What This Is

This is a month-long online seminar program hosted by authors, speakers, and social justice activists Patti Digh and Victor Lee Lewis, who was featured in the documentary film, The Color of Fear, with help from a community of people who want and are willing to help us understand the reality of racism by telling their stories and sharing their resources.

Why now?

If you have been watching the news, you know the answer to this question.

How can I suggest resources and people to interview?

You will have an opportunity to do this daily in the classroom.

How Will This Work, and How Can I Enroll?

After enrolling in this course (at the bottom of this page), you will receive a link to enter our online classroom. Once there, you will receive materials relevant to each of the four weeks of the course, one day at a time. These materials will include reading materials, as well as audio and video links, questions for the community to discuss in the classroom, and “assignments.” This class has been described as a “firehose” of information – all of us will have differing amounts of time to devote in these four weeks – do what you can, where you are, and remember that stressing about the classroom materials is a misdirection of your energy. Focus instead on what you are learning. Once each week, we will meet via Zoom to talk about that past week’s reading and classroom conversation. These calls will be facilitated by Patti Digh and Victor Lee Lewis along with other subject matter experts.

Rules of Engagement

Do not enroll without reading this.

As a community, we are seeking to understand, to learn, to deepen our knowledge of racism. We want to learn how to become more effective allies against racism. By enrolling in this course, you are committing to reading all the materials provided in our online classroom, asking honest and respectful questions, and being open to hearing opinions that are different from your own–with an eye to learning, not judging. More about that below. By choosing to participate in this conversation, we all agree that no question, if asked respectfully, is off bounds, no statement is stupid, no lack of awareness is to be belittled. Because we can either judge or learn, but we cannot do both those things at the same time. As a community, we are choosing to learn. Non-respectful language, judgments, and comments with a lot of exclamation points to express your disbelief at the comments of others (you know what I mean–you have seen it) will be dealt quickly and with an intention to educate first. Let us demonstrate first what it means to use respectful questions to bridge differences before attacking others’ statements or beliefs, and before making statements containing assumptions. Question your assumptions first before making a statement that negates someone else. One good way to do this is by starting with a question that expresses curiosity, not challenge. Clear and civil. Questioning, not stating. Opening, not closing.

I’ve just signed up for my 2nd time for this course. If you are looking for a safe space to understand this conversation on racism and the history of how it came to be…. I encourage you to sign up. The list of resources, alone, are worth the price. AND the conversations and perspectives shared are priceless. You will be challenged and stretched by this course. So much has been left out of our history books and by the media. -Elaine Hansen