Unlearning Racism for Resistance:

A 3-Part Workshop designed for white lesbians, queer people, gender expansive people, and adjacent nonbinary people. Facilitated by Rachel Siegel from Toward Liberation LLC.

Dates: Sundays, May 31, June 7, and June 14, 4:00-6:00 EST.

Location: Online only.

Cost: First session FREE. Second and third sessions $99 total.

If this price will get in the way of your basic needs or is in some way prohibitive, please inquire for arrangements.

You must attend Session I in order to register for the following session.

During this time of escalating racism and xenophobia, we need everyone to show up in all the ways we can. Come together to unlearn, dismantle, and heal from systems of domination while being part of the rebuilding of communities that support people in their full humanity. By growing our capacity for equitable relationships, we are better able to accomplish what we want, be it professional goals, family dynamics, or resisting fascism.

Zoom expectations: Workshop sessions will be held on zoom and will NOT be recorded. We hope that you will be as present as possible during the workshop. This includes having your camera on if you are in a position to do so. The series is not intended to be listened to on the go. Please only sign up if you can be present in a similar way you would at an in-person event.

Special thanks to Jen Solin, my dear friend for nearly 30 years! Jen is the inspiration for this workshop. Check out her heart-centered, nature-inspired coaching here!

Jen Solin and Rachel Frida Siegel, 1999

Is this program for me? I’ve never done any work around racism.  This series is for you regardless of where you are on your anti-racism journey. People who are newer to these conversations will be exposed to new skills and concepts. All participants will have opportunities to put the information into practice. 

Is this program for me? I’ve done a lot of work around racism already. This series is for you regardless of where you are on your anti-racism journey. For people who are further along in their racial identity development and anti-oppression analysis, the workshop will strengthen and fortify their commitments. All participants will have opportunities to put the information into practice. 

What do you mean by “lesbians/queer people”? There is no perfect way to communicate this – especially not as a concise phrase. The workshop is intended for women and gender expansive people who love other women or gender expansive people. People who identify as queer, lesbian, adjacent nonbinary, sapphic, bisexual, or pansexual are all welcome. If you use a different language to identify yourself, and are not sure if this is a space for you, please reach out to rachel@towardliberation.net.

Why is it designed for lesbians/queer people? As people who experience sexism, homophobia and/or transphobia, Lesbians, queer people, and gender expansive people benefit from affinity spaces by gender and sexuality. It can be hard to be fully authentic and vulnerable in “mixed” spaces especially if we fear someone will stereotype or discriminate against us. Our common experiences will help us hold one another as we learn and grow together.

What do you mean by “white people”? Race is not a biological category. It is a social category that was invented by humans in order to create a hierarchy that puts people categorized as white at the top and dehumanizes others. These racial categories, including who is included in whiteness, changes over time. Even though race is a social construct,, the impact of racism is real. Because of racism, it is important to recognize race. Whiteness is a racial category that generally applies to people with European ancestry. If you are bi- or multi-racial, you may still benefit from this workshop series. Feel free to reach out to rachel@towardliberation.net with any questions.

Why is this workshop series designed for white people? White people working together to unlearn racism is critical to building multi-racial resistance. Creating separate groups by race is NOT AN END GOAL but an important part of the work. White people need space to process how they benefit from and how they are harmed by racism. Doing this work in a multi-racial environment often causes harm to people of color and also inhibits white people from speaking vulnerably and honestly. This is an opportunity for us as white people to do our own work, be fully authentic about where we fall short and the impact of it, and creates an opportunity for us to hold each other to account. We call this a racial caucus and it will prepare us to be better able to be in multiracial spaces and relationships.

How will the sessions be structured? Each workshop will include education, introspection, and interaction and will lead to new ways to perceive and be in the world. There will be small group discussion, large group discussion, activities, videos, and more. There will be information-sharing from the facilitator but they are not structured as lectures. The workshops are structured with the assumption that participants will have their cameras on and be as present as possible.

Is there homework? Yes. You will be assigned 30 minutes of work per week outside of class time.

Who and where is the facilitator? The workshops are facilitated by Rachel Frida Siegel. Rachel is a white, Ashkenazi Jewish, bisexual woman on Abenaki land in Burlington, Vermont, USA. You can read more about her here. The workshop series was developed and will be led primarily through a United States lens.

What gives Rachel, a white woman, the ability to talk about racism? Rachel works with and financially compensates a group of equity advisors with different cultural backgrounds and identities. Whenever facilitating programs that relate to an identity that Rachel does not hold, she works with one of her advisors to support her program development and facilitation. Having decades of experience co-facilitating anti-racism workshops with people of color, Rachel has been asked by her advisor team to sometimes save them the effort and do the work without them being present. They are tired. Whether or not she is co-facilitating or facilitating alone, Rachel always has people with lived experience of racism review her agenda and debrief after each program. She gives at least 20% of her income to her advisors to compensate them for their expertise. 

What is Rachel’s gender and sexual orientation? Rachel identifies as queer. She is cis, pansexual, and poly and in a long term nesting relationship with a cis man. She is “straight” passing at times and leverages that access whenever she is able. She will work with an advisor who does not have this privilege for the development of this workshop.

What if I can’t come to all of the sessions? Each session of the series builds on the previous one. You must attend the first (free) session if you want to register for the second and third sessions. You need to pay for both sessions together. If you are unable to attend one of them, there is no discount.

Accessibility: We strive to make the workshops available to all who want to participate. If you have a need or request for something to enable you to better access the workshop, please let us know.