The Facilitator's Guide for White Affinity Groups: Strategies for Leading White People in an Anti-Racist Practice

A first of its kind, accessible, in-depth resource for leading effective white racial affinity groups-an essential tool in anti-racism for building the skills and perspectives needed for white people to challenge racism. A first of its kind, accessible, in-depth resource for leading effective white racial affinity groups-an essential tool in anti-racism for building the skills and perspectives needed for white people to challenge racism. While there are a few short articles and guides addressing the challenges and complexities of leading white affinity groups, there has never been a detailed handbook exclusively for white racial affinity group facilitators. There are many challenges in facilitating these groups including the need to have a deep theoretical understanding of racism; a high degree of racial self-awareness; sensitivity to and the ability to work with the range of skills and degrees of awareness participants bring; and strong facilitation and conflict resolution skills. The Facilitator's Guide for White Affinity Groups is the first in-depth guide for educators, mediators, workplace consultants and trainers, workplace diversity groups, community organizers, conference organizers, members of faith communities, and members of racial and social justice groups. Dr. Robin DiAngelo and Amy Burtaine, who collectively bring over 20 years of experience leading anti-racist education and racial affinity groups present- a theoretical framework for understanding racism; a case for the value of racial affinity groups as a tool for challenging racism; guidelines for setting up affinity groups in a variety of contexts; the skills and perspectives needed for effective facilitation; scenarios to illustrate common challenges; a glossary of definitions; exercises, discussion prompts, and assessment tools. an extensive list of common patterns and group dynamics and how to address them Written accessibly for a wide range of readers and backgrounds, The Facilitator's Guide for White Affinity Groups will be an important reference for anyone committed to anti-racism work.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION Why White Affinity Groups? CHAPTER 1 The Basics CHAPTER 2 Different Contexts CHAPTER 3 Getting Started CHAPTER 4 Prompts, Discussion Starters, and Facilitator Techniques CHAPTER 5 Addressing Common Patterns and Challenges PATTERNS WE SEE BEFORE GETTING TO OUR WHEN STARTING THE AFFINITY GROUP 1. Resistance to Breaking into Separate Groups 2. “I’m Not White” PATTERNS RELATED TO WHITE IDENTITY 3. Expecting People of Color to Teach Us About Race 4. Expecting Answers 5. Fear of Being Perceived as Racist 6. Taking Everything Personally 7. Claiming Racial Innocence 8. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 9. The Confessional 10. Critiquing the Thinking of People of Color 11. Intellectualizing PATTERNS RELATED TO THE DENIAL OF RACISM 12. “It’s Different Where I Come From” 13. Removing Race from the Equation 14. Distancing 15. Claiming Reverse Racism: “They’re Just as Racist as We Are” PATTERNS RELATED TO GROUP DYNAMICS 16. Checking Out 17. Dominating the Discussion 18. Out-Woking 19. Silence 20. Scapegoating 21. Fear of Challenging Others in the Group 22. Power Dynamics Rooted in Rank 23. Where Is Everyone? 24. The Closing Bomb PATTERNS RELATED TO THE FACILITATORS 25. The Difficult Participant 26. Challenging the Facilitators 27. Trying to Facilitate from Within the Group 28. “Show Me the Agenda” 29. Feeling Entitled to the Facilitators’ Time 30. The Kiss-Up 31. The Pile-On PATTERNS WE WORK ON HERE SO WE DON’T ENGAGE IN THEM WHEN IN MIXED GROUPS 32. Credentialing 33. Hopelessness 34. Hopefulness 35. Complaining about How Exhausting the Work Is 36. Channel Changing 37. White Fragility 38. Getting Stuck in Guilt/Shame 39. Centering Our Own Trauma 40. “I’m Powerless” 41. White Women’s Tears 42. The Extreme CHAPTER 6 Closing the Group CHAPTER 7 Accountability Glossary Additional Resources for Your Anti-Racist Practice Acknowledgments Notes

About the Author :
Dr. Robin DiAngelo is an affiliate associate professor of education at the University of Washington. She has been a consultant, educator, and facilitator on issues of racial and social justice for more than twenty-five years. She is the author or coauthor of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers White Fragility and Nice Racism. Find her online at robindiangelo.com. Amy Burtaine has been co-facilitating workshops, providing coaching and mediation, and educating through an anti-oppression lens for over 20 years. While she has experience leading this work on a range of oppressions, her passion and commitment is to center race, specifically looking at how whiteness upholds and perpetuates racial inequality. She most often works in collaboration with people of color to co-facilitate dialogues and trainings on racism. She holds a MFA and is trained in interactive pedagogy. Find her online at amyburtaine.com.

Review :
“DiAngelo and Burtaine expertly lay out how to create and sustain an effective white affinity group. Backed by years of experience, they adroitly work their way through the briar patch of white racial patterns that limit progress in anti-racism work. A first of its kind, this invaluable and much-needed resource will deepen the work of white affinity spaces and, by extension, increase the number of white people who are aware of the role of race in their lives, can trace the impact of racist policies of the past into the present, and have the tools to take transformative action. Knowing this guide is in facilitators’ hands gives me great hope.” —Jacqueline Battalora, author of Birth of a White Nation “A must-read for facilitators of white accountability groups! Honest and truth-telling, this essential guide raises key questions and provides crucial insights to address common pitfalls and challenges when leading these critical conversations. I wish I had a handbook when I started facilitating white accountability groups; now it’s here!” —Kathy Obear, EdD, president, Center for Transformation and Change “Some of my most powerful learning has been in White anti-racist groups like the ones described here—making mistakes together, asking stupid questions, and supporting each other on the challenging journey of addressing racism. I loved the clarity, suggested activities, and manual-like style of this guide for facilitating these groups, which will be incredibly useful and returned to again and again. May this book help you build loving and accountable relationships with other White people and cultivate courage, take action, and keep moving on your anti-racist path.” —Ali Michael, PhD, coauthor of Our Problem, Our Path: Collective Anti-Racism for White People “Robin DiAngelo and Amy Burtaine have provided wise and practical shapes for effective midwifery of anti-racist consciousness in collective context.  This work is an invitation to build relational capacity toward durable social action by those who recognize that white supremacy differentially dehumanizes those it moves through and those it marginalizes. There is a compelling case made that anti-racism is inherently transformative to those who practice it while releasing a grip on perfectionist evasion or a quest for comfort. Instead, this facilitator's guide brings conviction that responsiveness and mutuality are true companions of accountability.” —Leticia Nieto, coauthor of Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment