INVOKING : ...Dealing with White Faces in Black Spaces 2019 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

INVOKING :

...Dealing with White Faces in Black Spaces

2019 People of Color Conference - Seattle Shanelle Henry, Greens Farms Academy (CT) Antonio C. Williams, William Penn Charter School (PA)

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.

How are these

• pportunities to free
• urselves from the

constraints, and individuals, that bind us jeopardized when white folks access these spaces?

How might we support people of color who pushback in defense of the spaces they consider sacred?

Why People of Color Need Spaces Without White People

• by Kelsey Blackwell

People of color need their own spaces. PERIODT.

• We need places in which we can gather and be free

from the mainstream stereotypes and marginalization that permeate every other societal space we occupy.

• We need spaces where we can be our authentic

selves without white people’s judgment and insecurity muzzling that expression.

• We need spaces where we can simply be — where we

can get off the treadmill of making white people comfortable and finally realize just how tired we are.

Valuing and protecting spaces for People of Color is not just a ‘kind' thing that white people can do to help us feel better; supporting these spaces is crucial to the resistance of

• ppression.

• It's not just important, it's essential, for

marginalized groups to have safe spaces to engage with others who not only understand what they go through, but who also share those experiences.

• HBCUs, BGLOs and PoCC are forums

where PoC feel protected from microaggressions, stereotypes and marginalization; can live without judgment and intrusion from those who do not identify as PoC; and, are crucial to the resistance of oppression and creation of broader social change.

Illustration: Mikyung Lee for Guardian US

“Racialized people experience systemic discrimination on a daily basis, on many levels, and in ways that white people may never encounter. The whole point of [having] these safe spaces is to remove that power dynamic. That's partly what makes them spaces for healing.”

• - Aeman Ansari, ‘Ethnic Minorities Deserve Safe Spaces Without White People,’ HuffPost Blog

Even if white people can’t access an embodied understanding of why spaces exclusively for People of Color are needed, they can still cultivate genuine compassion for our experience of needing them, and they can trust our voices enough to support these spaces (without being in them). If the idea and/or presence of spaces designated just for people of color engenders feelings of discomfort, insecurity, shock or anger, seize the

• pportunity to look deeper within

yourself and ask—WHY?

Fraternities

1. What are your feelings about white people in these spaces? 2. How might this also relate to the presence of white people at PoCC? 3. Do you feel that these spaces are threatened, and somehow changed, by the presence of white people? Why and how? 4. How do we maintain the safety and integrity of spaces for People of Color?

Sororities

1. What are your feelings about white people in these spaces? 2. How might this also relate to the presence of white people at PoCC? 3. Do you feel that these spaces are threatened, and somehow changed, by the presence of white people? Why and how? 4. How do we maintain the safety and integrity of spaces for People of Color?

HBCU Grads

1. What are your feelings about white people in these spaces? 2. How might this also relate to the presence of white people at PoCC? 3. Do you feel that these spaces are threatened, and somehow changed, by the presence of white people? Why and how? 4. How do we maintain the safety and integrity of spaces for People of Color?

Non- Affiliated

1. What are your feelings about white people in those spaces? 2. How might this also relate to the presence of white people at PoCC? 3. Do you feel that these spaces are threatened, and somehow changed, by the presence of white people? Why and how? 4. How do we maintain the safety and integrity of spaces for People of Color?

White Folks

1. What are your feelings about white people in those spaces? 2. How might this also relate to the presence of white people at PoCC? 3. Do you feel that these spaces are threatened, and somehow changed, by the presence of white people? Why and how? 4. How do we maintain the safety and integrity of spaces for People of Color?

Thank you for coming!

Black Greeks (Divine Nine) in Independent Schools

Join us for the Black Greeks (Divine Nine) in Independent Schools Happy Hour tonight from 5:00PM – 7:30PM at:

1506 6th Ave, Seattle, WA.