This document is for all participants in the June 2024 Foundations of Radical White Anti-Racism online course facilitated by David Dean. It is meant to provide important information about how the course will be held and a group of community agreements for all course participants, especially those participating in live sessions on the zoom platform. 

 

Identity-Based Caucusing and the Purpose of This Course 

 

Foundations of Radical White Anti-Racism is designed as a space for people socially classified as “white” to understand how they can step into a tradition of cross-racial solidarity for collective liberation and to develop the political analysis and emotional strength needed to do so. While this historical legacy is something in which all people can find meaning and direction for their lives, this course is built for the unique educational needs of white people engaging in this political work. For this reason, we will be holding this course as a caucus for white-identified people. 

 

Identity-based caucusing is a common practice in the field of racial justice education meant to supplement and support (not replace) multiracial dialogue and activism. It is a way to give focus to the specific needs for education, healing and growth of various groups who have been racialized in very distinct ways in our society. 

 

For those of us who are white, the caucus setting allows us to take responsibility for a large portion of our learning without placing the onus of education on our comrades of color. It also can allow us, as a community, to do the meaningful work of on reclaiming parts of our ancestors’ identities that were lost with their assimilation to whiteness, and reconnect to aspects of their humanity that were degraded during their complicity in racial violence. Ideally, in these spaces, we can explore renewed, positive personal and cultural identities that can form the foundations of meaningful, politically-active lives. 

 

People who are mixed race with white and non-white ancestry/family who are interested in exploring their own relationship to whiteness or light skin privilege and who feel that the caucus and subjects of this course would be supportive of their learning journey are welcome to join live sessions. Folks of color who are not mixed race/don’t personally identify with the course caucus and who are interested in the themes of the course are welcome to register and access all course content via session recordings (posted one day after each live session).

 

Participants not from the U.S. are welcome to attend this training. However, all should be aware that while many of the themes of this course are global in scope, there is a U.S.-specific focus to some of the content (and the facilitator and most participants are based in the U.S.). 

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If you have questions about if the course would be a good fit for you feel free to reach out at david@davidbfdean.com.

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Community Agreements for Course Participation 

 

We ask that all course participants, especially those attending the live zoom sessions of this course, adhere to the following community agreements: 

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• All participants must be registered for the course and each participant must fill out their own individual registration form. Participants must also not share their individual zoom logins with others. However, attending a session via the same device with friends who are also registered is totally fine. 

 

• Confidentiality: Participants must not share session recordings, session chat logs, or the link to the participant page as a whole with those not registered for the course. We also ask that participants not share personal stories of other participants shared in small breakout rooms outside of that particular breakout room. Sharing insights gained from breakout room experiences is fully acceptable. Lessons leave, stories stay.

 

• Adhere to the caucus designed for this course (described above).

 

• Refrain from offering criticism or constructive feedback about how the course is facilitated during the live sessions themselves. We value much of this feedback in a major way. However, with a large group of participants and very limited group session time together, we ask that you deliver this feedback in the end-of-course survey or by emailing us at david@davidbfdean.com. 

 

• Work to keep the written zoom chat, breakout room discussions and sharing with the whole group to the subject matter of the course. Engaging in long side conversations can detract from other participants’ ability to focus and get the most out of course content. We also ask that all participants remain muted in whole group portions of zoom sessions unless called upon. Additionally, we ask that participants share from the heart while making an effort to not monopolize whole group or breakout sharing time by leaving time for others to speak (and being open to facilitator guidance related to this topic). Finally, share from personal experience and refrain from unsolicited feedback or criticism of other participants (especially in unmediated breakout room discussions).

 

• Approach participants, facilitators (and oneself) with openness, care, and respect. In this course, we will be speaking about many heavy subjects and all of us want those subjects to be held with care and in a good way. In the midst of that, we want to zero in on the importance of cultivating an ethic of openness and care one another—acknowledging that we are all on our own learning journeys with these topics, and no matter where you are on that journey, no one has all the answers, we’re all works in progress. Our goal is to be honest, courageous and kind, and to approach one another with curiosity and respect, because this is the approach that is best suited for the learning, growth, and change that we’re after. 

 

• The violation of these community agreements in an excessive way can result in various consequences at the course facilitators’ discretion including the muting of a participant, revoking live session zoom logins, or removal from the course. 

 

An additional note from David: My gratitude goes out to Eleanor Hancock, director of the organization White Awake, for modeling for me the importance of a set of written ground rules such as these in maintaining a positive experience for large groups in an online learning setting.