Greetings, fellow Capital Area Master Naturalists! As the new Chairperson of our revitalized Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Committee, I’d like to introduce our new blog series to give CAMN’ers insight into what the DEI Committee is learning about and doing right now.
The new vision for the DEI Committee is that we start taking the necessary steps to help CAMN develop a culture and practice of anti-racism. If you’re unfamiliar with the term “anti-racism,” all that really means is that CAMN members are trained to see evidence of racism (which often hides in plain sight!) in our normal volunteerism and that we take action against it because we *don’t* want racism to continue unchecked in the spaces where we have influence (and that’s a lot of spaces!). Racism shows up in institutional policies, practices, and procedures. It shows up in the culture that we all contribute to. It shows up in our work places and in our personal lives. And yes, it is still tangibly affecting us and our loved ones today and every day.
Why is anti racism applicable to CAMN, you might ask? We are a nature-based volunteer group, after all. Well, as a consultant with the City of Austin’s Equity Office so poignantly put it last month, we certainly wouldn’t want any CAMN member to be sexually harassing members of the public on a hike. And just as critically, we don’t want any CAMN members causing racial harm on a public hike either. Both kinds of misbehavior cause real harm to real people. And that’s not what CAMN is about.
For the sake of transparency, I’ll be sharing each committee meeting’s pre-read materials, agendas, and take-aways as committee members brave the urgent, vital, and sometimes painful reality of the racial equity work that lays ahead for CAMN. We can’t change what we don’t understand. And we can’t claim to be on a particular side of history if we’re not actively working toward it.
Because CAMN is a majority white organization led by mostly white-privileged people, our (virtual) October committee meeting was centered around whiteness and white privilege. Our pre-reading material was the Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege by Peggy McIntosh. In it, you’ll find a list of 50 privileges that those of us who appear to be white experience on a regular basis. If you choose to engage with this material, I encourage you to read it not as an intellectual exercise, but with your heart fully engaged. If you are white or white-passing, consider with each item, what would your life be like if this statement was not true for you and your loved ones? What feelings does it bring up? Where in your body do you notice sensation when you feel those feelings? For me, it’s oftentimes sadness that shows up as a lump in my throat or anger that arises as a burning pit in my stomach.
In this month’s committee meeting, we discussed the article as well as our reactions to it. We broke out into small groups that discussed the questions listed below. These kinds of discussions can be challenging and unsettling, and they may bring up unexpected emotions. It’s important to breathe and check in with our bodies in these moments. These reactions can always teach us something very important. We shared a brief grounding exercise at the start and end of the discussion so that we could settle our bodies and minds. Here’s a 1 minute grounding exercise for you to try out!
Discussion questions based on the Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege:
- Which items on the list apply in your life?
- Are there any from the list that you didn’t connect with?
- How did reading the Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege make you feel?
- How comfortable are you talking about race generally?
- What about this committee’s work excites you the most?
- What about this committee’s work are you most nervous about?
As we closed out the meeting, I heard committee members share hope that we can make real change together. I heard folks say that they were less afraid of what lay ahead and felt accepted on their learning journey, even if they felt like beginners. And an appreciation for having a community that is committed to making our outdoor spaces physically and emotionally safer for the people of color in our service area.
Members of this committee are not expected to be experts on racism or white privilege. They’re expected to come to the work with open minds and hearts and a willingness to engage in a meaningful way. We can make our outdoor spaces tangibly safer for those who do not benefit from white privilege. It’ll take a lot of work from a lot of us to do it. And I for one believe that we can and that we will.
I invite you to share and discuss this reading with your loved ones, and remember that no reactions or feelings are off limits. Just remember to breathe through it 🙂
Interested in joining our committee? Have feedback for us? Email Caroline at diversity-chair@camn.org any time. Please expect responses to take up to one week.