Waking Up White & Local Impact
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"Debby Irving’s Waking Up White has given me valuable tools to explain and facilitate the often difficult discussions about systemic racism, especially in primarily white spaces."
"On this journey, I have met a whole new and wonderful community of people who also find the questions and conversations to be deeply meaningful and needed...and who share their unique perspectives and experiences honestly and openly in respectful conversation and commitment towards meaningful justice and equity."
"Over the past several years, I have learned so much from having courageous conversations with racially diverse members of the La Crosse community. I am really looking forward to the upcoming public presentations and small group facilitated book chats providing additional insights on how we can develop a more inclusive and welcoming community."
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"Reading Waking Up White helped me to realize many of the things I was doing that I thought were helpful to communities of color, were actually harmful because the “help” was what I, a white person, thought they needed rather than their voiced needs. The book has helped to reconfigure my thinking so I now use my privilege to raise up and amplify voices of color to influence action and change."
"Waking Up White" truly was an eye-opener for me. I have been a good liberal most of my life, and by that I mean I had good intentions and goodwill across racial lines, while living in denial of the deep American history of genocide against Black and native people. Debby Irving's book yanked down most of the denial, and pushed me toward racial justice work."
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"Through her pages, I learned and began seeing the true devastating history of our country as warped and skewed by hatred and discrimination of people of color. It is an essential step on the path to learning about racial justice."
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"I appreciate the book Waking Up White because it was written by a white woman who acknowledges and has convinced other whites about the realities of systemic racism that People of Color have been talking about and experiencing for over 400 years."
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"The Regional Read presentations and book chats will be an opportunity for me to hear other people's perspectives and ideas, rather than listening to all my own thoughts. I was raised in a systemically racist environment and, going forward, I want to expand my understanding of what it means to be anti racist."
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"I appreciate Waking Up White and look forward to our conversations with friends and neighbors because Debby Irving helps us as white people to see the everyday manifestations of racism and white supremacy in our lives. Once we face the reality of racism we can begin the work of change."
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"Reading Waking Up White has helped me be a seeker of positive vision for the future. The next step, as the Dalai Lama suggests, is to carry out positive action(s)in our community. I feel the time is right NOW."
"I grew up in La Crosse. I had skilled, caring mentors and educators throughout my entire life. Nonetheless, like so many others, I didn’t really learn the pivotal roles that race and racism played in our history—our stories—my story. Like so many others, I didn’t know how to have safe, informed, constructive conversations about these topics. These are systems-level omissions in education that trace back to white supremacy and that Waking Up White and the nine public presentations help to restore. They bring facts into light."
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I consider myself a good person and do not think of myself as a racist. I was however struggling to understand the incongruent feelings and attitudes which arose within me as I sought to wear colorblind glasses.
Using Waking Up White as a springboard I started to explore Whiteness and White Culture and how this frame of reference has entered my being so completely where it distorted my views and blinded me to the realities of racism within myself and within this country. This search for a better understanding of myself and the world has initiated in me a change in how I think and act. |
"One of the most unique gifts of The Waking Up White Regional Read, White Privilege Symposium - La Crosse, Creating a Healthier Multicultural Community, and Amplifying Voices of Black Youth and Their Parents projects under the umbrella of The White Privilege Collaborative is that each individual collaborative program process has provided on-deck learning experiences while motivating participants to take on more.
For many, the Waking Up White Regional Read has been the first step that has led to a progression of taking other actions. To strive and survive, People of Color, Bi-Racial and Multi-Racial, Indigenous People intersected with other traditional oppressed identities are consciously, unconsciously, and constantly battling to break the doors down for equity, access, inclusion, and justice. With these four projects, self-identified White People from all types of backgrounds have taken the opportunity to learn more about the concept, "White Privilege." Furthermore, White Folks involved in one or more of these projects are moving through their own personal journeys to figure out how White Privilege has impacted them and how they can best utilize their White Privilege to contribute more equitably to the futures of everyone on personal, organizational, and institutional levels. This regional approach is an intentional strategy set-up to involve, impact, and engage more people, especially those who self-identify as "White" who are curious about and/or thirsty for practical learning opportunities offered by the Waking Up White Collaborative optional activities. These thoughts are some of my assumptions and observations!
What's unique here, is the focus and transformation on White People, the White Dominated Community of La Crosse, and 7 Rivers Region going through processes of ...
For many, the Waking Up White Regional Read has been the first step that has led to a progression of taking other actions. To strive and survive, People of Color, Bi-Racial and Multi-Racial, Indigenous People intersected with other traditional oppressed identities are consciously, unconsciously, and constantly battling to break the doors down for equity, access, inclusion, and justice. With these four projects, self-identified White People from all types of backgrounds have taken the opportunity to learn more about the concept, "White Privilege." Furthermore, White Folks involved in one or more of these projects are moving through their own personal journeys to figure out how White Privilege has impacted them and how they can best utilize their White Privilege to contribute more equitably to the futures of everyone on personal, organizational, and institutional levels. This regional approach is an intentional strategy set-up to involve, impact, and engage more people, especially those who self-identify as "White" who are curious about and/or thirsty for practical learning opportunities offered by the Waking Up White Collaborative optional activities. These thoughts are some of my assumptions and observations!
What's unique here, is the focus and transformation on White People, the White Dominated Community of La Crosse, and 7 Rivers Region going through processes of ...
- Listening more instead of reacting when use to speaking with little thought
- Introspecting or self-reflecting opening up new personal perspectives to emerge as possibilities
- Valuing, interacting, and working with others across the differences when this hasn't happened much in the past
- Increasing opportunities, options, and opinions heard with a focus of the traditionally oppressed
- Although it takes more time, patience, and at many times can be difficult to create and collaborate across differences, the most impactful benefits seem to come to the surface when allowing the necessary time, patience, and navigation for richer understanding, respect, and relationship. When creating what's new or never done before, realize it takes more effort, nurturing, and everything else!
- Taking action and participating together across the differences because of genuine care to improve cultural environments and the treatment of others.
