I’m fully aware that a collective seeking and embodying ‘Radical Connection’ is not an intuitive step for most of us. Rather, it’s a conscious, intentional choice to move into a space of deep learning about ourselves. So whether you are here reading with clarity or uncertainty, curiosity or skepticism, thanks for taking a chance on it all. If you’d like to come to one of Radical Connection’s learning sessions, please feel free to contact me through this website.
To give you some more insight, Radical Connection’s intention is:
“To educate and guide primarily, but not solely people who identify as white and/or are identified as white, to be effective and engaged witnesses of racism and white supremacy, where ‘witnessing’ is an action of historical education (outer and inner); radical dismantling of personal, embedded white supremacy/racist structures; understanding white culture; and developing an anti-racist, expanded cultural identity. We do this work to become more humble and open and connected so that we may listen to and follow Black, Indigenous and People of Color and so we may create a collective of individuals that engages in radical connected conversation, action and living with all people.”
Breaking it down a bit…
‘Radical’ – This is a stand-out word for me. Our culture has commandeered ‘radical’ to mean the most negative edges of extreme – dangerous, unhinged, an outlier. In the social justice world, we often see it attached to legends such as Dr. Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X – all perhaps considered radical activists, daring and bold, willing to put their lives on the line for justice, right? One of those activists, Dr. Davis, explained the true definition of the word at one of her lectures I attended several years ago. Radical simply means ‘the fundamental nature of something’. So to be radical within Radical Connection’s context, is to the look at the fundamental nature of white supremacy and systemic racism – to see the deeper layers, the foundation, the root within our structures and ourselves. This isn’t what is expected or encouraged by the system of white supremacy in which we exist, but we resist its harmful superficiality and move ahead with this conscious intention of seeing, opening, releasing, deepening.
‘Connection’ – We are all connected in the deepest, most intricate of ways – each of us to every one and every thing, seen and unseen. There isn’t one individual action we take or belief we hold or feeling we feel that doesn’t affect the whole. This is a foundational ~ radical ~ truth for me.
These true, deep connections are never broken. They can, however, be forgotten or ignored, buried intentionally or unknowingly beneath patterns and structures, personal and systemic. White supremacy is one of those systemic structures that separates us from each other and from ourselves. To resist white supremacy is to become more connected.
‘White’ and ‘People who identify as white’ – This is often a point of worry – why have an intentional white space for this group and type of learning? Given our propensity as white folks to say ‘I don’t see color’ (aka color blindness), this feels wrong – like we’re being divisive or re-instituting segregation. And to be honest with our country’s history, a group of white people meeting together is generally pointless or dangerous, depending on who you talk to. But the truth is, we have work to do. Specifically white work. Deep cultural and internal learning about ourselves and each other to enable us to more effectively cultivate an anti-racist, expanded culture AND simultaneously move into multi-racial spaces. Please feel free to read read the ‘Why a White Space?’ blog to learn more about this concept of affinity spaces.
‘Witness’ – Being a witness is both an individual and collective pursuit of looking deep down into our white culture, bringing together aspects of how it has been formed and thus imagine a different way of relating and being in community.
When investigators seek to solve a crime, they hope for as many angles of seeing the event as possible to assist in knowing what really happened. It helps to corroborate these multiple viewpoints to get as close to the whole picture as possible. Thus with Radical Connection, we seek a collective of witnesses to help us see clearly.
‘Racism and White Supremacy’ – White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of all other races, especially the black race, and should therefore dominate society. Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. There is both individual racism as well as systemic.
Thus racism is a byproduct of white supremacy. Yes, we need to call it out and interrupt it, but if we’re going to be radical, we need to go to the root and shift the belief within our culture that white people are superior and thus shift the system that has been formed as a result of that belief.
‘Anti-Racist’ – An anti-racist culture is one that actively opposes racism and white supremacy and promotes equity.
‘Historical education’ – Part of unwinding those deeply embedded structures is learning what actually happened – our country’s true racial history, every detail of which was formed within the context of white supremacy and the systemic oppression of Black people. We never learned that in 5th grade social studies. It’s difficult to make past-to-present connections when the past has been erased, hidden, and glossed over and we haven’t taken the time to seek out the truth.
In addition, we center Black lives with this true history. It is true that additional groups definitely do experience oppression in similar ways that Black people do. For Radical Connection, however, it’s back to the root again – getting radical as we look at the core founding principles of our country and understanding fully to whom they really referred. And knowing that if Black people are lifted up, then all other groups are lifted.
