The East Bay Saturday Dialogues meets Saturdays from 1-4 PM every other month in North Oakland. Events are free, and open only to white people (check out “why a white space?”). Costs are covered by participant donations.
Saturday Dialogue workshops include a mixture of small and large group discussions, journaling, presentations and interactive/movement activities. Facilitators support participants to investigate and confront racism and privilege in their lives.
For the main portion of each workshop, we explore a theme such as racism in the workplace, intersecting identities, white racial training, lineage and assimilation, and challenging conversations we want to have about race. Participants explore both internalized racism and white privilege and develop skills to address racism in their families and organizations. We often use role playing and activities from Theater of the Oppressed (theater games for actors and non-actors) to explore issues more deeply. Participants report that Saturday Dialogue workshops are insightful, accessible, creative and practical.
Each workshop includes brief “Racism and Resistance” presentations: one on a current manifestation of racism in the world today and the other on a historical example of white anti-racist activists (i.e. Lillian Smith, Prudence Crandall).
Saturday Dialogues offers a space for white people to connect with other white anti-racist allies and to be less isolated in confronting oppression. We aim to make it a very accessible space where white folks can develop themselves as effective racial justice allies. All genders and ages are welcome. Participants have backgrounds such as teachers, social workers, parents, professors, landscapers, botanists, consultants, activists, librarians, students, and more. We welcome new participants.
In addition to workshops, we moderate a Community Action listserve to inform Saturday Dialogue community members of local racial justice actions.
