A Training for White People Ready to Unlearn White Supremacy & Take Action
Welcome! SURJ Bay Area is excited to invite you to participate in our free online Study & Action Program. During three impactful sessions, you’ll begin doing the work to unlearn white supremacy and take accountable, principled action toward racial justice— so needed now more than ever. You’ll dig into the history of white supremacy, learn about the SURJ Bay Area campaigns and programs, and how you can bring your skills to the fight for collective liberation.
Why Participate in Study & Action?
Throughout history, social movements have engaged in political education to inform how and why we organize, mobilize, and take action for justice and liberation. This 3-session series highlights key principles and prepares us to respond to urgent calls to action with integrity and clarity. Study & Action will help you deepen your understanding of the current moment in a supportive group setting of like-minded people and you’ll learn about ways to get involved in the movement for justice.
Study & Action participants learn how to:
Study & Action participants learn how to:
- Examine how white supremacy shows up in our own lives
- Talk to loved ones about racism, public safety, mass incarceration, attacks on immigrants, and protecting and reinvesting in our communities
- Take collective action to end the ongoing genocide in Palestine
- Educate others about both Palestinian liberation and combating antisemitism
- Clearly define our personal stake in ending white supremacy
- Envision a future of collective liberation
- …and more!
Here's What Past Participants Had To Say
“I feel more grounded in owning my reason for doing racial justice work collectively, to build towards the world that I want to be a part of.”
“I've often been (and still am to a degree) motivated by guilt to do what I think I ‘should’ do and this work together helped me see my role more clearly.”
“The resources were amazing . . . I loved the community aspect and the vulnerable space the facilitators fostered.”
“I especially liked the work around somatics/consent. That piece has been groundbreaking for me and I want to have every white person I know do study and action simply to have that too.”
“The experience of the program was personally life-changing for me as a participant being guided through a radical political education program from the entire incredible Bay Area facilitation team.”
“I've often been (and still am to a degree) motivated by guilt to do what I think I ‘should’ do and this work together helped me see my role more clearly.”
“The resources were amazing . . . I loved the community aspect and the vulnerable space the facilitators fostered.”
“I especially liked the work around somatics/consent. That piece has been groundbreaking for me and I want to have every white person I know do study and action simply to have that too.”
“The experience of the program was personally life-changing for me as a participant being guided through a radical political education program from the entire incredible Bay Area facilitation team.”
What To Expect
The Study & Action series will have three live sessions, hosted every other Thursday from 6:30 - 9:00 pm PT. All meetings will be held on Zoom. The third meeting, on November 12, may be held in-person in Oakland, CA, with a hybrid Zoom option for those who cannot make it in person. None of the sessions will be recorded.
In each session, facilitators will lead discussions on the topics of the history of white supremacy; the links between capitalism, slavery, and incarceration; and the Palestine solidarity movement. We will engage in small and large group conversations, journaling, role playing, and other creative activities. A portion of each evening will be devoted to exploring how you can take action, including how to plug into our SURJ campaigns.
- Session 1 (Thursday, Oct 15): Framing White Supremacy and Anti-Racism
- Session 2 (Thursday, Oct 29): “Public Safety” and Repression in the US and Palestine
- Session 3 (Thursday, Nov 12): Collective Liberation and Your Path Forward
In each session, facilitators will lead discussions on the topics of the history of white supremacy; the links between capitalism, slavery, and incarceration; and the Palestine solidarity movement. We will engage in small and large group conversations, journaling, role playing, and other creative activities. A portion of each evening will be devoted to exploring how you can take action, including how to plug into our SURJ campaigns.
Your Commitment
Study & Action participants are asked to:
- Commit to attending each 2.5 hour session (three sessions total). Live participation is a very important part of the program and the sessions will not be recorded.
- Have access to a computer with reliable internet to attend Zoom sessions. Every session is hosted on Zoom with auto captions with a live transcript enabled.
- Allow enough time to read/watch/listen to the pre-session assignments (~2-3 hours prep time per session). We offer captioned videos or transcripts of any videos without captions, transcripts of podcasts, and audio recordings of any text-based resources that are included as homework or during the sessions.
- Be open to taking action with SURJ Campaigns, SURJ Action Hours, SURJ Action Pods, or other initiatives as you are able (i.e. calling or emailing representatives, making public comments at virtual hearings, attending rallies if you live nearby, etc) in the weeks between meetings. None of these out-of-session actions are mandatory, as we realize they might not always work for your schedule, but we encourage you to own your power and get involved!
We are committed to making our program as accessible as possible. If you have other access needs, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].