FACING RACISM

Facing Racism is the story of people from different ethnic backgrounds who attend a three-day Unlearning Racism Workshop to consider the impact of race and racism on their lives and who agree to keep a personal diary on videotape of their thoughts and experiences. 

Unlearning Racism is a process of facing the ingrained assumptions about race we’ve grown up with and learning new ways to relate to people who are ethnically different from us. As the video diarists discover, this process can be uncomfortable and sometimes frightening, but it is ultimately rewarding. 

In the workshop the diarists consider the personal impact of racism as they were growing up and in their adulthood.  Allan Cooper, a Buddhist and hospice worker, grew up in Jewish neighborhoods in Chicago, received mixed messages from his family about people of other ethnicities. Juan Domingo, a poet and painter, grew up Latino in East Los Angeles and confronts the pain his own internalized racism has caused him. Spending her childhood in rural Arkansas, Linda Jackson wasn’t aware of anti-Black prejudice until she moved to New York. As a mother and school district liaison in Berkeley, she is active in educating African American parents about getting involved in their children’s schools. A writer who lives in Oakland, Michael Hagan grew up in an all-white environment in Washington state and found his move to the racially mixed Bay Area to be a frightening experience. Cynthia Hom talks about growing up Chinese in America and how she has learned to go through life trying to be as invisible as possible. 

As the five move through the workshop, they have a range of experiences that challenge their beliefs and open them up to new ways of seeing things. On the second day, Allan a European-American, is confronted by his African-American workshop partner about a joke he made the previous night which was taken as disrespectful. The facilitated conflict resolution that followed takes place before the entire workshop. It arouses strong emotions in Allan and his partner, Dennard, as well as in the other participants who share their widely divergent viewpoints later, in separate ethnic caucuses. This incident sparks anger and fear, opinions and insights that the five diarists share in their entries that night. Returning to the workshop on Sunday, they find an atmosphere of open and honest communication. The workshop ends on a hopeful note. 

After the workshop, the diarists meet at a cafe to reflect on what impact the weekend workshop had on their lives. For each of them, many of the issues that surfaced in the workshop came up again and again. They appreciate the honest sharing that took place and, despite the discomfort, each one expresses hope that the conversation of Facing Racism will continue.