Eracism Minute June 10, 2018 - Haley Holmgren

Good morning. I’m Haley Holmgren here to present an Eracism Minute, a minute of consciousness-raising on behalf of the BUF Black Lives Matter Ministry Action Team. Eracism is defined as the removal from existence of the belief that one race is superior to another.

One of the activities that I’ve taken part in at Pacific Northwest UU Youth Conferences is a Privilege Walk in which participants stand shoulder-to-shoulder and take a step either forward or back depending on our answer to some questions such as:

Question 1: Few white people in the history of the US have ever been convicted and executed for killing a person of color.  All white persons take a step forward.

Question 2: All those who were raised in a community where the vast majority of the police, politicians, and government workers were not of your racial or ethnic group take one step back.

Question 3:  All those who went or go to a school where the majority of teachers are of your race or ethnicity take one step forward.

After around 25 questions, we took a breath and slowly looked at who was ahead of us and who was behind.  We silently reflected on our position of privilege in our society. It was a powerful experience for me.

June 17, 2018 Eracism Minute - Linda Fels

June 17, 2018 Eracism Minute

Hi, I'm Linda Fels and I don't like to ROCK THE BOAT.

CONFLICT? Not my thing.

Expressing STRONG EMOTIONS. I'd rather not.

EMBRACING DISCOMFORT as a pathway to growth. Hmm.

Of all the behaviors and beliefs that our dominant white culture uses to hold racial
barriers in place, Like valuing OUTCOMES over PROCESS, FACTS over EMOTIONS,
COMPETITION over COOPERATION, EITHER/OR thinking and STATUS, CONFLICT AVOIDANCE is the one most INGRAINED in me.

But if I WANT TO DISMANTLE racism and change our society, I have work to do.

I pledge to become comfortable giving and getting HONEST FEEDBACK.

I pledge to value AMBIGUITY and PROCESS.

I pledge to embrace DISCOMFORT and VULNERABILITY.

I pledge to let hard CONVERSATIONS UNFOLD at their own pace and in their own way.

And when I FEEL strong emotions or discomfort in a situation, OR I notice ANOTHER PERSON feeling discomfort or strong emotions to BE AWARE ENOUGH to ask myself:
“Am I BUMPING UP against an attitude that no longer serves me?” And “Can I LET IT GO?”

That's the work.

STAYING AWARE, BEING HONEST WITH MYSELF and LETTING GO TO HEAL.

Team Meeting Monday, June 25, 7 p.m.

Please join us for the last meeting of the church year tomorrow, June 25^th at 7 p.m. where we will bid farewell and give our hearty thanks to Erika, who helped to educate us on Black/White relations for the last 2 years.  While Erika will be leaving BUF and the team, she will help out by keeping up the team blog while we continue to educate ourselves and engage the congregation in this important work. 

Come and learn about the next “page” in our Ministry Action Team’s “chapter” and let your voice be heard.

Sincerely,

Lauralee Carbone, David Curley, and Cat McIntyre

BUF Black Lives Matter Steering Committee