Being White in the Anti-Racism Movement
Conversation Guide
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Terms like white fragility, white guilt, white privilege, and white ally have been inundating the media as the unrest in response to the death of George Floyd persists. What does it mean to be white in today’s society? How has this impacted your life, your self-perception and your involvement with conversations around race?
Let's Get Started!
Living Room Conversations offers a simple, sociable and structured way to practice communicating across differences while building understanding and relationships. Typically, 4-6 people meet in person or by video call for about 90 minutes to listen to and be heard by others on one of our nearly 100 topics. Rather than debating or convincing others, we take turns talking to share, learn, and be curious. No preparation is required, though background links with balanced views are available on some topic pages online. Anyone can host using these italicized instructions. Hosts also participate.
Introductions:
Why We're Here (~10 min)
Each participant has 1 minute to introduce themselves.
Share your name, where you live, what drew you here, and if this is your first conversation.
Conversation Agreements:
How We'll Engage (~5 min)
These will set the tone of our conversation; participants may volunteer to take turns reading them aloud. (Click here for the full conversation agreements.)
- Be curious and listen to understand.
- Show respect and suspend judgment.
- Note any common ground as well as any differences.
- Be authentic and welcome that from others.
- Be purposeful and to the point.
- Own and guide the conversation.
Question Rounds:
What We’ll Talk About
Optional: a participant can keep track of time and gently let people know when their time has elapsed.
Round 1:
Getting to Know Each Other (~10 min)
Each participant can take 1-2 minutes to answer one of these questions:
- What are your hopes and concerns for your family, community and/or the country?
- What would your best friend say about who you are?
- What sense of purpose / mission / duty guides you in your life?
Round 2:
Being White in the Anti-Racism Movement (~40 min)
One participant can volunteer to read the paragraph at the top of the web page.
Take ~2 minutes each to answer a question below without interruption or crosstalk. After everyone has answered, the group may take a few minutes for clarifying or follow up questions/responses. Continue exploring additional questions as time allows..
- What is your earliest memory of being white? What does whiteness mean to you? How has that changed or stayed the same over time?
- What messages have you internalized about Blackness or people of color? How do you understand whiteness in relation to those messages?
- How do you understand the terms white fragility, white guilt, white privilege and white ally? What is it like to apply those terms to yourself?
- What advantages and disadvantages do you have as a white person fighting against racism?
- Have you encountered being wrong or corrected in your work against racism? What was that like for you? If you haven’t had this experience, how will you deal with it when it happens?
- Think of those times when you were successful in interrupting racism and those times when you allowed a racist act or comment to go unchallenged. What happened? What helped you to act or kept you from acting? What new learnings emerged from those experiences?
Round 3:
Reflecting on the Conversation (~15 min)
Take 2 minutes to answer one of the following questions:
- What was most meaningful / valuable to you in this Living Room Conversation?
- What learning, new understanding or common ground was found on the topic?
- How has this conversation changed your perception of anyone in this group?
- Is there a next step you would like to take based upon the conversation?
