Reflect

Suggested timing: 15 minutes

5 min: Personal reflection: Quietly reflect on the following: “Our lived experiences shape our life and build a frame of the world. If you consistently have negative experiences or experiences that make you feel different, how would that affect you? If you realize that people who look like you also have the same experiences, how would that affect you and what would that tell you about the world around you?”

5 min: Open space for group to share responses

5 min: Plus/delta

For Next Week

When it comes to moderating discussions relating to race, it is inevitable that lived experiences – both good and bad – will come up in the conversation. The best way to approach these conversations is to frame the conversation and help drive a meaningful, productive narrative by tying in systems of disproportionality.

Our lived experiences shape our life and build a frame of the world. If you consistently have negative experiences or experiences that make you feel different, how would that affect you? If you realize that people who look like you also have the same experiences, how would that affect you and what would that tell you about the world around you?

In Week 3 of the Learning Circle, you will explore Systems of Disproportionality; these various systems will help you to frame conversations. Read and watch the following before the next meeting:

• How White Privilege Works (5min video)
• Understanding Race and Privilege (~10min article)

Independent Assignment

Review and practice what you learned in this module by completing the following:

• Read and watch the resources in “Race And Racial Identity” from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
• Reflect by considering the answers to these questions from the page. You can also discuss with a friend or write the answers in a learning journal to keep track of your progress as you progress through the course:
  • What are some experiences or identities that are central to who you are? How do you feel when they are ignored or “not seen”?
  • The author in the article “When you say you ‘don’t see race,’ you’re ignoring racism, not helping to solve it” points out how people often use nonvisual cues to determine race. What does this reveal to us about the validity of pretending not to see race?
  • How are you thinking about your own racialized identity after learning more about race?
  • How can cultivating a positive sense of racial identity about yourself and others interrupt racism at every level (personally, socially, and institutionally)?

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