Listening to BIPOC Voices
Session Goals:
Acknowledge the limits of our exposure (intentional and unintentional) to BIPOC voices and how this impacts our effectiveness as antiracist allies and advocates;
Practice listening to and hearing BIPOC voices in a way that informs our lives and work positively and grows our skills in antiracist work;
Set goals for increasing the diversity of voices in our media, being critical about what we consume, engage with, support, and amplify.
Session assumptions:
White folks typically consume primarily White or White-lens media. This sets us up for the following:
Ease accepting stereotypes about BIPOC groups and an accompanying blindness to our implicit biases ;
Difficulty believing BIPOC stories of oppression, trauma, microaggressions, concerns about safety, etc.;
Difficulty identifying with non-White characters in books, movies, etc.;
The unspoken assumption that most BIPOC are victims/that most victims are BIPOC.
An exclusively monocultural/monoracial (White culture/race) fluency that leaves us ill-equipped to care for BIPOC in our community.
Discussion norms:
Stay engaged; be fully present
Experience discomfort
Speak from the “I” perspective (from your racial experience)
Expect/Accept non-closure; no quick fixes
Monitor your participation (move up, move back)--W.A.I.T (Why am I talking?)
Own intent and impact
Conflict can be a catalyst for growth
Learning leaves, the stories stay
This is a Taft group, but it is not ABOUT Taft; stay focused
