White Fragility is defined by white anti-racist educator Robin DiAngelo as, "a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves."

An increasing number of Equity Alliance participants are recognizing the gravity of white fragility's impact in their lives and are expressing a desire to dig deeper. A number of groups have started book clubs to build more self aware habits.

And, spending too much time breaking down how white fragility shows up can derail racial justice work by prioritizing whiteness. How can white people notice how getting caught up in emotional reactions prevents us from empathizing with and listening to people of color's experiences with racism?

Seeing White Fragility, breaks down DiAngelo's concept while encouraging building skills to overcome white fragility. Understanding the various ways whiteness harms racial justice efforts, small and large, is ultimately helpful only when that awareness is used to move through our own resistance so that we may then act in solidarity with people of color, and cede or use our privilege responsibly. The individual learning is important to help us see the impact of our actions so that we can take a step back and listen. From a place of listening we may discover that actions and words we thought were helpful are actually barriers to building relationships and community.

In DiAngelos's recent article White people assume niceness is the answer to racial inequality. It is not she demonstrates why we may need to rethink our understanding of what anti-racism work looks like. She draws a clear distinction between kindness and niceness, "[k]indness is compassionate and often implicates actions to support or intervene. Niceness, by contrast, is fleeting, hollow and performative." The beliefs we have about appropriate behavior sometimes need to be uprooted to do meaningful work.

If I cannot tell you what it means to be white, I cannot understand what it means not to be white. I will be unable to bear witness to, much less affirm, an alternate racial experience. I will lack the critical thinking and skills to navigate racial tensions in constructive ways. This creates a culture in which white people assume that niceness is the answer to racial inequality and people of color are required to maintain white comfort in order to survive.

-Robin DiAngelo



One of the cornerstones of equity work and the constant personal learning needed to become aware of and dismantle our biases is learning about people, cultures and communities that have different experiences than us. With that in mind, those of us at the Equity Alliance have compiled a list of books (nonfiction and fiction), articles, TV shows, podcasts and feature films that can be read, viewed and enjoyed this Winter.

NONFICTION READING

Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions an anthology edited by Christine Caldwell and Lucia Bennett Leighton

Eloquent Rage:A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower Dr. Brittney Cooper's manifesto on Black feminism

The Source of Self-Regard a collection of selected essays, speeches and meditations by Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison (available February 12)

FICTION READING

Mouthful of Birds the newest collection of short stories by Argentine author Samantha Schweblin

Revolution Sunday the latest novel by Cuban author Wendy Guerra

POETRY

Black Queer Hoe the debut anthology from Britteney Black Rose Kapri in which she reclaims her sexuality as a queer Black woman

Lord of the Butterflies a new collection of poetry from Andrea Gibson that exploress constant transformation

ARTICLES

Martin Luther King Jr. Was More Radical Than We Remember Teen Vogue writer Jenn M. Jackson focuses on Martin Luther King Jr's radicalism and explores the whitewashing of how he is remembered and taught in schools

Born to Protest: Legal Trailblazer Pauli Murray Takes Her Rightful Place in History a short Bitch Magazine article on the life of Pauli Murray, an African American lawyer, activist, poet and priest who had tremendous influence but little mention in the movements she was a part of

Yalitza Aparicio of 'Roma' and the Politics of Stardom in Mexico this New York Times piece illustrates how the rise of Aparicio, the indigenous star of Roma, is prompting a national conversation about indigeneity and indigenous rights

TELEVISION

Black Like Us the January 15, 2019 episode of the popular sitcom Black-ish focuses on the realities of colorism for the different members of the Johnson family

FILM

Meet LA's Feminist Teen Photographers a short documentary from film organization Living On One that profiles the photographers behind Maya Womxn of LA

Who Will Write Our History a Holocaust documentary that recounts the courageous documentation of life and culture by the Oyneg-Shabes, a collective of Jewish writers and scholars imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto

PODCASTS

Feet In Two Worlds the most recent episode of this podcast produced by Tahini Rahman, My Hijab, My Body - The Journey of a Tattooed Yemeni Feminist centers on Layla's navigation between two worlds in Brooklyn, NY

Justice in America co-hosts Josie Duffy Rice and Clint Smith III just returned for a second season of their podcast which covers national topics on criminal justice reform

This New Year's post from Fakequity encourages people who are interested in growing their awareness of racial injustice and finding actionable ways to dismantle racial inequities to take the Fakequity Pledge. " A new year is a great time to start new habits. This year for our first January post I’ve put together a list of different things to pledge to try to do in 2019. I’m asking you to take the Fakequity pledge and commit to doing at least five things differently in 2019. If you think you’re already doing one of them but want to recommit to it or pledge to do it with more intentionality go for it."

