What Is Ours To Do?

Join us for a full-day workshop in Chagrin Falls on May 30th, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM at The Family Life Center, 16349 Chillicothe Rd. Chagrin Falls Ohio, 44023. The day is for white people working through what whiteness asks of you. We’ll spend the day learning how to bridge the gap between what we believe about justice and what we actually do about it in our own lives. There’s a particular kind of work this moment is asking of us, and most of us have never been taught how to do it: how to speak honestly with the people already in our lives about the things we usually let pass.

Elizabeth Woodson, Executive Director of Reckon With, will facilitate. She’s spent years building this approach with white communities in moments like this one. She’s designed the day to give you something you can use the moment you walk out, with real people you’ll actually see.

Register Here

Morning

Where We Are and How We Got Here. We begin with grounding practices and an honest look at the history that has shaped this region. Using archives, data, and selected readings, we will examine what has actually happened here in our own community.

Afternoon

What We Want and What We’re Willing To Do. After lunch, we move into vision and commitment. What does this community look like in 50 years, in 100 years, if we get this right? What do we want our grandchildren to inherit?

How We Actually Talk to the People in Our Lives. The final part of the day is practice. You will identify a specific person you’ll interact with in the coming week, someone you want to engage differently than you have before.

You will rehearse what that conversation might actually sound like. You will leave with concrete tools. How to call someone in rather than call them out. How to stay present when conflict shows up. How to listen when you would rather argue.

Closing

We close together in a commitment circle. Saying something out loud, in front of others, changes what becomes possible afterward.

Throughout the day, Elizabeth will incorporate cultural and embodied practices that may be unfamiliar to many of us. These are part of what makes the work durable.

Continued Work

For those who want to keep going after May 30, Reckon has ongoing small-group programming. A short cycle is launching in June focused on how the Fourth of July is commemorated in our families and communities. We can talk more about that on the day if you’re interested.

Register Here