AND STILL I RISE*

Many of us involved in anti-racist work feel it is a calling.  It’s courageous work and emotionally draining, with challenges from all directions and often very little evidence of impact. It can be easy to lose your way and even more dangerous to believe that you have a way.

There’s so much to manage - the relationship you have to the work and to the people that you work with. And the even more important relationship that you have with yourself.

The importance of knowing who you are in this work should not be underestimated. While your analysis, understanding and skills are important, it’s how you show up as a human being that can have the greatest impact. The most powerful instrument you have in this work is yourself.

This boot camp offers a three-day retreat into yourself, to reconnect to your purpose and sharpen your practice. It is designed specifically for anti-racist activists, facilitators and practitioners already active in this space. It’s not a place for beginners.

We actively encourage Black[1] practitioners to attend. This will be a majority Black space, into which white participants are welcomed but where they will not be centred.

Our purpose is to create an actively anti-racist space in which we are alive to the dynamics of racism in ourselves, in the systems in which we work and in the wider society of which we are part. Together, we will explore how to use our power to advance social justice.

Join us in this learning space if you want to:

• find a community of like-minded souls who are committed to moving beyond the tired old methods which centred whiteness and white comfort;
• challenge and strengthen your analysis of systemic racism and hone your intersectional anti-racist practice;
• refresh your sense of purpose and find intellectual, emotional and spiritual fuel, to sustain you for the long haul;
• take stock of your relationship to your own racialised identity – what might you want to let go of, embrace, or expand, to be better-resourced internally?
• enjoy laughter, truth telling and sharing experiences with people who are passionate for human liberation and racial justice.

 

There are 30 places available and we will allocate those on the basis of individual applications received.

Applications are accepted until 17:00 BST on Friday, 9 July 2021. If you have questions about joining the boot camp, please contact us at joyw@brap.org.uk 

 

* reference to Maya Angelou’s anthology And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems (1978)

[1] Using Black in its political sense, to embrace all those who experience racism or skin colour discrimination.

This 3-day intensive online experience is for those already immersed in anti-racist work, who want to support themselves to stay healthy and increase their effectiveness.

This is for you if you are…

• willing to engage in critical self-reflection
• ready to step into a space that is brave rather than comfortable
• prepared to invest in yourself, and in the efficacy of your ‘self as instrument’
• interested in understanding more about yourself (and not just the good stuff)
• committed to learning and willing to share your reflections
• prepared to work with white people, if you are Black and Black if you are white.

Course outline

• Tuesday, 3 August - Day 1: Who are you and what has racism done to you?
• Wednesday, 4 August - Day 2: Understanding our relationship to the system of whiteness
• Thursday, 5 August - Day 3: Using my power to be a more effective anti-racist practitioner

 

We will work in affinity groups on day one and in ‘mixed’ groups on days two and three. Sessions will be delivered on Zoom, and will run as follows each day:

Morning session	09:30–12:00 BST
Lunch break	12:00–13:30 BST
Afternoon session	13:30–15:30 BST
Afternoon break	15:30–16:00 BST
Daily reflection on learning	16:00–17:00 BST