Wounds Get in the Way

>>The dance we do around race is tantamount to doing the Tango. Those of us who desire to be respectful of people of all backgrounds and not offend carefully work to stay in rhythm. Just like the Tango, at times we must get uncomfortably close, while keeping step to the tune of passionate music, trusting our partner not to back us into a wall or other people dancing to their own beat.

This Monday, Women AdvaNCe will host the third in its series of Advancing the Issues calls. The calls are free and create a forum – or dance floor to continue my metaphor – to share our experiences, knowledge and perspective. The call this week is titled “Wounds Get in the Way – Women and the Work of Racial Equality.”

Through our presenters we’ll be looking to have a deeper conversation about race with each other and removing barriers to creating deeper relationships with other women. We are blessed to have three fabulous thought leaders joins us for this call.

Gloria De Los Santos – is an organizer and director with Action NC. Gloria will discuss the instirutional imperative for organizations to deal with racial equity and healing from institutional perspective.

Stephanie Lormand – is an author and activist who deliberately reads ” the comments” section in order to keep a fire brurning about anti- racism and anti sexists work.She arms herself with observation and story, social science research data, and the insistence that racism is not the result of a subset of maginalized people but rather built into the very fabric of society.

Lori A Jones Tyson – Lori Tyson is passionate about people, DIVERSITY and politics. She has done extensive work as a nonprofit administrator for women’s, children’s and community groups.Lori has spearheaded a movement known as We Need To Talk – In Depth Conversations For Black And White Women to bring women together in solidarity and understanding.

I asked each of them to share with me their thoughts around these issues.

I grew up on, or near, a military base, with a multi- cultural/racial awareness not typically a part of the Southern experience. Those childhood friends are now also mothers, and I grieved with them for every new report of another black body shot in the streets. Once I looked deeper, I couldn’t stop seeing the influence and affect of these deliberately designed racist systems on people of color. Most of us can’t ignore the violence of overt bigotry, but the more sustainable forms of racism are rooted in the white progressive’s denial of bias and privilege. That’s what drives me now.

• Stephanie Lormand

It is important to educate women on issues that impact their everyday life. Educating women on how the system works, also empowers them to fight for changes to outdated systems that have held women back from succeeding in the workforce. Our current political climate is revealing racial and gender bias that has been brewing just below the surface, making this work very timely and important.

• Gloria De Los Santos

We invite you to joins us Monday evening. The call will only cost you your time, and the perspective and knowledge you may gain is immeasurable. We want to equip all of us to break barriers so we can support each other as women. The only way to do that is to talk with each other – and the Advancing the Issues call offers a safe space to do that. >>Register to receive call-in information.