March 23 Statewide Call with Indivisible REI Illinois
Are you a statewide group leader or active Indivisible in Illinois currently working on dismantling white supremacy? Have you taken steps on the path towards Racial Equity and Inclusion (REI)? If so, we would like your voice at the second Indivisible REI Illinois meeting of 2022 this Wednesday, March 23.
RSVP for the Zoom Meeting: https://bit.ly/March23-REI
This will be a smaller call where we will have an honest, and perhaps uncomfortable, discussion about creating a way forward toward REI in our statewide Coalition. Our first Indivisible REI Illinois call laid the foundation. This next call is a working call for us to create a framework for the rest of the year as we work toward a statewide Antiracist Action Plan.
The Indivisible REI Illinois team is one of six statewide working groups at Indivisible Illinois Community Collaborative (IICC). We are leading a series of meetings this year during our weekly statewide calls on Wednesdays to discuss Racial Equity and Inclusion (REI) in our organization with the intent of creating a statewide Antiracist Action Plan to guide our work.
The first of these meetings was held on Feb 9. Thank you for attending. Review recording here.
Our next meeting is Weds, March 23 at 7:30pm CT. Register here before noon on March 23.
This document is a bit long because there’s a lot of information here. Please take a few minutes to read through this for details about the meeting.
Note: The March 23 meeting is for statewide group leaders and active Indivisibles in Illinois who are currently working to dismantle white supremacy. We will be leaning into discomfort on this call as we discuss our ongoing antiracist work. We are looking to grow the Indivisible REI Indivisible team and are specifically looking for people who are currently doing this work within their own groups. This call will not be recorded.
We will be establishing meeting norms at the top of our call to guide these discussions, so please be on time.
Background
At our February meeting, we laid the foundation for the rest of the year. On that call, we clarified language that we use to do this work, like Equity vs. Equality; DEI vs. REI; “not racist” vs “antiracist;” and digging into the ways that white supremacy shows itself in our world today.
The March 23 meeting is intended to continue that discussion with individuals from across Illinois who are committed to doing the work that dismantling white supremacy requires. We expect to have at least one representative from each of the working groups within the IICC, as well as others from around the state.
Please save the dates for the remainder of Indivisible REI Illinois meetings this year: May 4, Jun 15, July 27, Sept 7, Oct 19, and Nov 30.
March Meeting Details
The intent of this meeting is for us to come together and have an honest, perhaps uncomfortable, discussion about where we have been and where we are right now so that we can create a way forward toward racial equity and inclusion in our Coalition.
Come prepared on March 23 to discuss the following topics:
- Where are you right now in your strategic antiracism work in your group?
- What challenges does your organization face in becoming an antiracist group?
- What does it mean to have courageous conversations?
So far the Indivisible REI Illinois team has consisted of three founding members. On this call, we will grow this group to ensure the success of our shared vision of Racial Equity and Inclusion.
Again, our goal at the end of this year is to have a statewide Antiracist Action Plan. That can only be achieved through active participation and commitment of all members of the organization. By beginning this conversation with representatives from groups around the state, we are taking a step in that direction.
Resources
Here are some resources to consider ahead of our meeting:
- White Fragility and the Rules of Engagement by Robin DiAngelo. Do you recognize any of the “Rules of Engagement” in your own organization when topics of racial equity arise? Have you been able to implement the guidelines that DiAngelo suggests instead?
- Please take this quiz with openness and honesty and consider your own relationship with white fragility. How did you score? Understanding that white supremacy is a system that we are all participants in is the key to dismantling it.
- Consider the Stages of Racial Equity Practice. Where is our organization now? How do we move forward through these stages?
- Take a look at this list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations. Do you see these characteristics in your group? If so, what steps have you taken to counter them?
- If you are interested in learning more, that document has been expanded and is part of a larger Dismantling Racism website that provides resources for groups working to dismantle racism and white supremacy.
Please let us know if you have any questions ahead of the meeting at [email protected]. We look forward to a thoughtful and productive discussion.
The Indivisible REI Illinois Team
