The YWCA’s mission is to eliminate racism. Membership at the YWCA are working hard to bring workshops that address issues around race and racism so people can openly talk about it.
“We’re trying to lean into the uncomfortableness of it and if there is an uncomfortableness, just hear it, says Millie Tomidy-Pepper, Executive Director/YWCA.
In the interactive workshop with writer Nanette D. Massey, of Buffalo, NY on Thursday at GCC, the topic of talking about race was brought up in a discussion over the book “White Fragility”, by bestselling author Robin DiAngelo.
Massey believes we are well beyond holding hands when it comes to talking about race. She presented her take on the ideas in DiAngelo’s book while also talking about personal experiences with her mother as a small child growing up in the early 70s. Attendees learned about race from Massey’s, real-world experience rather than a theory. Massey’s objective was to leave the audience with clarity, and the ability to participate in conversations about race with confidence, humor and humility.
“This is just a way to give people the tools that they might not have, says Tomidy- Pepper.
“I think as white people, we don’t even know, we’ve grown up this way and we are conditioned to just think of things in one way, so this challenges us to think differently .”
The event was also an opportunity for employers to fulfill cultural diversity training requirements. The YWCA plans to hold future interactive workshops in the future and you can look for them on their Facebook page in the link below.
Further pushing of CRT…this book needs to be tinder for a bonfire.