepen your understanding of racism as a systemic issue rather than one of individual prejudice?

Description of Activity

Distribute Handout 2 and invite participants to read it.

Invite participants to spend ten minutes writing and/or drawing in their journals in response to the handout, using the posted questions to guide their reflections. Tell them they will have the opportunity to share some of their reflections with others.

Invite participants to move into groups of three and to share their reflections with one another. Allow 10 minutes for small group work, and then have the larger group reconvene.

Read the chalice lighting words once again, and invite participants to reflect on the "system" of racism as described by Parker.