Resmaa Menakem and Robin DiAngelo will co-lead this rare opportunity to address both sides of the “dance” of racism. The event will be held on Friday, June 15 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, June 16 from 9:30 to 3:30 at Unity Church Unitarian in St Paul.
Dr. DiAngelo will describe the way race shapes the lives of White people, explain what makes racism so hard for White people to see, and identify common White racial patterns that prevent us from moving towards greater racial equity. Weaving information, analysis, stories, images, and familiar examples, she will provide the framework needed to develop white racial literacy. Developing racial literacy is a foundational step, but we won’t address racism through an intellectual understanding alone. Racism is also about the body. The body is where we live, where we fear, hope, and react; where we constrict and relax; and where we fight, flee, or freeze. The body is where we store the lessons of racism. Resmaa Menakem, a social worker specializing in trauma, will explore the inherited trauma of white supremacy. This trauma doesn’t just affect African American and other bodies of color; White American bodies suffer their own historical trauma as well. We all need to recognize this trauma, metabolize it, work through it, and grow up out of it. Only in this way will we at last heal our bodies, our families, and the social body of our nation. The process differs for people of Color and White people, but all of us need to heal our racialized trauma—and, with the right guidance, all of us can. Together Resmaa and Robin will connect the mind and the body within the system of white supremacy and offer a map for healing.