Becoming Human: Dismantling Racism Online Workshop

A Lenten/Spring Program of Six Workshops (all online)

Becoming Human: Dismantling Racism

During the season of Lent 2020, the University of St. Thomas and The Basilica of Saint Mary collaborated on an educational series toward dismantling racism that was called “Becoming Human.” The outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States made online delivery necessary. This “online portal” provides access to the series as well as some additional tools that will help to engage in the work of transforming our communities.

The theory guiding this series is that the racial history we all inherit is dehumanizing for all of us, though it is dehumanizing for white folks in different ways than it is dehumanizing for people of color. The only way to “become human” is to confront the legacy of white supremacy and undergo a process of transformation, even conversion, to engage more humanely in the world, especially across the color line.

Course Details:

Participants will individually watch six lectures outlined below. Every other Thursday, beginning February 23, we’ll gather virtually to discuss the content and related activities. “Gatherings” will be from 6-7:30 pm on Zoom.

• Dates of the gatherings: February 23, March 9, March 23, (skip April 6 due to Holy Thursday) April 13, April 27, and May 11.

Workshop Content:

We’ll engage in the work of historical recovery, learning how white supremacy has been structured into the American legal system (workshop one), persisting beyond the era of Civil Rights through the “war on drugs” (workshop two), and leading to the contemporary reality of mass incarceration (workshop three). Learning the stages of racial identity development can disrupt the “White Savior” complex (workshop four). True social transformation can happen when there is a match between our unique gifts and the world’s need (workshop five). Since theology is a carrier, too, of white supremacy, learning about the Blackness of God can help in recognizing the moral imperative behind this religious calling to engage in the work of social transformation (workshop six).

Registration for this series has closed.

For more information, or to get involved in work of racial reconciliation at The Basilica of Saint Mary, contact Janice Andersen.