by Linda S. Warner, AWC Amsterdam
“Racism: An Intimate Conversation” was first announced on Juneteenth, and our first meeting was held via Zoom on June 29. It was indeed an intimate conversation. It was informative, heart-opening, honest and intelligent. A key takeaway from that talk was a unanimous desire to continue these discussions at regular intervals, for the foreseeable future. We are focusing first on systemic racism against Black people and once complete, we will move to other parties impacted by racism. We have had two meetings thus far and our third is scheduled for early September.
The intention of these meetings is to increase awareness, educate ourselves, and to take action to not only become more inclusive human beings, but a more inclusive organization and a more just world. ALL points of view are welcome – diversity, inclusion, and equality are our North Star, our guideposts for the coming year and beyond.
The format is simple: content on a specific aspect of Racism via words, images and video clips is presented… and then we discuss it. The curated content thus far has been sourced from primarily black authors, speakers, activists, comedians and more.
There is something very powerful that happens with a shared experience, and it really helps to talk about it. Racism, Systemic Racism, White Privilege, White Supremacy have been discussed thus far. This is both an inner and an outer exploration, and those topics have many dimensions and layers. The learning is at times very uncomfortable and heartbreaking – but it is so necessary. In addition, there is a long list of other topics, which we will unlikely cover in a year’s time.
I initiated the idea, curate the content, plan the session and facilitate the discussion. It is planned that other Amsterdam members in future sessions will lead topics that are of keen interest and passion to those members.
We highly recommend you imperfectly begin immediately and be an active participant in your club and your lives. One intimate conversation at a time. Lives depend on it.