Race, Fragility, and Anti-Racism: A Summer Discussion Series
Wednesday, July 1-September 23, 2020 | 6:30-7:30 pm | Zoom (Registration Required)
Sign Up via Google Form or at Eventbrite
Are you looking for practical steps to help heal the nation’s racial divide? Are you interested in understanding how we got to where we are and where we need to go from here?
Rage, Fragility, and Anti-Racism: A Summer Discussion Series will meet on Zoom Wednesday evenings from 6:30 pm–7:30 pm, starting on 7/1. We will read, watch, and discuss a selection of books, articles, videos, and speeches about seeking common ground across racial lines. There are just two required books: White Fragility and White Rage, and the reading commitment would be, at most, 8 pages per day. Please watch or read the materials prior to each meeting and bring your thoughts, questions, and friends with you as we explore practical ways to bring racial healing to our communities.
The discussion will be guided by Somerville residents Keidrick Roy (a black military veteran from Texas and Harvard PhD Candidate researching the legacy of slavery and racism) and Holly Roy (a white native Montanan and former Republican who has lived and worked in the middle of the country and on both coasts).
Required Reading / Viewing Materials
Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (2018; available on Amazon Kindle & Audible and elsewhere)
Carol Anderson, White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide (2016; available on Amazon Kindle & Audible and elsewhere)
King In The Wilderness (2018 HBO film; $2.99-$3.99 on Amazon Prime, VuDu, Google Play, & YouTube)
Introduction: Outlining Whiteness / Defining Privilege
7/1
– Video excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech (3m; YouTube)
– Savala Trepczynski, “Black and Brown People Have Been Protesting for Centuries” (short article)
– Claudia Rankine, “I Wanted to Know What White Men Thought About their Privilege” (short article)
– Ibram Kendi, How to Be an Anti-Racist (Chapter 1, pp. 13–23; PDF will be provided)
Race to the Breaking Point
7/8 Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility (Introduction + Chapters 1–2, pp. 1– 38)
7/15 Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility (Chapters 3–5, pp. 39–88)
7/22 Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility (Chapters 6–10, pp. 89–122)
7/29 Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility (Chapters 10–12, pp. 123–154)
Black Rage / White Rage; or Why are there Riots?
8/5 13th (Netflix; 1h40m–now free on YouTube)
8/12 King in the Wilderness (HBO 1h51m–$2.99-$3.99 on Amazon Prime, VuDu, Google Play, & YouTube)
8/19 Carol Anderson, White Rage (Prologue + Chapter 1)
8/26 Carol Anderson, White Rage (Chapter 2)
Where Do We Go From Here?
9/2 Martin Luther King Jr., “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” (Audio Version) & Carol Anderson, White Rage (Chapter 3)
9/9 Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” (Audio Version) & Carol Anderson, White Rage (Chapter 4)
9/16 Martin Luther King Jr., “Shattered Dreams” & Carol Anderson, White Rage (Chapter 5)
9/23 Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution” (Audio available on YouTube) & Dr. William Barber’s “14 Steps, Forward Together” (PDF will be provided)