Friends of Slide Ranch

FOCUS QUESTION: How will my life demonstrate my faith?

PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen people participated in the course of the two Breakout Sessions, with around 10 people in each session.

ACTIVITIES:
Welcome and personal introductions
"Walk of Privilege" Exercise
Conversation on racism as power and the advantages of being White
Chains of Slavery

REFLECTIONS:
Since the conversations were intense and intimate, we did not record all comments. Here are some of the reflections shared at the end:

• It is still difficult to cross the various racial "divides" and barriers to work together
• There still seem to be very few opportunities for our paths to cross with any significant diversity
•  It is important to be more awake and sensitive to the ways in which racism is still present; we have to learn how to see and think differently
• There will not be any easy "fixes"; we have to be willing to work hard and be vulnerable to new learning and experiences to break old patterns and build new ones
• Confronting and addressing racism is a journey of compassion, a call to be present to the pain and suffering of the past and present in order to open the way for our children
• Many participants would be interested in followup discussions or small group study sessions

RESOURCES:
A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn
Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Suffering, Joy Degruy Leary
White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race, Ian Haney-Lopez
Iron Cages: Race and Culture in Nineteenth Century America, Ronald Takaki
Native Son, Richard Wright

SPECIAL NOTE:

The Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) is sponsoring a conference entitled, "Race, Power and Environmental Justice" on August 25, 2007. For details see the CCEJ Web site

Maybe we could get a group to go together. Contact Ken Gillgren if interested.