The purpose of this session is for group members
to get to know one another and begin the task of
expressing--sharing--themselves with one another. A major objective
throughout this study is to launch persons on a voyage of discovery, a
discovery both of self and of others. This voyage will involve stopping from
time to time to do some exploration of bays and coves along the shoreline.
So this voyage is also about discovering something of our shared world,
something we may not have seen before, or something we will begin to see in
different ways.
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Assignment before reading |
You are probably eager to start
reading, and maybe you have already started. Put the book aside for a
while and move on to the next assignment icon below...
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A trip on the Internet... |
It is not difficult to go out on
the Internet and find a wide variety of opinions and perspectives on
matters of race and racism. All it takes is a couple of search engines.
Take some time to browse the sites below. It is not necessary to look into
every corner of these sites--just browse enough to become familiar with
its agenda and message.
Take a moment to browse these sites. They
monitor the activities and web presence of a variety of groups. Again, it isn't
necessary to do a thorough exploration of these sites--just enough to choose
whether to add them to your browser's bookmarks for later viewing.
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Another trip on the Internet... |
The City of Spokane has an educational
program to promote diversity and mutual understanding as part of the Community
Congress on Race Relations. Go to the Personal Awareness Survey
(borrowed from their web site), print it out, fill it out, and
bring it with you to the first session of the study group.
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Now READ the Introduction, pages 11-18 |
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Writing Assignment #1: |
Write out your answers to the following questions:
- Why are you reading this book
and participating in a group study of race and racism?
- Do you have any fears or
concerns about this study, and if so, what are they?
- What particular goals do you
want to accomplish by the end of the study?
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Suggestions
for Group Discussion |
- Share something of your
background, especially something that will help others get to know you.
Share something of your own knowledge and experience of racism (what do
you know and think about it, what have you heard or read that relates to
it, how have you experienced it, etc.).
- Share your responses to the three
questions on the writing assignment, especially the part about goals.
Discuss whether the group could identify goals for the study, and if so,
what might they be?
- Describe your reaction to browsing
the white supremacist sites. What did you discover about race and racism
(and related matters)? Talk about what these sites are telling you (what
are their implicit and explicit messages). Discuss the message(s) of the monitoring sites.
Are these sites necessary?
- Talk about what you learned about
yourself by completing the Personal Awareness Survey. Were there any
surprises or flashes of illumination? Did it provide some stimulus to
formulating personal goals for this study?
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Focused
Question for Group Discussion |
Each of us brings a unique history to
our interactions with others, and especially with members of other people
groups. In no small way our experiences have shaped the degree to which we
recognize the presence of racism. As you think about the study that lies
before you, and as you consider the particular members of your group, how
has your history prepared you to take up this study, and what do you expect
to be the points of resistance or the obstacles to the study?
