Dear Open Hearted Birth Professionals,

The last few months of protests have faded from the headlines.  Many white people feel less anxious, that things are returning to normal.  I don't want them to. I don't want the normal of being ignorant about Black people's lives anymore.  I don't want the normal that tells me it's okay to turn a blind eye to the conditions of others.  I don't want to be ignorant that my ancestors committed wrongs, that I benefit from them, and that reconciliation is important.  So I reject the old "normal".  I want to create an intentional reality that is based on truth, compassion, and taking risks to acknowledge pain.

What was lost fifty years ago is that White people stopped talking about race and did not seek to understand the reality of a whole group of people. Our grandparent's generation turned away. We cannot.  We must keep up the momentum to educate ourselves and learn how to talk about race. We need to discover what Whiteness is and our own personal brand of Whiteness.  

I'm willing to lead other birthworkers, especially White people, into creating this newer way of relating to race together.  

Where do I start?

First, I will share what I've learned in the last six years on my racial awareness journey through blogs, videos, webinars, and podcasts. I'm different from other people because I'm a doula trainer and community leader who emphasizes cultivating insight and compassion. 

Second, I will offer a weekly forum for White people to talk about racism, colonization, white culture and supremacy, feminism, gender, sexuality, and what we don't know. It's not our fault our ancestors didn't teach us how to discuss race and told us it didn't matter. We're adults now and we realize it does matter. But we're unskilled in how to do Race Talk or manage all the feelings that arise when we do. Talking doesn't mean agreeing, it means figuring out what this insidious thing is and how we want to relate to it. I have the facilitation skills to lead people when they are uncomfortable and challenged to remain open and curious. That's the space I support for people in my Race Talk groups. Currently it's FREE. We're meeting at Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. central time through the rest of July.  Sign up is by email or FB messenger.  

Three, I will support Race Talk in my Facebook groups.  Have you joined the Doulaing The Doula Professional Group?  Not all groups allow it or know how to facilitate it well.  

Four, I will offer online classes to assist other White people discover what Whiteness is, how White behaviors manifest unintentionally as racist ones, and discover one's personal brand of Whiteness. For example I was raised in northern California by elderly German immigrants who had to deal with the aftermath of World War II. To me, that is a real life event. We had to process our guilt, shame, and complicity.  I say "we" because I inherited that legacy. I had to figure out how to deal with cultural pride while acknowledging that I had relatives who fully participated in The Holocaust of Jewish and other peoples. That is one part of my Whiteness - to acknowledge my own inherited capacity to hurt others for my own gain. Whiteness isn't all bad! But I wanted to give you a potent example. 

I hope you will join me on this journey! 

I've been waiting YEARS for people to echo my desire for social change!