Examining the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
"White supremacy culture is the widespread ideology baked into the beliefs,
values, norms, and standards of our groups (many if not most of them), our communities, our
towns, our states, our nation, teaching us both overtly and covertly that whiteness holds value,
whiteness is value ... White supremacy culture is reflected in the current realities of disproportionate and
systemic harm and violence directed towards BIPOC people and communities in all aspects of
our national life – health, education, employment, incarceration, policing, the law, the
environment, immigration, agriculture, food, housing." - Tema Okun, "White Supremacy Culture, Still Here"
We will spend 9 weeks examining how the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture are active in our lives, reflecting on two each week as a spiritual practice. This will include a weekly on-line gathering with separate spaces for white and Black, Indigenous and other People of Color to process their experiences as well as daily prompts by text or chat.
For more information on the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture, click the link above or go to https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info.
This practice group is open to people of all faith backgrounds or no faith background. If you would like religious prompts as a part of your practice, we will provide those individually upon request. If you are a practicing Christian, this practice lines up with Lent and would be a good Lenten practice.
Image by Melanie Walby
What's the schedule like?
We will meet weekly via Zoom for an hour at a time that works best for the group.
What kinds of practices will we be doing?
Using the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture as listed in Temo Okun's 2021 revision, "White Supremacy Culture: Still Here" we will examine two characteristics each week. This can be done in whatever way works best for each of us, but it will be suggested we make a practice of reflecting each evening on how the characteristics are showing up in our lives on a daily basis, how they impact our lives and the impact these characteristics have on society as a whole.
For people with a religious orientation, prayers, confessions, and ritual can be provided upon request.
What will group meetings look like?
We will begin each week with a review of the characteristics before splitting into smaller affinity groups for discussion (ie Black, Indigenous and other People of Color will be in groups and white folk will be in groups as the way we experience the characteristics in our lives is very different). We will then take a look at the characteristics for the following week and ask/answer any questions about the characteristics. There will be clear guidelines for group communication, including how to call people in and how to respond when called in.
I am currently looking for someone who is Black, Indigenous or another Person of Color to facilitate with me - if you or anyone you know might be interested, or if you have any questions, email Pastor Elizabeth.