And your chance to be a part of it
Four years ago, I was on a business retreat with five other women. We had just finished breakfast and three of us were hanging out talking and one of the women, Kathy, turned to me and said ”I would really like to work with you again, I learned a lot when you were coaching me on conflict, but you know what I would love? Have you ever thought about creating a program for White people like me who don’t know anything about racism, but would really like to learn and do something about it?” Then Debbie joins in, “Yeah, if you put together something like that, I would join in a minute!”
You see, Debbie and Kathy had grown up and lived in a world where their loved ones, friends, teachers, spiritual leaders, and everyone who influenced their thinking, and their lives were White. But when they joined our business coaching group, they made friends with Black people, Filipinos, Japanese, Hawaiians, and Latinas for the first time in their lives, and what was one of the topics among us folks of color, besides building our dreams, running our businesses, and living our best lives? Racism of course, and Debbie and Kathy having never been privy to our side of the conversation before, although having lots of experience with hearing racist conversations and complaints about Black people from too many White folks in their world, found themselves unable to relate or believe what we were sharing.
Now, the honest truth is that Debbie and Kathy had no idea how much they were liked by their new friends because most Black and other folks of color do not trust White people enough to have these conversations in their presence. They must have felt the love though because they turned to me and asked me to create the group that is now known as On The Matter of Race (by the way, if that comment I just made about us not trusting White people offended you, then please sign up for our next On The Matter of Race journey because I am just stating facts.)
Once I created the format and the curriculum, they were both true to their word and joined in the first six-month long journey and have been going strong with me ever since.
Kathy and Debbie
For that first journey, we gathered a committed group of eight White people to go on our first six-month learning journey. Now, we are seven groups strong and we are hosting our first live, in-person conference in historic Washington DC and we would love your support.
On The Matter Of Race Live Conference: All of our work has been conducted online and now we are hosting our very first Live and In-person Conference for all of our current On the Matter of Race participants and alumni.
This Live event is an opportunity for OTMR participants to meet other OTMR folks who have made the commitment to learn and do something about racism in the United States. Participants will learn from guest speakers including some of our very own OTMR participants.
Dr. Lynne Maureen Hurdle, Justin Nai’im Hurdle-Price and special guest speakers will take participants on a three-and-a-half day journey of powerful and meaningful teaching, conversations, gatherings and an incredible excursion; all meant to expand the OTMR six-month journey experience.
What better place than Washington DC, a pivotal place in this country’s history on racism, to come together and build on the work that the On The Matter Of Race has already been doing? https://theconflictcloser.com/livesupport
That’s the work that you have a chance to support.
Here are the two ways you can contribute to our anti-racism work:
- You can donate to our conference and be listed as a contributor to our anti-racism work here.
- Your company can become a sponsor for our very first Live and in-person conference here.
Listen, this isn’t work that I thought I would invite either of my sons into, but here we are. I never invited my youngest, Justin Nai’im into this. He jumped in all on his own. He will tell his origin story another time. This work is IMPORTANT to us and we would love your support, especially if you are a White person who is looking for a way to make a difference in fighting racism. If you can’t join OTMR, why not support those who are a part of it?
I’d love to leave you with a glimpse of where Kathy and Debbie are today with the work.
Watch where Kathy is today with her work here.
Watch where Debbie is today with her work here.
Let’s Move Forward Together!
