Through our Kinship book group, we have been getting a pretty good education by reading and discussing a string of wonderfully informative books (as well as viewing various videos). Kinship’s training component has been active over the past year, with LibCo’s 3-part presentation to the Murshids and the Board of Trustees and Omar’s 3-part presentation for NW Sufi camp, which I had the honor of participating in. We have also arranged and/or facilitated a series of fascinating meetings on the topic of Cultural Appropriation and would be happy to support other meeting topics for anyone interested in facilitating.
In every case, the first question that comes up for most of us, upon learning the truth about devastating topics such as the extent to which we remain a white supremacy culture, or the ravages of climate change is “What can I do?” If you, too, are asking this question, read on:
Let me begin by saying it is tricky. What might seem like the most obvious “fix” to those of us in the privileged class (and you may be a member of this class regardless of your income level), is most likely not going to be successful unless it includes the input and, in fact, leadership of the people it was intended to help. The only way we can possibly serve anyone outside the dominant culture is to think outside the box created by that culture–the box of ideas about what works for us–because what works for us is not working, has NEVER worked, for many who live here.
There is a lot to learn when it comes to helping so if you’d like to be of service, it’s best to get started on the learning curve as soon as possible. As it happens, we at Kinship, have outlined a “learning curve” for the very purpose of shining a light on the work that needs to be done to educate and inform ourselves BEFORE we idealistically proclaim ourselves servants, organizers, or leaders in any kind of justice movement.
To give you an example of the material to be covered, here are some topics:
- Our Capitalist Culture–”How’s that working out for ya?”
- Windigo Culture–Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Windigo Footprints”
- The Big Box of Dominant Culture–and how not to think inside it (Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture, Tema Okun, et al)
- It’s Worse Than You Think–poverty in America
- We Are Not the Experts–Follow BIPOC leadership (or LGBTQ+, or alter-abled, or non-Christian, etc.)
- White Saviorism–what are we trying to save?
- Social Justice Agencies–what use is government aid? or making a living off of other people’s poverty?
- Aid for Marginalized People–who is “there” for them at the time they actually need it?
- Direct Giving and Mutual Aid–forget your annual donation(s)
So yes, as the dominant culture we are being asked to clean up our mess. But not by following our own leadership, which has led us astray. We must serve organizations led by members of the non-dominant culture, maybe through funding, physical acts of assistance, or spreading the word. We must learn to “know our place.”
There’s a lot to unpack here but luckily, that’s exactly what we love to do. (We’re the Marie Kondo’s of cultural clutter!) If you’d like to know more or sign up for The Learning Curve, contact Basheera at kathleen.jm.ritchie@gmail.com