February 2025: A Journey of Acknowledging and Understanding Whiteness

CWC
Feb 1
2 min read

Happy February. If you’ve ever been to a CWC gathering, you know that we always remind ourselves at the end of each gathering to practice having conversations about racism and white supremacy outside of CWC. We hope you are finding opportunities to deepen connections and have these important conversations within your spheres of influence; we can’t remember a time when connection and conversation was more needed.

In the spirit of connection, we look forward to continuing our exploration of CWC’s Elements of Antiracism Practice. Last month we looked at the first practice, “Be Curious & Open-minded.” This month, we’ll move on to “Acknowledge and Understand Whiteness.”

In a time when denial of Whiteness and claims of reverse racism are on the rise, it’s critical for us as White folks to ground ourselves in the history of race in the U.S. and get comfortable talking about how Whiteness continues to shape our daily lives.

To help us jump start the conversation, we’ll watch this 3-minute video, which features BIPOC folks from different parts of the world responding to the word “white.” We’ll then open it up for our own reactions and reflections, use the following prompts:

What came up for you as you watched the video?
How do you define Whiteness?
How do you differentiate Whiteness from white supremacy and white identity, if at all?
How do you respond to the criticism that acknowledging whiteness and racism is a form of racism that hurts white people?
What resources have helped you acknowledge and understand Whiteness?

We look forward to exploring this element of antiracism practice in community with you. As always, the prompts are meant to inspire deeper reflection and give us the opportunity to practice having conversations about race and racism. If the video or the prompts above don’t inspire you, or if you have a different perspective, come to a gathering and share what’s on your mind. All perspectives are welcome!

“It is important to understand that the system of advantage is perpetuated when we do not acknowledge its existence.” – Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria