AWARE Community Dialogue this Saturday, 11/5 1-4PM at Metro Community Church

[Jeb Middlebrook]

Hello everyone!

It's been an exciting month since we all met in October as a white anti-racist community. Many people who stepped up to volunteer for AWARE have been active planning the upcoming Saturday Dialogue agenda, connecting the workgroups of AWARE (including the Saturday Dialogue Facilitation Team, Workshop Planning Group, and Active Resistance); joining multiracial, racial justice events in Los Angeles such as the National Day Against Police Brutality on 10/22; supporting national movement building of racial justice organizers in the #OccupyWallStreet movement with #OccupyRacism, and planning locations for future AWARE meetings. 

Special thanks to Tanya, Hope, Michele, Brian, Matt, and Valerie for keeping AWARE going this month, and for showing up for racial justice! We have also met many new white anti-racist allies at the Occupy Los Angeles events and we hope to connect with you all soon as part of the Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere- Los Angeles!

In our increasing efforts to share with the AWARE community all that we are doing, below is the full agenda that AWARE volunteers came up with for this Saturday's Dialogue (11/5) from 1-4PM at the Metropolitan Community Church (4953 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027). We plan to have a great dialogue and make some important decisions about future location meetings for AWARE. We will also be continuing our Volunteer Dialogue this month (on Saturday 11/19) for anyone interested in helping to keep AWARE going. Please join us Saturday and feel free to bring friends and snacks! Questions, thoughts, suggestions? Please contact us.

November 5^th Saturday Dialogue Agenda

1:00-1:30 PM

Butcher paper writing / Small group check-ins / Orientation for new people
- this month, in terms of race and white privilege, I experienced…
- butcher paper around the room with following questions for people to write on:

1) how do I nurture and sustain my white anti-racist identity?

2) how do we/AWARE nurture and sustain white antiracist practice and community?

3) how do we/AWARE nurture and sustain racial justice movement-building?

1:30-1:45 PM Introductions
- have people go around and say their name and preferred gender pronoun
- review guidelines for communication - Ask for 2 volunteers to alternate
- new people complete this sentence: I came to this meeting because…

1:45-2:15 PM Personal Dialogue and Support   groups of 3 – 10 minutes each
- discussion of, and support for, personal experiences with race, racism, and privilege

2:15PM-3:15 PM Consciousness-Raising and Personal Skill Building  whole group

Questions on butcher paper – 20 minutes per question
read what people have written on butcher paper and discuss

3:15- 3:45 PM October Conversation Recp
- AWARE moving forward: rotating regional meetings instead of church

Open space for volunteers to share what they did for AWARE this month.
- Calls for host, other volunteers to coordinate work

3:45PM-4:00 PM 
- group check-out: 1 plus, 1 change for next time, 1 insight
- grassroots fundraising
- announcements: next Volunteer Dialogue: Saturday, November 19 1-3 PM