Unlearning Racism

In a world that is still divided by racial difference, some of us have privilege and others are marginalized or oppressed.

Unlearning racism is arguably the most foundational element of a path towards Reconciliation for individuals, organizations and communities.

In 2021-22, we co-designed and led conversations with Tiana Doht for white-identified people on their path to be strong anti-racist allies. The program was called Transforming Dominant Culture (TDC)

TDC uses an approach called “Racial Affiliation Groups“ proposed by Dr. Ruth King. These are safe spaces - containers for conversations - to explore how deeply we are programmed by a racialized and unjust world that gives us privilege at the expense of others. It allows us to deeply explore how racism limits us, how we can work to end racism and in doing so, heal from a set of beliefs, actions and systems that limit our ability to truly connect with others.

Through the process, we strengthen our commitment to an equitable and just world and improve our personal resilience so we can collaboratively build equitable organizations and be ready to respond when incidents occur.

Our Path to increasing anti-racist impact includes:

• Demystifying the concept of “white person“ by looking at its legal creation in 1691 in the British colonies that would become the United States;

• Identifying the ongoing sources of personal and professional conflict and understanding how deeply we are programmed to embrace these dysfunctional habits of thinking and acting;

• Learning tools using vulnerability, compassionate dialogue, “the pause“ and micro-meditations to help us prepare to act, stay centred in the moment and to respond rather than react.

• Learn how to “call in“ others as a more effective intervention than “calling out“

We are currently writing articles with an aim to publish a book on Whiteness in Canada in an UNDRIP era in 2026.