Flashlights Spring 2023

Racism has been declared a public health crisis and is a key obstacle to reducing health inequity.  Flashlights, our anti-racism project, was intentionally designed for people who identify as white to “do the work.” We offer a few tangible strategies for having conversations; the bigger goal is to have a dialogue in which participants are practicing. We create a learning environment that invites authentic expression and bypasses a one-and-done, informational approach. 

After an opening week of setting the learning space, the following 9 weeks pair a 15 minute podcast (participants listen on their own time) with a 60 minute Zoom session. Each week, the podcast co-hosts’ and listeners reflect on a work of art that invites all into a learning and listening space and heightens emotional connection. The non-expert co-hosts' conversation explores some aspect of racism and white people's relationship with it.

Each Live Learning Session on Zoom offers 60 minutes of facilitated practice of conversations about race. Flashlights holds up a mirror to show the culture white people inhabit, and what could be if we showed up as alternative voices willing to talk and act regarding racism. 

WHAT TO EXPECT

Each run of this course will take 10 weeks to complete. Because community building is essential, we ask that you commit to all 10 weeks.

10 live sessions:

Live Learning Session 1 (only)

Live Learning Session 2  (podcast: ”One Tree”)

Live Learning Session 3  (podcast: “How Do We Build Culture?”)

Live Learning Session 4  (podcast: “A Parable of Privilege”)

Live Learning Session 5  (podcast: “Winter Sundays”)

Live Learning Session 6  (podcast:  “Own your story”) 

Live Learning Session 7  (podcast: “Tension”)

Live Learning Session 8  (podcast: “How Did You Come to Your Understanding?”)

Live Learning Session 9  (podcast: “ Assumptions”) 

Live Learning Session 10 (podcast: “Underlying Narratives”)

A facilitator will lead guided discussions and activities related to the podcast, skills and participants’ needs.