Monday Kickstarter: June 8, 2020

Monday Kickstarters is a working session designed for everyone on the call to figure out how to have conversations worth having when faced with a tough situation or problem. You can listen live on the Conversations Worth Having YouTube Channel.

The questions and topics we have been working with are critical and life-giving to this time in our lives.  We’re at a historic point in this nation and the world. We have an opportunity to reinvent who we are and the way we do things.  Please, be part of these conversations in your community.

Here are the topics brought forward by our guests and generative questions that were developed on Monday, June 8!

WORRIED WHITE FEMINISTS WILL FAIL TO HOLD THEMSELVES AND OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE.

In the past, the feminist movement has not included or acknowledged the role of “whiteness” in the movement.  How do we engage in conversations that allow the feminist movement to be more inclusive of black women and to create a movement that reflects equity and justice? How might white women recognize and be accountable to their actions that uphold a system of oppression over women of color in the movement in order to create real systemic change?

TALKING TO MOSTLY WHITE EDUCATORS ABOUT OPENING UP TO CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE AND PRIVILEGE.

“Our Montessori teachers tend to avoid conflict and they are uncomfortable talking about race and privilege.” How might we talk with them in ways that allow us to raise awareness and engage in a conversation worth having?

ADDRESSING INTERSECTIONALITY

The issues we are dealing with are complex. There are overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and prejudice. These include such social categories as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and the environment.  As we work to address equity and justice, let’s make sure we do so with the lens of intersectionality.

IMPLICIT BIAS

Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Our bias is learned over time by continued exposure to the subtle (and not so subtle) conversations we are involved in or witness, by what we read, listen to, and hear in our families, communities, places of work and worship, and in the media. It’s important to know that each of us has implicit bias, which needs to be recognized when interacting with others. Suspending beliefs, being open to others, and asking generative questions often shines a light on our implicit bias and makes room for us to change our thinking.

If you are interested in learning about implicit bias, you may want to begin by taking the Harvard Implicit Bias Test.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS FOR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE

People everywhere are primed to talk about race, equity, white privilege, and ready to create real change. The questions below were asked by people on this call and prior calls and we did not have time to work with them.  These are great topics for conversation.  We encourage you to offer suggestions in the comment section. How might these topics be framed in ways that are invitational, and what generative questions could we be asking to support meaningful conversations?

• How might we dismantle the barriers to equity and social justice?
• What are the questions we need to be asking to change the key systems in our culture?
• What does a diverse and inclusive board of directors look, sound, and act like ?
• How might we talk about the current events / uprisings with others who hold different viewpoints?
• How might we talk about common prejudices?
• How might we talk about the system of white supremacy and engage all people in working to create positive change?

MONDAY KICKSTARTER

Bring your own challenging situation! To view the video from this Monday Kickstarter session, please visit our YouTube Channel, Conversations Worth Having. Monday Kickstarter June 8, 2020.