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Start Becoming and Actively Anti-Racist Youth Group! Melanie Griffin, Yellow Springs, OH August, 2000 This September I'm beginning college. As I leave the familiar surroundings of the D.C. area, there are some things that I am worried about. For example, will my roommate be racist? Will it be uncomfortable for me as a black female to be around her? Will the institution I am enrolled in have built in advantages for some and disadvantages for others? These are subjects I think about every day when I meet new people, even YRUUers. Being the open, accepting and comfortable group we are, YRUU as a whole is looking to become an anti-racist organization so that YRUUers especially YRUUers of color, can feel more at home in this community. Racism and Anti-racism. As one central Floridian YRUUer said, "Its all tricky stuff. "That it is and a whole lot more. It is very complex, painful, and awkward, but I am confident that YRUU can take steps to address these issues. To begin this process we have to have a common understanding of what we are looking at. So lets get to some definitions! These definitions are those in the Creating a Jubilee World anti-racism resource book. Creating a Jubilee World is a wonderful UU program created to fight racism. Definitions Institutional racism: The systematic use of power by a dominant racial group at the expense of non-dominant groups. "Institutions have great power to reward and penalize. They reward by providing career opportunities for some people and foreclosing on them for others. They reward as well by the way social goods are distributed by deciding who receives training skills, medical care, formal education, political influence, moral support and self respect, productive employment, fair treatment by the law, decent housing, self-confidence, and the promise of a secure future for self and children." (Institutional Racism in America, Knowles and Prewift, Prenfice-Hall, 1969) Cultural racism: The assumption that the values, standards, and cultural habits of one racial, ethnic, or cultural group (e.g., in the US, Northern European white culture) are normative; a dimension of the collective identity of the dominant racial group. Anti-racism: A conscious, intentional effort to eradicate racism in all its forms – individual, cultural, and institutional. With this common understanding we can move on as an organization, both on the continental level and on the local level, to become anti-racist. There are many steps that we can take, as we take them we must remember that this is a life long process, that racism is not going to go away over night, so we have to have patience and faith. Activities that a youth group can do to begin work towards anti-racism: There are all kinds of anti-racism organizations, many of these organizations will come and do workshops for your congregation or your youth group. Look into finding local groups who do anti-racism work and have them come talk to your youth group. Many churches have had the UU anti-racist groups, like Journey Towards Wholeness or Jubilee World, do workshops for the congregation. Make sure that your youth group participates in this! If you would just like to begin discussing these issues with your youth group there are different activities you can do to begin a dialogue. For example, there are movies about racism and race that you could watch with your youth group to begin a dialogue, such as The Color of Fear, which your church might have or that you can order from the UUA. Another good way to begin looking at this issue within your youth group is to do an activity that will make you aware of all the perspectives and backgrounds that are present. Have a facilitator arrange for people to go to certain sides of the room depending on their answers to questions about themselves. For example, the facilitator would tell people who grew up without enough to go to the right side of the room, those who grew up with just enough to go to the middle, and those who grew up with more than enough to go to the left side of the room. It is up to the individual to decide where they go and there is always middle ground. Another example of this activity could deal with what race the folks in the room identify with or what sexual preference they identify with. After directing the group to go to different parts of the room according to their answers to the questions about their backgrounds, the group is able to see the range of perspectives and viewpoints that people are coming from. This activity can lead into a discussion about each others' similarities and differences; the group can learn about where each other is coming from. This is a fitting manner to begin talking about issues of race. There are countless other things your youth group can do to begin its path towards anti-racism. Brainstorm! Plan! Talk! Act! Just get going! |
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