Via Zoom: This course is based on the presenters' book Longing: Stories of Racial Healing, a white couple’s personal account of a fifteen-year journey that forced them to look honestly at their comfortable notions about race, as they forged relationships with people of African descent. The authors describe uncomfortable and embarrassing situations, examine their mistakes and unconscious assumptions, and share with their readers what they had learned about being white.

We’ll discuss:

• unconscious racial conditioning, which can dictate our behavior and rob us of the freedom to choose authentic responses to others
• forming bonds of friendship with people from whom we’ve been historically separated
• creating healthy, just communities

Selected stories will be read aloud to begin discussions about the dynamics of race, including micro-aggressions, white privilege, white supremacy, systemic racism. Participants will gain the most out of class discussion if they have read the book (but this is not required). 

Recommended reading: Longing: Stories of Racial Healing, Gene and Phyllis Unterschuetz

Registration Deadline: Mar. 10