By Linda Calder
“The greatest problem is not with flat-out white racists, but rather with the far larger number of Americans who believe intellectually in racial equality but are quietly oblivious to injustice around them.” -Nicholas Kristof
The book, Waking Up White, by Debby Irving, will be the springboard for a gathering on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church. Members of the greater Granby community are invited to read the book, and attend and participate in the discussion. “Compassionate Conversation on Race” is part of an ongoing periodic conversation that has taken place over the last two years.
In the face of white supremacist groups coming out of hiding and rising again to public expression in our culture, it is increasingly important to understand what it means to be white in America. Debby Irving will take listeners on her personal journey coming to understand her own whiteness, and in the process, will challenge them to look beneath cultural assumptions. She writes, “Without meaning to…my mother gravely misled me (Why there are so few Native Americans in New England? ‘Because they couldn’t handle alcohol.’) She didn’t do it because she was evil or stupid or had upholding racism on her mind. My mother was warm, compassionate and bright. She told me the versions of events as she knew them, errors and omissions included.”
Everyone has been misled to one degree or another. Many intend to understand their own biases so that they might understand others better. If that is your goal, come and join this conversation.
Everyone has been misled to one degree or another. Many intend to understand their own biases so that they might understand others better. If that is your goal, come and join this conversation.
