Group Guidelines.
The spirit of the space:
In this space we want to encourage a spirit of open inquiry, where there are no silly questions, reflections or thoughts. We believe that the learning journey around race is lifelong, and that newcomers to these conversations may bring a nervousness or hesitation in talking about race which we want to help people work through, whilst acknowledging that we are also still navigating this.
We believe that our bodies hold a lot of knowledge about this work that we can learn from. During sessions we will encourage participants to keep a notebook nearby and do an ‘internal check-in’ for uncomfortable feelings as and when they arise.
We believe that working through feelings like shame, guilt and white fragility are an integral part of the process. The discomfort of these emotions can put some people off going deeper into this work. We want to support people in this process whilst also holding them and ourselves to account.
What do we understand by ‘accountability’?
We think about accountability in this kind of work happening on two levels in parallel. Firstly, to oneself, accountability means honest self-reflection and a willingness to acknowledge and work on our internalised racism and its impacts in every day life.
Secondly, to others, we see accountability as prioritising and acknowledging the harm we have caused to others, and being committed to making amends to that harm.
Finally, we believe that accountability is about taking responsibility for one’s actions and being willing to change our behaviour moving beyond our own sense of pride or defensiveness.
Our accountability as facilitators of the group
Our intention with this group is to go on a learning journey with ourselves and others on race, racism and white privilege. Our aim is not to offend or cause harm. However, we acknowledge that we have grown up and continue to live in a racist society, and that we are not perfect and we may make mistakes during this process. Our sincere commitment to this space is to be open and receptive to feedback, and do our best to learn from it and change what isn’t working.
How does it work?
The sessions will run from 6pm - 7.45pm.
Anyone who is respectful of the guidelines is welcome to join the group.
All meetings will be on Zoom.
If meeting as a cohort, we commit to facilitating the group for the first 6 sessions. After that, we will organise a group meeting on the structure for people to propose alternatives, continue with the format, potentially vote for new facilitators, etc.
How much time do I need outside of the sessions for the materials?
We will set materials that take approximately one hour or less to read, watch or listen to.
Attendance Guidelines
We ask that you only attend a session if you have completed the reading/watching/listening for that week.
We want to create an open and accepting environment where you can show up or not depending on what else is going on in your life. If you can’t come to a session, that is completely OK. We ask that you don’t tell us the reasons or explanations as to why you can’t attend, but simply show up or not on the day.
If, during a session, you need to leave the group at any time for whatever reason, that is also OK.
We ask that when you do attend you participate with your full attention as if we were together in person.
You can show up to a session up to 10 minutes’ late, as long as you have read the material and respect the space. We ask you not to provide reasons as to why you’re late or interrupt the flow of the conversation when you arrive.
If a participant is not able to respect these guidelines, they will be asked to leave the session(s).
Why don't we want to know the reason you’re not attending/you’re late?
As facilitators, we commit to being there each week and we would love for you to join us. However, we’re aware that many people, especially white people, come to this learning with some guilt or shame around ‘doing it right’ and/or wanting approval in some way. This can prevent us from either engaging properly with the material, and/or not listening to the need to step back if it’s not realistic or feasible with other commitments. We’re aware that these are sensitive and serious issues, and we understand the nervousness or fear of judgement from others if we don’t attend a session. However, in creating this boundary, we’re encouraging ourselves to own our own decisions, accept what is right for us, and trust that we do not need to look to others to validate our actions.
Online ground rules
Please have your camera on.
Please mute your microphone unless you are talking.
If you momentarily need to disengage from the session with an intention to return (ie making a cup of tea, using the bathroom etc.) please turn off your camera during this time to avoid potentially distracting others from the conversation.
Please be in a private space or use headphones if other non-participants are in your room to keep the sense of safety for other participants.
How do we choose the materials?
We will plan the material for the first 6 sessions but we will be open to feedback as it arises. We are aware that people process information differently, therefore we will be including a mixture of written, audio, and visual materials. We are also aware that going deeply into this material can be challenging and can provoke responses like resistance or dissociation.
With that in mind, we want it to be manageable in a busy schedule, and we won’t set more than one chapter of a book or a maximum of one hour of watching or listening for each week. The individual work we do enables us to prioritise the shared experience of process and reflection with others in our weekly sessions.
We want to first test the waters of other people’s interest in doing the planning ourselves, and then be flexible and adapt to the needs and contributions of the group as the group develops.