Facilitated by Melissa Lambert
FACILITATOR BIOGRAPHY
Melissa Lambert, artist and life-long learner, is the founder of Create Capacity, LLC an organization that dismantles systemic marginalization of learners in K–12 education. She co-founded Fostering Quality Schools and works with educators, students, and families to positively affect outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
SET THE TONE
Melissa began by asking attendees to stand. She tossed a ball of string around the circle as an invitation for each participant to introduce themselves. She held the end of the string while tossing it to someone else for introduction. Each participant was asked to hold their point on the string as it criss-crossed the circle. Melissa pointed out the pattern created was a network of intersections and that the purpose of the activity was to illuminate the deep and invisible connections that are created between people in every space. Ren suggested the group place the matrix on the floor to remind participants of interconnectedness during the conversation. Melissa proceeded with a land acknowledgement and a brief introduction to the anti-racism work she does on both local and national levels. She introduced key points and goals for the conversation: to observe our emotions, to combat helplessness, and to dig deeper to develop a frame for systemic racism.
ACTIVITY
Worksheets were passed around. The first page of the worksheet listed terms, best practices, and intentions for the conversation.
Terms:
Anti-racist
Assimilation
BIPOC
Global Majority
Ideology
Marginalized
Microaggressions
Systemic Racism
Two Row Wampum
White supremacy
Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership:
- Model the way
- Inspire a shared vision
- Enable others to action
- Encourage the heart
- Challenge the process
Intentions:
To cultivate a space to build self-awareness of your beliefs
To recognize oppressive systems
To identify changes you can make
The structured conversation included resources and “tests” for the group to introduce concepts that must be grappled with as part of anti-racist work. The tools are designed to connect the pervasive threads that link systemic racism and our own individual behaviors, biases, and beliefs.
To summarize the lessons shared in the conversation, Melissa created a website of learning materials entitled, “Tools for Practicing ways of being & doing better.”
ACTIVITY 1: Equity and Diversity in the U.S.
After this test to understand the gaps between our assumptions and the facts, Melissa checked in with the group: Which emotions are coming up? Which emotion(s) am I trying to avoid right now? List your top concerns (or complaints) about the information presented on this test (list as many as you like).
ACTIVITY 2: Dwight Turner’s Pyramid of White Supremacy
The visual diagram represents how White supremacy is a pervasive ideology that can be both overt and covert.
Participant comments during the discussion:
What are the emotions surrounding White supremacy?
The difficulty that comes with challenging racist jokes
“The White club” – White people who speak to other White people with the assumption that they’re racist as well
Overt White supremacy is socially unacceptable, while Covert White supremacy is socially acceptable
Pyramid works to make explicit the implicitly racist things that we do/happen
How is both overt and covert White supremacy embedded in our experiences and systems?
The pyramid as a frame or a lens to self-interrogate and unpack our own (inadvertent) beliefs and behaviors
Follow-up questions for participants:
What is your reaction to the idea of White supremacy as an ideology?
Where do you see White supremacy play out?
How might unexamined White supremacy affect your relationships and experiences?
Questions for members of the global majority (non-White):
What have you found to be useful tools to notice and combat internalized messages of White supremacy?
How might internalized White supremacy affect your connection/create distance from members of the Global Majority?
ACTIVITY 3: Spheres of Control: Use Your Energies Where it Counts
An opportunity to reflect on where our work truly counts with the goal of becoming self aware, managing inner work, focusing our energies, and working where we have the greatest impact.
ACTIVITY 4: Spheres of Self-Awareness by Ibram X. Kendi
Following the string pattern created during introductions, small study groups of 2-3 people formed. Each individual reflected on which zone of anti-racism – fear, learning, or growth – they identified with at the time of the conversation. The zones provided a clear continuum of how each person is on a journey to become anti-racist. The group also discussed the importance of coming to the work with vulnerability, appreciating how the discomfort helps us grow, and how to consider the impact and intent behind our interactions.
LESSONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS
- Anti-racist learners can always ask “why?” and become active listeners when interacting with people who hold racist views.
- Find non-aggressive ways to challenge the fears, biases, and beliefs that contribute to a deficit mindset.
- The process of becoming anti-racist takes time as we become more culturally aware and promote anti-racist values.
- Study Melissa’s exercises to practice responding to racism in the moment.
- Regardless of which zone of anti-racism one is in, it takes courage to disrupt the cycle of oppression and to speak truth to power.
