AVP is facilitating a series of facilitated discussion groups on Unlearning White Supremacy this semester. These groups will meet 4 times and will discuss different themes and elements of white supremacy culture at each meeting. These discussion groups are all open to students and community members.

January 24th, 2017 | February 7th, 2017 | February 21st, 2017 | March 7th, 2017
5:30 to 7:30pm | B025 SUB basement UVic

White supremacy discussion group poster (PDF) [icon icon=”external-link”]

Join our Facebook group [icon icon=”external-link”]

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Who is this for?

Everyone! We all engage in white supremacy culture because it is the norm of our current society. Things like perfectionism, either/or thinking, scarcity model, individualism, power hoarding are part of white supremacy culture. We’re not saying any of us are white supremacists, but that it’s really easy to engage in behaviours that hold whiteness in a position of power.

What are we going to talk about?

We’ll have facilitators to help us navigate through discussion that hopes to:

  • encourage learning how white supremacy appears and operates in society and in our community;
  • draw some connections between white supremacy and other systems of oppression, and show how these structures are related to sexualized violence;
  • move towards unlearning the ways that we may contribute to and reinforce white supremacy in our everyday lives by brainstorming ways to push back and challenge it.

Interested?

If so, join us in the SUB basement in room B025 from 5:30pm-7:30pm for some food and discussion on ways of unlearning white supremacy culture on January 24th, February 7th & 21st, and March 7th.

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Undoing white supremacy discussion group poster

Newcomers invited

We understand that you are probably busy or may not want make commitments so far in advance, so feel free to come to as many or as few of these discussion groups. Each session will look at different themes and concepts all related to white supremacy culture.

The material used for this discussion group has been compiled from two other workshops on white supremacy:

  • Annie Morgan’s “White Supremacy Intro” (created for AVP)
  • Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun’s “White Supremacy culture” (created for Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups http://www.cwsworkshop.org/PARC_site_B/dr-culture.html)

We’d also like to thank all our other teachers along the way as there have been many. We are grateful for the work done on your back and all we have gained.

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Accessibility

With appropriate time (more info coming soon) we can access transcribers and interpreters. The room is wheelchair accessible, we have a no scent policy, and there will be gender inclusive washrooms nearby. Bus tickets are available and we’ll have food! Please contact us with other requests including chairs without arms and childcare.

The Anti.Violence.Project would like to acknowledge the communities and nations in whose territories this series of discussion groups will be held on: the LEKWUNGEN and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. We understand white supremacy as contributing to the ongoing systems of colonization that continue to lead to the displacement of Indigenous people and the loss of Indigneous life. Naming and understanding this connection is important in begining to learn how these oppressive systems operate so that we can begin to resist and challenge them.

The Unlearning White Supremacy discussion group is an initiative of the Anti-Violence Project. Funding for this series of workshops comes from a grant the Men’s Circle received from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. We believe that unlearning white supremacy culture makes the world a safer place for everyone. We know that white supremacy culture contributes to gender-based violence via: racism – which bodies are valued and which are disposable; entitlement by certain identities to other people’s bodies; using violence on bodies to gain access to land (resources); “either/or thinking” reinforces binaries such as the gender binary; the “scarcity model” teaches people there’s not enough love to go around and fuels jealousy; and many other examples. Join us to learn about more.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.