January 18 & 19, 2013

BEYOND GOOD INTENTIONS: A WORKSHOP FOR ANTI-RACIST WHITE WOMEN

Indiana Voices of Women is offering an intensive two-day training for white women who seek to deepen their commitment to challenging racism and white privilege in every realm of their daily lives. We will examine our role as white people in the struggle for racial justice and explore how to build stronger alliances with people of color.

• Dates: Friday, January 18 & Saturday, January 19, 2013
• Times: Friday 6:00 – 9:00 pm; Saturday 9:00 am – 9:00 pm.
• Offered by: Indiana Voices of Women
• Leaders: Melanie S. Morrison & Allyson Bolt (bios)
• Location: YWCA Greater Lafayette, Indiana
• Early Bird Registration (by Dec 3): $75
  After Dec 3 Registration: $100
• Limited to 25 participants
• Make reservations by contacting Indiana Voices of Women

Registration fee includes all workshop sessions, materials, lunch and dinner on Ssaturday.

This event is made possible by grant support from The Community Foundation of Greater Lafayette.

March 19-20, April 16-17, and May 21-22, 2013

BUILDING ALLIANCES, SUSTAINING INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES: ALLIES FOR CHANGE SOCIAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE

Building Alliances, Sustaining Inclusive Communities (BASIC) is a unique and innovative institute for organizational leaders who seek to deepen their commitment to social justice, inclusion, and institutional change. Meeting for six day-long sessions in March, April, and May 2013, BASIC will invite participants to critically examine where they and their organizations stand in relation to three systems of structural inequality – racism, ableism, and classism – with the goal of exploring how these systems can be challenged and dismantled.

Enrollment in BASIC will be limited to 24 participants to ensure in-depth conversation, community building, and learning. Recruitment of participants will seek to maximize diversity with regard to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, class, and disability/ability.

Utilizing the wisdom of the participants gathered, input from the training team, large and small group discussion, DVDs and videos, and experiential activities, the institute will seek to fulfill these goals and objectives:

• Assess our strengths and places for growth as social justice leaders.
• Deepen awareness of how oppression, privilege, and power are at work in our organizations at the personal, interpersonal, institutional and cultural levels.
• Explore the historical roots of racism, ableism, and classism in the United States.
• Learn about and from movements for racial, disability, and economic justice in the United States.
• Explore the qualities and actions of effective allies.
• Equip organizational leaders to recognize and decrease the disparity between their current practices and their inclusive ideals.
• Practice the skills of interrupting oppressive remarks, practices, policies, and structures.
• Nurture collaborative action and authentic relationship across differences of race, social class, and dis/abilities.
• Build alliances and collaborative relationships among individuals and organizations working for social change in Michigan.
• Develop a sustainable network of allies who will consult and collaborate with each other, by offering support and accountability, as they work for change in their communities.

Because participants will be intentionally recruited from a wide variety of social justice organizations, BASIC will nurture connection, community, and collaboration between organizational leaders who might not otherwise come in contact. Individually and collectively, participants will explore strategies for recognizing and unlearning the habits, practices, policies, and structures that protect their privilege and keep these systems in place – both within their respective organizations and beyond. Core to this training is the assumption that we can become as passionate about dismantling the systems from which we unjustly benefit as we are about eradicating the systems that oppress us.

Building Alliances, Sustaining Inclusive Communities is made possible by an Including Our Neighbors grant through Michigan Disability Rights Coalition funded by the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council.

• Leaders: Melanie Morrison, Rahnee Patrick, and Dionardo Pizaña. (bios)
• Dates: March 19-20, April 16-17, and May 21-22, 2013. Attendance at all sessions is required.
• Time: Tuesday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm; Wednesday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.
• Location: Lansing, Michigan – TBA.
• Enrollment: Limited to 24 people.
• Cost: $300. Additional team members: $225/person. A deposit of $50 will hold your place. The cost includes program, materials, and lunch for six days. Partial scholarships are available.
• Accommodations: The meeting space is barrier-free. We will provide accommodations (ASL interpretation, materials in alternate formats, etc.) to assure equal access to all. Requests for such accommodations must be received by February 19, 2013.
• Registration deadline: February 19, 2013.

Contact Melanie Morrison or information about the institute or about partial scholarships.

To Register:

• Print and mail your registration form with your deposit;
  OR
  
• Print and mail your registration form and pay through Pay Pal:
  
  

  Registration Fee

  Full tuition $300.00 USD Additional team member $225.00 USD Deposit only (remainder due on arrival) $50.00 USD

  

May 28 – June 2, 2013

DOING OUR OWN WORK:
A SEMINAR FOR ANTI-RACIST WHITE PEOPLE

Doing Our Own Work is an intensive seminar for white people who seek to deepen their commitment to confronting and challenging racism and white privilege where they live, study, and work. It is our conviction that those of us who are white need to "do our own work" – educating ourselves, confronting racism, holding each other accountable, and demonstrating good faith as we seek to build genuine and lasting coalitions with people of color. Doing Our Own Work is designed as a supplement to, not a substitute for, contexts where people of diverse races discuss and strategize together how racism can be challenged.

People from communities all across North America have taken part in this intensive seminar. Here is what some of those participants say about the experience:

"Doing Our Own Work is life-changing. It has affected my choice of where to live, what do with my life, where my priorities lie, everything."

"After attending Doing Our Own Work, I am much more willing to take risks as a white person when working alongside of, and in solidarity with, people of color."

"Doing Our Own Work gave me a broader and deeper knowledge of anti-racism, white privilege, my people's history, and the way oppression functions."

If you are a white person who is ready and eager to do some deep and soul-stretching work with other white anti-racist allies, Doing Our Own Work is the place for you!

The seminar consists of more than 40 hours of "class time." Anti-racist action and reflection form the heart of Doing Our Own Work. Each participant is invited to identify a "sphere of influence" in her/his life that will serve as the focus of action and reflection. Utilizing input from the leaders, assigned readings, videos, group discussion, and structured exercises, participants explore the following topics and issues:

• The four realms of racism: personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural
• Historical roots of racism in the United States
• Movements for racial justice in the U.S.
• White privilege and unearned advantage
• How to be an effective anti-racist ally
• Cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation
• Discerning our spiritual resources for change
• Practicing the skills of interrupting racism
• Strategies for institutional change

The facilitators are committed to working with participants to create a respectful, loving, and truth-telling environment where we may bring our whole selves to this vitally important work.

• Leaders: Allyson Bolt and Melanie S. Morrison (bios)
• Dates: May 28-June 2, 2013
• Time: Tuesday, 7 p.m. – Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Location: Pierce Cedar Creek Institute near Hastings, Michigan. Facilities are barrier-free.
• Cost: $750 ($100 deposit and $650 balance due). The balance may be paid in installments extending beyond the close of the seminar. The cost includes program, materials, lodging, and meals. Partial scholarships are available.

Contact Melanie Morrison for information about the seminar or about partial scholarships.

To Register:

• Print and mail your registration form with your deposit; or
• Pay your entire registration amount through Pay Pal:
  
  

For information about any of our programs, please contact us.

Learn about some of our previous events.