Facing Privilege Call – CANCELLED

Due to technical difficulties that literally keep Miki from being able to get on calls on top of intense community process, she is choosing to cancel the free calls that occur via the Maestro platform for the remainder of 2021. At this time she anticipates resuming these calls in January 2022.

Description

The Facing Privilege Conference Calls are an opportunity for people to engage with themselves and with others on the deep questions that arise as we reflect on the question of privilege, such as:

• How can we learn about our privilege when we are so unaware of others’ lack of access to resources that our privilege is invisible to us?
• What is the relationship, if any, between structural privilege and our beliefs and attitudes?
• How do we look at privilege without disappearing into guilt and shame?
• How can we effectively learn about the needs and experiences of people with limited structural access to resources and consider the effects of our actions on them?
• How do we create a relationship with privilege that allows us to live with more integrity?
• What can we learn about ways of supporting people with more privilege than us in seeing it when they don’t
• What actions can we take that move in the direction of transforming the structures of privilege in society?

My hope for these calls is to co-create conditions that inspire people to speak honestly and vulnerably without defensiveness or blame, to transcend preexisting categories of thought and open to new ways of looking at themselves and others, and to hear others’ explorations as loving witnesses to possible transformation. In this way, I hope to contribute to our collective ability to move towards living more effective and committed lives.

While anyone is welcome to join these calls regardless of knowledge or experience, if you are of European descent and have not done significant reflection on the experience of white privilege, you are likely to learn a lot by watching the movie “White Like Me” by Tim Wise.

You can find additional references — my own writings and writings by others — here.

Who’s it For?

Anyone who is eager to learn more about how to understand privilege in general, how to engage with their own privilege to the extent they have it, or how to support others with more privilege in engaging with their privilege. Primary topics are likely to be race and class, though other categories (gender, sexuality, physical ability) are welcome. The focus is primarily on US social divisions, though the methodology and learning could easily apply to other parts of the world.

Background

Following the non-indictment of Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed Mike Brown in Ferguson, I wrote two pieces on my blog which, in different ways, looked at the question of white privilege (see here and here). These pieces emerged from conversations and led to further conversations, including in particular one that took place on the Fearless Heart Teleseminar. The depth of engagement in all these conversations, and the honesty and hunger for more that I witnessed in the last one, only deepened my existing interest and commitment. I am deeply determined to offer what I can and to keep learning. What sustains me in this is the hope of transforming the structural conditions that perpetuate social power differences and enforce on so many groups a dramatically reduced capacity to attend to their needs, from the most basic sense of physical safety to the capacity to have meaningful lives with dignity. These calls are what I am called to do now as my small contribution towards that possibility.

While anyone is welcome to join these calls regardless of knowledge or experience, if you are of European descent and have not done significant reflection on the experience of white privilege, you are likely to learn a lot by watching the movie “White Like Me” by Tim Wise.

Cost

I am offering these conference calls as my gift to the larger community grappling with a world that makes so little sense. There is no charge to participate.

All calls are recorded.

Register

I am currently committed to offering these calls twice monthly at different times each month to accommodate different schedules. Click here to receive your calling number and pin so you can participate in the calls. You only need to register once for all the calls. 

Contact

If you have any questions contact events@baynvc.org