Guiding Questions & Principles; Purpose and Process

From the original proposal to MWB:

Guiding Question: What are the actions we, as a Meeting and as community members, are taking in aim of dismantling racism and white supremacy?

Purpose: Seek to address the dismantling of racist power structures, discern action plan, apply Meeting principles, and provide recommendations to Monthly Meeting

Process: Monthly Meeting approval of working group; group discerns short-term goals, Meeting community input and guiding principles; group makes specific short recommendations for action to Monthly Meeting; group discerns action plan for long-term goals and repeats process; group becomes standing committee? 

Queries for our committee’s consideration

1. What can we do as an institution to support people of color and combat racism? What can we do individually?
2. What suggestions/programs can we advise other Meetings to follow and support?
3. How do we make Quakerism and Meeting for Worship more accessible to people of color? What do our out-reach programs look like and how are we inviting people of color to this space?
4. What steps can we help white MFM members take to unlearn racism and decolonize their minds and hearts?
5. What are our political and legislative priorities as a Meeting? What actions can we accomplish to pursue them? 

Principles guiding our group

1. Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) are vital members of our world and community and the violence perpetrated against them through racism in all of its forms is an epidemic and tragedy.
2. The fight against racism is of the utmost importance at all times and the work must continue until there is racial equity and justice. 
3. Racism and colonialism are toxins that poison even the most well-meaning. To decolonize our minds and unlearn racist behaviors and ideology is a constant experience, and one that is often aided by the support of community.

SAMPLE PAGE: Implicit Bias

Are you biased? Might you be biased and not realize it?

Click here, or copy this URL: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html and paste it into your browser to take a test, developed by researchers at University of Virginia, University of Washington and Harvard University, that helps people understand their implicit biases.

Elizabeth met one of the developers about 15 years ago and responded to her invitation to try the then-new tests. She learned that she (perhaps) had a slight bias in favor of Black people over White, a moderate bias for young people over old, and was neutral on Republicans versus Democrats. Taking the old/young test more recently, she showed significantly less bias in favor of young people. Perhaps this is not surprising.

They now have 15 different tests for bias, including:

- disabled/abled people

- White/Asian

- Black/White

- Muslim/Christian

- young/old

- fat/thin

- do you automatically associate women with family and men with careers?

I hope you find it interesting. Please use the Comments section to suggest other tools for understanding and revealing implicit bias.

What topics would you like to discuss with a tool like this?

 Some ideas of pages we could have to host discussions include:

1. Possible speakers for a Speakers Series;

2. Books, movies, podcasts, videos, essays and other 'stuff' we've found useful or inspiring;

3. Books, etc. we'd like to discuss in our Book-Plus Club;

4. Logistics for projects on which we're working, like the Speakers Series.

What topics are stimulating a lot of leadings or thoughts for you, that you'd like to share with the group outside the time available for our meetings? Please use the Comments function to let everyone know.