Once one becomes aware, there is so much to learn, so much like solving a word scramble. Hidden words where we thought there were none; words that have meaning we never before recognized; words that call for unscrambling our comfortable lives; words that go straight to the soul; words we sometimes don’t want to hear; words that produce moments of relief and hope; words spoken or written; words exchanged with a degree of courage; words that take us back to a past we didn’t take time to see; words that take us to a future to be longed for.
Where have we been finding words? Daily we exchange discoveries with each other. Together we are reading and discussing White Fragility” by Robin Diangelo, always with an eye to discovering ourselves. Next in the pipeline is How to Be an Antiracist by Tiffany Jewel and then Austin Channing Brown’s I’m Still Here. We are, however, more than a book club. None of this reading means anything if we don’t use it for insight into our own knowing or unknowing support of a racist system.
Reading isn’t all we do. Constantly on the lookout for relevant daily news and activities, we are almost inundated with things we send to each other — forwarded inspirations, news stories, and suggested links to important presentations.
Most recently is one you might like to share – a right-on! sermon by Pastor Aaron Werner titled “The Day I Learned I was a White American.” Try this link oihttps://mountcalvary.org/digital/#fireside Don’t worry, you don’t have to attend the whole service. Just fast forward to 4:11 (four minutes and eleven seconds.) Don’t wait, though, because it will be gone after this weekend to make way for another service.
monagustafsonaffinito 
I am looking forward to reading “How to be an Antiracist.” As a correction, it is written by Ibram X Kendi.
Thanks, Lisa. And Tiffany Jewell wrote “This Book is Anti Racist” which also looks like something challenging for our group to work on. I’m glad you caught me in my error.
Fascinating question: what is white culture? East coast white, West coast, Southern or Mid-America white? All have different cultural norms. But wouldn’t it be helpful to tease out which norms are common across all cultures in America? …in order to “humbly accept our culture, so that we can understand others more deeply.”
Interesting thought, Jane. How will we do it? Look at how we East Coasters (Lisa, me) might have different influencing cultures from most of you — midwest? Or how? It’s a challenge.
Thank you, Mona. I’m glad you found my words meaningful. Here’s the YouTube link directly to the video of my sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0-VAPSv91s
Thanks. Please stay tuned.