Current Learning Group Offerings – Winter 2024

Rise Up Rooted fosters community and collective action through our offerings. Primarily, we bring together mostly white-bodied individuals to delve into their internalized white supremacy. This process encourages participants to reflect on their roles in dismantling harmful systems and inspires them to hold one another accountable, actively engage in antiracism, and encourage culture change in their communities of reach.

Our workshops and learning groups empower individuals by equipping them with skills and knowledge to effectively participate in collective action in a self-aware and grounded way, reducing the likelihood of falling into cultures of harm and separation. Additionally, participants are encouraged to host book groups themselves at their place of work or spiritual communities, creating a fractalization of culture change.

We are offering two “Me and White Supremacy” book + supplemental learning groups for winter of 2024.

These are 9-week-long, once a week book groups, where white-bodied/presenting folks do some of the iterative work of unpacking their internalized white supremacy.

The interactive book “Me and White Supremacy” was written by Layla F. Saad, a Black woman, to provide white-bodied and white-presenting people a reflective guide on how internalized white supremacy (settler/occupier white culture) affects their thoughts and behaviors. Here is one of Layla’s video introductions to the book content (you will hear her reference it as an Instagram challenge, which it was at that time– and now it’s a book).

It is designed to be a 28-day challenge, with 28 journal prompt themes for each of those days. In my experience facilitating these groups, that pace is difficult to sustain if participants are digging deeply into the material (and needing to juggle work, kids, etc.)– allowing space for integration and grief is needed. We have tried different patterns of engagement, and have found the most natural rhythm seems to be a 9-week pattern, outlined here.

Besides focusing on Layla Saad’s “Me and White Supremacy” interactive book, we also bring additional resources, tools, and support to help work through shame and grief, as well as some added understanding on what makes white supremacy unique, and the ways it shows up in everyday contexts (including in activist spaces). This is challenging, rich, life-changing work.

Dates/Times

We are currently offering two separate groups (they are each 9-weeks long; we will meet via Zoom). These will be facilitated by Robin, and are limited to 10 people in each group.

  • Option 1 (for all white-presenting/bodied folks): Wednesdays 5:30-7pm PT; starting February 28th, once a week for 9 weeks
  • Option 2 (for all white-presenting/bodied folks): Fridays 12-1:30pm PT; starting March 1st, once a week for 9 weeks

Fee

These groups were often free in the past, but we now charge a $100 fee (or more if you can) to help sustain our time it takes to organize and support these groups. Having a fee also contributes to our reparations fund (10% of all fees), and provides literal buy-in to committing to a reserved slot. (If the fee is not within your reach, please email Robin –> robin@riseup-rooted.org)

Registering

You can fill out an interest/registration form here.  Thank you so much for your interest!

 

 

A little about Robin (they/them), the facilitator:

My background is in research psychology and education, and I received facilitation training through the San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools iGroup Facilitator Training.  I have worked with many people and organizations within Oregon (and some outside of Oregon). As part of what I bring to everything I do, I am a learner of Internal Family Systems and ancestral healing, and am getting braver at admitting I have become a dabbler in connecting with the Spirit realm (an unexpected life-changing opening I shifted into while working towards the undoing of white supremacy within myself). Learn more at Working with Robin.  If you want to get to know me a bit, you can check out my podcast “Cracks in the Cement” by clicking here, and see testimonials on this page.