Friends General Conference

Together we nurture the spiritual vitality of Friends

Spiritual Deepening eRetreats: Understanding & Healing White Supremacy

Photo by Arthur Fink
Adult

This eRetreat offers participants the opportunity to develop their understanding of what racism, white supremacy, and white privilege are, and how they are embedded in our society, Quaker meetings, and lives.  You will gain knowledge of historical and current realities of racial oppression in the United States and explore how Quaker faith and practice can provide grounding, tools, and fire for our work against racial injustice.  You will explore how Spirit is calling you to action for racial justice while gaining tools for identifying and disrupting racism, white privilege, and white supremacy.

eRetreat Details:

  • Offered September 22 - October 18, 2019
  • Four weeks, $35 pay-as-led participation fee
  • Enrollment is limited to 25 participants
  • The (optional) weekly Community Building Calls will be on Wednesdays at 8:30pm Eastern / 5:30pm Pacific, from September 25 - October 16.

eRetreat Weekly Themes:

Week 1: Defining Racism, Bias, and White Supremacy

Week 2: Our Role as Individuals in a Racist Society

Week 3: Quaker Community & White Supremacy

Week 4: Tools for Dismantling White Supremacy

The eRetreat community will operate under the following premises:  

  • We live in a country built on white supremacy. White supremacy is the operating system in the US.
  • We are here to push against systemic, institutional, and individual racism.
  • White fragility is a tool of white supremacy and we are here to push against it, not comfort and protect it.
  • If you are white, the strategies we are sharing during the eRetreat will push against white fragility and racism. Pay attention to your reactions and be aware of your body. You might be uncomfortable. That’s okay.

 

Registration for this eRetreat has closed. Sign up for the Spiritual Deepening email list to receive updates about future sessions.

 

The Understanding & Healing White Supremacy eRetreat will be co-facilitated by Regina Renee Ward and Polly Washburn.

Regina Renee Ward is a public librarian and former public school teacher. She is passionate about social justice, intellectual freedom, books, and labyrinths. Her work with Friends and racial healing was born out of necessity as she navigates life as both a Black woman and a Friend. She identifies as a Christian Friend and her favorite book in the Bible is James. Her life verse is Micah 6:8.

Polly Washburn attends Mountain View Friends Meeting. Her work history falls under the umbrella of story-telling via journalism, video and web content. Her passion for racial justice stems from being raised in a multiracial family and community, and experiencing differences in race relations as she lived in various parts of the country and world. Working with formerly incarcerated citizens resulted in a leading to work to end mass incarceration and disenfranchisement.