Members-Only Guild Resource / Webinar

Talking with Other White Folks about Race

Published: 2019-05-23

Strategies for Developing Shared Accountability and Support

Increasingly, white people are understanding that we have a role in movements for racial justice. Simultaneously, people of color have asked for white people to not place the burden of learning on them, but rather turn to other white people for support in developing personal racial literacy. Questions remain about how to do this critical work with other white people while also being accountable to leaders of color. The National Guild for Community Arts Education’s White Advocates for Racial Equity network builds off of models across the country for its own efforts to convene white people to develop collaborative leadership, shift white dominant culture in our organizations, name how power shows up across intersectional identities, and address microaggressions among other efforts.

This webinar introduced participants to strategies for forming accountability groups for white folks who want to advance personal and professional racial equity work in partnership with colleagues and constituents of color. We also explored the reasoning behind race-specific affinity spaces and how they complement multi-racial efforts towards equity and racial justice.

The webinar included:

  • Examples of different structures for organizing conversations and convenings from Austin, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Time for participants to strategize about setting up their own affinity spaces for dialogue around race and equity.
  • Opportunities to share tools to help each other get started.

This particular webinar was intended to be a space specifically for people who identify as white to address our roles in racial justice.

ALAANA (African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, and Native American) members looking for resources and support can connect with the ARE Network, which often works alongside the WARE group. 

Hosted by the White Advocates for Racial Equity Network