This spring is the third Othering & Belonging Conference from April 8–10 in Oakland, California. The 2019 conference will highlight answers to a question that people frequently ask: How do we make belonging real? Programming will provide key elements to respond to this question through an examination of systems, movements, narratives, and institutions that either advance or inhibit belonging.

The conference will also prioritize analysis of bridging and breaking as responses and formations in our current moment of rapid global change. 

Whether in the main room or in other concurrent breakout sessions, the 2019 Othering & Belonging conference will provide spaces that deepen our thinking, sharpen our tools, and help define our strategies that further our efforts in building a more just world.

If you are planning on attending and are interested in connecting with other local folks who are going, let us know and we can support your communication to network at the event.

Have you struggled to find opportunities to deepen your understanding and conversations about race and racial inequities? The Equity Alliance of the North Coast sponsors Racial Equity Roundtables the first Thursday of every month from 5:30-7:30 p.m., offering an opportunity to discuss race in an open and brave space of learning and dialogue for both the newcomer and the experienced. Each month we explore a different topic. Attendance of previous roundtables is not required.

Want to deepen your understanding and learn skills to help you address microaggressions? Research shows the cumulative effect of microaggressions have profound negative health and social impacts on victims and perpetrators alike. In today's society, racial microaggressions subtly and powerfully perpetuate racism and a culture that promotes the "rightness of whiteness." What are microaggressions? Microaggressions are the common everyday verbal, behavioral, and environmental slights and indignities - both intentional and unintentional - that communicate derogatory messages to people from marginalized groups (sometimes even by people from these groups). At the February Racial Equity Roundtable, we will hone our skills at identifying racial microaggressions and the messages they convey, and practice interrupting microaggressive behaviors, both in ourselves and others, through scenarios, discussion, and in race-based affinity groups. Importantly, we will also explore the ways in which microaggressions and racializing social structures (i.e. media, education, criminal justice, etc.) mutually reinforce each other. Our goal? To highlight key connections between interpersonal and structural racism and develop strategies to address both.



Facilitated by Melissa Meiris and Ron White. Register in advance below, space is limited! Low cost options and scholarships are available. Child care is provided by the Equity Alliance.

NAACP Education Series

Sundays at Temple Beth El (2:00-4:00 p.m.)

Film viewing/discussion - January 27

Book Discussion Group - February 24; March 10,24,31; April 14

The NAACP is hosting a free education series which includes film viewings and discussion of the PBS Series Race: The Power of an Illusion, and a book discussion group on White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. All events are at Temple Beth El in Eureka. To get the most out of this series, the Eureka NAACP recommends you attend both the film and book discussions. Contact Sharrone Blanck at [email protected] for more information.

The film viewing/discussions will be facilitated by Sharrone Blanck, Eureka NAACP President. Episode 3 of the PBS series, The House We Live In is being shown on January 27 (the first two episodes were shown earlier in the month, please visit this link to rent and view them online

The book discussion group will be facilitated by Janet Winston, HSU Professor of English & Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies. If you are planning to attend, please read the chapters ahead of time and come prepared for discussion. The following reading schedule will be followed:

Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties & the Constitution

Wednesday, January 30 (5:00-7:00 p.m.)

HSU is hosting a documentary film screening of Resistance at Tule Lake to observe Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties & the Constitution. There will be a facilitated discussion following the film about the American internment of Japanese Americans during World War II with Professors Chirstina Accomando and Michihiro Clark Sugata. The event will be in the HSU Library Fishbowl. Refreshments provided. Please event website or flyer for more information.

Fred Korematsu was an average 23-year-old Californian working as a shipyard welder. But when he refused to obey Executive Order 9066, which sent 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry into internment campus, he became something extraordinary -- a civil rights champion. This film follows Korematsu's story from the moment he first resisted confinement to the hard-won victory he finally achieved 39 years later, with the help of a new generation of Japanese-American activists seeking vindication and the assurance that such a terrible injustice would never occur again.

Tarana Burke

Sunday, February 3 (7:00 p.m.)

The #MeToo hashtag campaign has emerged as a rallying cry for people everywhere who have survived sexual assault and sexual harassment. Tarana Burke’s powerful, poignant story as creator of what has become an international movement will move, uplift, and inspire you. Now a senior director of programs at Girls for Gender Equity, Tarana has dedicated more than 25 years to social justice and to laying the groundwork for a movement that was initially created to help young women of color. Kate Buchanan Room at HSU. Tickers are $15, visit the HSU Center Arts website below for more information or to purchase tickets.

  Email [email protected] to share upcoming events you know about related to racial equity and we will post it on our website!

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