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BY JACQUELINE SMALL

In print | Published November 12, 2009

For the first two years of its existence, White Women Confronting Racism concentrated its efforts on discussing the feelings of privilege and guilt that white females may experience when considering racism. Now they are moving to take action against oppression by establishing a workshop for white women who work as teachers in Philadelphia.

Tentatively called the Michelle Fine Anti-Racist Teachers Workshop, the project aims to “provide a space for white teachers to critically reflect on how racism functions in their classrooms and schools, as well as build an analysis of the role of the educational system in reproducing power structures based in white supremacy,” according to its mission statement.

The workshop will not take place until the spring semester and is still in its planning stages, but the members of the group have clear ideas about what they hope to achieve.

“We have a long way to go in getting all the logistical details determined, such as space and transportation,” Mai Schwartz ’10 said.

As group members continue to develop their plans, the group is open to help from any interested Swarthmore students, especially suggestions about potential contacts, models they can follow and examples of similar efforts.

Training will be provided for those who want to run the workshops. There is no educational background required, and students should feel welcome to contribute even if they do not want to be workshop leaders. Though students from all backgrounds are invited to contribute, the group wants only white women to run the workshops in the interest of creating a comfortable environment for the teachers.

Sarah Apt ’10 described the workshops as a means of giving educators the tools necessary for preventing racist behavior in their classrooms. They hope to help teachers analyze their own prejudice as well as take a critical look at the structure of the nation’s educational system.

Because the challenges teachers face vary depending on the age level and subject matter they teach, there will be variations within the program to allow each person to learn the best strategies for her unique situation.

Ultimately, the group hopes to turn the teachers into activists for equality.

“We hope to bring together a community of educators committed to anti-racist work that teachers can continue to draw on in their work, both within their schools and in Philadelphia.” Schwartz said.

The most important tool they can impart to the teachers, according to Apt, is a sense of “critical awareness” of racism, which is a “personal, institutional and cultural” problem. They will discuss and consider how to respond to bigoted comments, the fairness of testing for giftedness and how to appropriately emphasize different cultures, including native peoples. Identifying potentially offensive terminology and finding replacements is another objective. The project was suggested by Professor Ana Celia Zentella, Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues of Social Change. White Women Confronting Racism has also been in contact with several education professors for help with the organization of the workshop.

Though this is currently White Women Confronting Racism’s main project, it is only one facet of the group’s overall mission. The group is dedicated to giving a space for white students to talk about their attitudes toward race without overpowering minority students. Schwartz said that this method allowed the group to “not put burdens on students of color to educate” white students.

The group was started by Claire Galpern ’10 and is modeled after a now-defunct group at Bryn Mawr College.

On its own, White Women Confronting Racism is “not exactly anti-racist work, but the preparation for anti-racist work,” Lucy Warrington ’10 said. “There is lots of room for debate, but some of our group members view our work as the preparation we as white women need to do to be better equipped for anti-racist action.”

They knew the group should be closed to allow its members privacy to speak freely but were unsure about limiting it to women.

However they decided that only allowing women would create an environment in which women could speak comfortably.

“Having the group be open to women only allows the group members to analyze racism not just as white people, but as white women who have specific relations to racism that white men do not, such as a relationship to racism’s role in the history of feminism.  Also, in some co-ed groups, men tend to dominate the conversation,” Warrington said. The group has sponsored events that are open to white men as well.

The group is currently in the process of forming partnerships with other groups that focus on issues of race and gender.

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