Reflections on the White Ally Circle Pilot
Early in 2021 the Calgary Foundation reached out to CDLI’s Anti-Racism and Decolonization Learning and Action Team about collaborating on a pilot project.
Together, we designed and facilitated six learning and practice sessions for white-identified stakeholders to help deepen and advance their understanding of and commitment to racial equity.
A huge thank you to the team who made this possible!
From the Calgary Foundation: Katie & Ingrid
From CDLI’s Anti-Racism & Decolonization Learning and Action Team: Amanda, Sarah (with the Women’s Centre of Calgary), Alana-Dawn (with the Federation of Calgary Communities), and Natalie
Amanda has captured the key elements of the pilot below:
The White Ally Circle pilot:
This work builds on and aligns with Calgary Foundation’s work to establish a Racial Equity Culture.
This space was designed for people who experience privilege based on whiteness, who often do not have to think about race and racism. For many years racialized folks engaged in racial equity work have been asking white people to do their part:
to learn what it means to, as Resmaa Menakem explains, participate in “whiteness without the supremacy”
to learn about the impacts of racism without placing further burden on racialized people.
The purpose of the White Ally Circle is to create a space where folks can support each other to:
Be better equipped to talk about race and racism
Identify where racism is being upheld in the systems we belong to
Implement specific actions in our own lives to advance equity & justice
As Pippi Kessler says, we are here to “do our homework” together. We are here to process feelings, retrain ourselves, and take action to shift power.
The Sessions:
Unpacking White Allyship
White Privilege & White Fragility
White Supremacy: Power Hoarding & Fear of Conflict
White Saviorism in Philanthropy
Digging Deeper…
Moving to Action
Want to do some learning? We strongly encourage you to learn more about White Supremacy Culture Characteristics.
Some Feedback:
“thank you for including me in the White Ally Circle! The experience was very rich, a bit like trying to drink from a fire hose! It’s been very impactful in my life and I am looking forward to hearing about possible ways in which we can continue the conversations.”
“Thank you for everything you’ve done - it was one of the more meaningful parts of my life these past six months!”