Responding to Everyday Racism

My dear friend and colleague Itzel Hayward and I will again be offering our course, Responding to Everyday Racism, through NVC Academy, Wednesday evenings, March 6 - March 27, 5:00 - 6:30pm Pacific.

Itzel and I are both deeply interested in how to stay in connection with people who say things we disagree with, even if we disagree adamantly and intensely, even if we’re hurt or offended by what they say. We believe that if we can stay in connection, maybe we can understand where they are coming from, and maybe they can understand where we are coming from. Maybe we can both grow. Maybe, hopefully, we can be somewhat persuasive about what we believe in. And we don’t each have to slip more firmly into our corners, more deeply into division and polarization.

These skills are important when confronting racism, which is our focus. But they are also useful for whatever the gap – whether it’s about another social justice issue, or even ideas about how to raise children, or how to vote.

The topics are serious, even fraught. But the class also should be a lot of fun – because it’s fun and enlivening to feel more confident about being able to have hard conversations, the class connections are warm and lovely, and in the midst of it all, it’s good to laugh.

We hope you’ll join us. Sign up for the series here.