June 2025: The Grace to Dismantle Racism

Summer is here and things are heating up in the best way for CWC. Last month, we had some great conversations about feeling our feelings. We didn’t all agree, which made the conversations even richer— this continues to be a place where we can bring and share our different perspectives. 

This month, we’ll build on those conversations and explore the next Element of Anti-racism Practice: Giving Grace to Ourselves and Others. 

We have found that in the work of dismantling white supremacy, it’s not uncommon to value perfection over progress.. And yet, it’s easy for us to get stuck at different points on our journey, immobilized by the fear of getting something wrong and causing harm. But if there’s one thing we’ve found, justice work isn't clean or linear. It’s relational, it’s messy, and it requires grace.

In her book The Person You Mean to Be, social psychologist Dolly Chugh shares this powerful insight from someone she interviewed:

"I asked Jodi what helped her will her eyes (to) open (to the truth about white supremacy and racism). ‘Grace,’ she proclaimed. I asked her what grace meant, expecting she might have meant it in a religious sense. To my surprise, she described a growth mindset. ‘We need grace to let in the idea that we may not be as perfect as we thought we were. Grace means everyone is at a different point in this journey. Grace means that we all make mistakes. I'm going to say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing. It's more important to take a risk and talk about racism and know you might screw up than to not talk about it at all.’”

This excerpt is a reminder that grace is not an excuse—it's a discipline. It keeps us connected to our humanity, and to each other.We'll use this excerpt and the following questions to help focus our conversations this month:

1. When have I held back from engaging in conversations about racism or taking action because I was afraid of getting it wrong?

2. What would it look like for me to extend grace to myself and still hold myself accountable?

3. When another White person makes a mistake in this work, how do I typically respond—with correction, judgment, or compassion?

4. When did a Black, Indigenous, or Other Person of Color not give me grace? How did it feel? How did I respond?

   
   

Again, we’re not suggesting that grace means we don’t have to take responsibility for our mistakes. It means we can hold space for imperfection, for learning, and most importantly, for trying again. Without grace, it’s too easy for us to disengage out of guilt or fear, and to dismiss others when they aren't "doing it right." With grace, we can stay in the conversation, even when it’s uncomfortable.

So come join one (or more) of our conversations this month. And if this prompt isn’t inspiring you, come for the community. You’ll be missed if you don’t ☺️

"Grace doesn’t cancel accountability. It creates the conditions where accountability can happen without destroying the person.” — Unknown