We hear that our community is ready to take more active steps to work toward a racially just society, in Asheville and beyond. We believe that Black, Brown, and Native Lives Matter, and as White allies, we are committed to actively working towards increasing safety for people of color through educating ourselves and our community on the best ways to dismantle racism.

As parents, we have a clear responsibility: we must raise children who are aware of race related issues, cultural differences, and the way that our culture has racism embedded in its systems, stories, images, and structure, so that we can be raising the next generation to be champions of social justice. It may feel challenging to know the best ways to work toward this. We may feel that by simply being kind to all people regardless of race or ethnicity that our kids will not develop racist attitudes. Unfortunately, when living in a society with an intense history of racial divide and in which racism is institutionalized in such a way that it can feel invisible to those of us that have the privilege not to feel its effects due to the color of our skin, simply carrying an ideology of equality and acting kindly are not enough to prevent children from developing racial biases or to establish true racial equality and justice.

Undoing racism will require steadfast and committed action for generations to come. We need to continually educate ourselves to uncover our own internalized biases that we may not realize are there and work to change the racist structures and actions so prevalent in American society. We also need to teach our children and the youngest members of our society what racism looks like, what White privilege is, how to be respectful members of a truly diverse community, and what to do when they witness racism in action.

Please join us on Friday, December 2nd for a free workshop to learn practical steps you can take to educate your own children and children in your community about diversity, racism and ethnocentrism, and being consciously aware of the ways that racism can exist in our world. We will discuss age and developmentally appropriate ways to address these topics, because it is crucial for education about race and diversity to be a lifelong process.

Here are some resources to learn more about racism, privilege, and raising children with awareness and sensitivity to these issues:

http://www.cloverheartconcepts.com/journal/2016/7/28/racial-justice-actions-for-white-folks

http://blacklivesmatter.com/guiding-principles/

https://www.deanza.edu/faculty/lewisjulie/White%20Priviledge%20Unpacking%20the%20Invisible%20Knapsack.pdf

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gdYFhTLwRDUXy9jfrYrBdwHud0KsVLl17wJmQ-V6LHY/edit?usp=sharing

http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/multicultural-reading-resources/diversity-book-lists-for-kids/seeing-yourself-in-childrens-books/african-american-books-for-kids-of-all-ages/

We invite everyone interested to attend this event, whether parents or not, any race or ethnicity. Our focus will be on supporting White allies to teach White children the necessary lessons and practices for them to grow up as truly supportive and effective to stand against racism. We will also address how parents and adults can be strong allies and work against racism, including addressing racism in action, in the presence of and as role models for the children in a way that safe and effective.

This meeting will be facilitated by Justina Prenatt, LPCA and Chama Woydak, LCCE, CD, BDT (DONA). We are White mothers and activists who are compelled to act now to do what the Black community has asked of White allies – to work against racism in our own community. We are not positioning ourselves as experts on race, though we both have extensive educational backgrounds on race related issues and are both professional group facilitators and educators. We invite you to take grassroots, imperfect action with us in a time of crisis.

Please contact us directly for more information, questions, and to offer resources or support to our effort. Chama can be reached at chama@homegrownbabies.com, Justina at cloverheartconcepts@gmail.com.

***CHILDCARE WILL BE PROVIDED FOR THIS EVENT***
If you are able to offer it, childcare provider will be accepting donations, however donation is not necessary to utilize childcare services. Please arrive by 5:45 to get children situated with childcare. Thank you!