Have you ever had a conversation about racism or politics where you looked back and thought, “I wish I had kept my cool and dealt with that differently”? If you’ve ever been a part of our work at SURJ, you know that navigating these conversations, staying grounded, and treating your loved one with dignity while agitating them towards a more just view of the world is a skill that you can learn.
Next week on Tuesday, July 28 at 8 pm ET, we’re hosting a webinar training, “How to organize your people: a training for white people on how to have hard conversations” to go deeper. Many of you have been with us in these types of conversations for a long time– but now is a great time to brush up. Or you might have a white friend who is looking to learn more– invite them!
We know that the stakes are much higher than simply changing one person’s mind. Lives are on the line, and it’s white people’s role to step towards our communities– not away from them– and lean into these difficult conversations to stop the cycle of racism and bring more white people into movements for justice.
In this training, we’ll go over the basics of how to stay grounded, conversation tips for difficult topics, and why these conversations are so important right now.
This moment is so much bigger than one-on-one conversations with our relatives. Tens of thousands of us need to be having hundreds of conversations with our neighbors to reach millions of white people collectively.
And one conversation is the best place to start. Can you join us?