‘Embedded white supremacy/racist structures’ – The false narrative of white supremacy is deeply and intricately ingrained in each of us. We begin learning it the moment we are identified as white, before we have language and the context or means to counter it. We can cognitively learn the truths about the narrative for sure, but we must also unwind and release the years, and frankly generations, of this deeper learning that we have embodied and carried if we want to truly connect and shift culture.
‘Cultural identity’ – When we as white folks try to define our cultural identity, we tend to get caught up in our ancestral heritage (aka ethnicity) and what part of the country we’re from. Individually focused identities. We don’t really see ourselves as a white collective cultural entity and thus we don’t see the aspects of our collective that are damaging and dehumanizing to all. From Shelly Tolchuk in her book Witnessing Whiteness:
‘What we need to transform is the white culture people speak of that is associated with segregated social lives, isolation, disconnection, individualism, sanitization, arrogance, obliviousness, entitlement, unrecognized privileges, the avoidance of social concerns faced by disproportionate number of [Black, Indigenous and People of Color], the sense of self as normal, innocent, and unaffected by race, and the acceptance of Western ideals as universal default and the only valid way of seeing the world.’
We cannot envision and create an anti-racist, expanded culture if we don’t understand our current culture and what in it and us needs to transform to make it happen.
‘Humble and open’ – We need to release the need to be ‘good’ and ‘right’, both attributes that are solidly rooted in us as part of white supremacy culture. When we release and unwind these firmly-anchored needs, we begin to understand that what we don’t know as a result of the indoctrination of whiteness is not a reflection of our character, but rather the need to more deeply learn, unwind, connect more wholly. And we free ourselves to speak less and listen more to those we’ve oppressed. They have a broader, clearer view of what is needed to heal.
‘Collective’ – This intentional process of seeing and restructuring from the foundation up is personal work, yes, and it is deepened and expanded when a group of folks do it together. It’s a big entity, this system of white supremacy. We don’t fool ourselves for a minute thinking we can do it alone. We need others to witness the shift, hold each other accountable, help us maintain hope that we and things can and will change, to hold the highest vision of each other even when we find each other at different stages and with different views, and to teach us in the different ways we each need to learn these truths. Individuals can start the process, but a collective can carry it through. And to develop a collective within our community means that we can ultimately align with other intentional collectives with similar hopes for equity and social justice.
‘Engaged’ – An action word. We’re not just interested in a cause or learning, but being committed to actively shifting, growing, deepening, connecting. Too often we rest in the comfort of claiming or declaring that we are personally not racist and therefore free from any responsibility. But to be anti-racist and resist white supremacy, engagement of the deepest, most radical, kind is required so we don’t become performative or superficial with our presence and efforts. So for the case of this collective, we are actively engaging in this work. And that ‘work’ is all of the above.
‘Radical connected conversations and actions’ – It is not an accident that many white people are eager to enter multi-racial spaces to help and march, yet need to role play ways to have conversations with other white people about race. This is part of that deeply embedded learning. We not only never learned how to talk about race, but we were diligently taught not to do so. It is an intentional tool of white supremacy to keep us separate from one another so that we don’t have the will and confidence to shift things. Let’s change that.
‘Radical’ – Returning to this core word. Now you probably have a deeper understanding of how it is being used. Radical exploration of history, culture, identity. Radical transformation. Radical witnessing. Radically engaged. Radically connected. A radical collective.
And returning to Radical Connection’s intention to bring all of the above together:
‘Radical Connection’ – “To educate and guide primarily, but not solely people who identify as white and/or are identified as white, to be effective and engaged witnesses of racism and white supremacy, where ‘witnessing’ is an action of historical education (outer and inner); radical dismantling of personal, embedded white supremacy/racist structures; understanding white culture; and developing an anti-racist, expanded cultural identity. We do this work to become more humble and open and connected so that we may listen to and follow Black, Indigenous and People of Color and so we may create a collective of individuals that engages in radical connected conversation, action and living with all people.”
Note:
A few things our group is not.
- We are not politically or religiously affiliated. It’s not that related issues will not come up, but the focus is on internal structures and learning regardless of, or in addition to, your political or religious affiliations.
- We do not mobilize as an organized group at this time. In addition, we do not purport to be the only anti-racism work or the most important. Individuals may and are encouraged to do any community activism work that they are called to as well as to connect in multi-racial groups while also being a part of Radical Connection.
- We are not a space to debate whether or not racism or inequity exists.
Inclusivity: We welcome people of all cultural backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, spiritual beliefs, family structures, ages, educational and class statuses, and mental and physical health and abilities. We request this space to be fragrance free to support people with sensitivities to chemical products. You are welcome to bring your children to the meeting keeping in mind that there are no kid-specific activities or childcare services offered and intentional, adult discussion will take place.
