Alternate Activity 2: About Two UU Black Kids

Activity time: 40 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Copy Handout 6 for all participants.

Description of Activity

Distribute Handout 6 and invite participants to read the two companion pieces, one a blog entry and the other a sermon. Then, invite questions, comments, and observations.

Ask:

  • What ideas and perspectives in this story are new to you?
  • Why did Rasiq and Kenny's mothers both want them to become friends?
  • Have you ever been in a conversation where someone (maybe you) said, "You're not really like them you're more like us."? Do these blog posts change your thinking about that conversation?
  • Brown says, "It seems to me that the great power of "Whiteness" doesn't lie in the ability to sit on the shoulders of history and scream "I win!" It's the ability to be whoever you want, whenever you want, with minimal judgment and the privilege of being the measuring stick for humanity." How have you experienced the power of Whiteness in your life?
  • Kenny Wiley talks about being the "smart, nice, non-threatening black guy." When have you experienced or witnessed situations where White people made distinctions between what they considered threatening and non-threatening Black people? How is drawing these distinctions a manifestation of White privilege?
  • Wiley speaks of the "double isolation" experienced by People of Color in Unitarian Universalism, saying: "On the one hand, we recognize that we're different in some way from the white folks in our churches even though we align theologically. But ... we sometimes feel cut off from our racial identity group." How does Wiley's experience reflect your own or shed light on the experience of People of Color in Unitarian Universalism?
  • What new Unitarian Universalist story does Wiley offer? What would have to happen for a new story such as this to take root?
  • How do these writings help you to better understand tokenism, especially in situations where there are few People of Color?
  • How do these writings help you to better understand White privilege?