Anti-Racist Allyship: Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills to Foster Equity with Cultures Connecting

This workshop will be repeated at 12:45 pm for booksellers who are unable to attend the morning session. The workshop can accommodate up to 50 booksellers. Registration will open in early March.

We live in a multicultural world; however, we’ve been socialized to be believe that everyone should assimilate into the dominant culture’s norms, values, and customs. When trying to practice multicultural inclusion, we need to examine how the perspectives of the privileged, their culture, and identity have been normalized and may unintentionally create spaces where People of Color feel unwelcome. White people who truly want to address race and social justice and create more equitable environments know they must start with themselves.

In this session, participants will recognize and discuss the institutional advantages and disadvantages communities face due to race. The workshop is designed for people who are interested in examining unconscious biases and learning strategies to practice anti-racist allyship. Attendees will focus on awareness, knowledge, and skills that people with privilege can learn together, rather than expecting people of color to educate them. While this session is primarily intended for White booksellers, all Children’s Institute attendees are welcome to participate.

Facilitator Ilsa Marie Govan has close to 20 years of experience leading white caucus spaces that are rooted in scholarship and accountable relationships with people of color. To find out more about this strategy, you can read her December 2019 article in Diversity Best Practices, “Five Ways an Anti-Racist White Caucus Supports Diversity and Inclusion.”