Our next meeting is in 3 weeks on Tuesday December 8th at 7 PM at the Park Hill United Methodist Church at Montview Blvd and Glencoe St. in Denver. We will be meeting in the Santuary Parlor this month, on the left just inside the door from the parking lot.

Won't you please join us!.

 

Review of Ideas from “Between the World and Me”

Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a memoir directed to his teenage son with the title, Between the World and Me. It has become a best-seller and lots of people are reading and talking about it. In our December conversation we will explore several themes from his book.

Coates frequently uses the phrase “people who believe they are white,” highlighting the invention of race and whiteness and the impact it has on society. He also explores the significance of the Dream held so dearly by Americans, how it was built on the backs of Black bodies, genocide, and conquered land, and how this Dream has become toxic to everyone.

I hope you will be able to read some or all of Between the World and Me and notice which parts you have to wrestle with. I read it in a single weekend. (the Tattered Cover has 53 copies in stock at the Colfax Store as I write)

There are numerous online interviews and talks with Coates. You will find a March 2015 video at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbT6s8OX_EQ

 

Our next meeting is coming up next week on Tuesday November 10th at 7 PM at the Park Hill United Methodist Church at Montview Blvd and Glencoe St. in Denver. We will be meeting downstairs (basement) in the Youth Lounge this month. In case you are not familiar, take the stairs just to the right inside the door from the parking lot.

Won't you please join us!.

Creating the World We Want

History has demonstrated that the racial disparities and separation we experience today are all the result of deliberate decisions made over and over again, resulting in institutions and structures that reinforce the domination/subordination paradigm. Different decisions can create a new set of outcomes. The November meeting will be the first in a series of discussions to explore new visions of how we can create the world we want instead of defaulting to how things are.

We will begin with a look at the Deep Values that shape the current age and the Emerging Values that are becoming increasingly evident. Then we will get encouragement from the words of activist Grace Lee Boggs. And finally, using small groups, we will explore our own personal visions of transformation.

I have neglected to post the announcement for our new Fall season -- now almost a month late. Here below is that announcement:

Welcome back to our 2015 - 2016 season! Our first meeting of the Fall was held on Tuesday September 8th.

  Racial Illiteracy

The September meeting will give us a chance to review some of the recent developments around race and racial awareness since we met last spring.  Former Attorney General Eric Holder said a few years ago that we were a nation of cowards when it comes to talking about race.  Perhaps it is also true that most Americans are illiterate about race, without a vocabulary that goes beyond blame and shame, or lacking an education that can identify and analyze the pervasiveness of oppression that is built into so many structures.

 

To explore this concept more deeply please read Robin DiAngelo’s essay, “White America’s racial illiteracy: Why our national conversation is poisoned from the start,” at

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/10/white_americas_racial_illiteracy_why_our_national_conversation_is_poisoned_from_the_start_partner/

Resetting the Frame – Creating the World We Want

May 12, 2015

Despite the futility of Ferguson, Baltimore and North Charleston, things are about to change dramatically. Our guest presenter will be author and global leadership development specialist Chet W. Sisk.   He will talk about something that is hidden in plain sight.  In his view the world is in the middle of a dramatic and powerful paradigm shift that will re-arrange everything. In his new book, Above And Beyond All That We Know: How To Thrive And Succeed In The Current World Paradigm Shift, Chet outlines the 54 biggest world transforming trends and how they are affecting our associations, our families, our employment opportunities, what we eat, where we go, and how it will recast our relationship to white privilege and the current power structure.  Instead of only protesting and marching about injustices, Chet will describe a framework of what can be done to actualize our biggest dreams of peace, empowerment and connectedness. This data-driven research provides a blueprint for our future and the future of our children.

Please see the introduction to his book Here:  Above and Beyond - Introduction

Or you can hear him read his introduction at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6BqRVCeOW4