Heather May

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gRace Matters

On Sunday, January 21, we hopped in a van and drove to Cooperstown, NY to work with members of various ecumenical communities on the urgency of not only recognizing white privilege but also taking action to dismantle it -- or when necessary, to use privilege as a means of intervening in racist situations. The event, convened by anti-racist group gRace Matters, started with a performance of our piece "Your Silence Says Otherwise," which was written in response to last summer's "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville. We added a couple of short scenarios about how to intervene in moments of racism and what to do instead of calling police before joining small groups of congregants to dialogue about the issues raised in this performance. Dialogue was lively and thoughtful, with demonstrated interest in listening and learning that continued over a fellowship dinner.

Thanks to the First Presbyterian Church and gRace Matters for hosting us and taking initiative to confront issues of race, racism, and white privilege. 

For more information about this collaboration, check out this Daily Update article.