I didn’t
know what to expect when hosting an anti-racist workshop, specifically for white people, this past weekend at the PJALS conference. Defensiveness, denial, sadness, anger, rejection, embrace, connection, growth: all were possibilities in my mind. What I hadn’t expected was the popularity of the topic. I was unprepared to offer it to over 40 people! I’m very hopeful that this many people were interested in the topic, especially when offered side by side with many other fascinating and useful workshop sessions. I was grateful for the opportunity to gauge where one sliver of my community is at in their learning on this topic and for the clarity that I now have, I plan on designing more tightly focused workshops to offer over the next year. There’s so much to explore from understanding white privilege and the fragility that stems from it to analyzing our role as anti-racist white folks in the movement; I am thrilled to dive into further study and sharing with the PJALS community and beyond. We have much to gain in dismantling white supremacy, in building genuine cross-cultural relationships, in self-reflection. That’s what I was reminded through gathering this weekend and hearing where others interests, questions, and energy are focused.