2017 Overcoming Racism Conference
Awakening, Woke, Taking Command
November 3 and 4, 2017
Metropolitan State University, St. Paul
Presented by the Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC)
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Proposal Deadline: August 1st, 2017
Conference Theme: Awakening, Woke, Taking Command
Awakening
“Racism has been for everyone like a horrible, tragic car crash, and we've all been
heavily sedated from it. If we don't come into consciousness of this tragedy, there's
going to be a violent awakening we don't want. The question is, can we wake up?”
Anna Deavere Smith
“When I got honest with myself, I had to own up to the fact that I’d bought into the myth
of white superiority, silently and privately, explaining to myself the pattern of white
dominance I observed as a natural outgrowth of biologically wired superior.”
Debby Irving
“There is only one moment in time when it is essential to awaken. That moment is now”.
Buddha
Woke
"I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr. Garvey done woke me up, I’m gon stay
woke. And I’m gon help him wake up other black folk."
Barry Beckham, 1971 play: Garvey Lives!
"Truth requires no belief. Stay woke. Watch closely.”
Erykah Badu
1
Taking Command
“Everything now, we must assume, is in our hands; we have no right to assume
otherwise. If we do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to
end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world”.
James Baldwin, 1963
“If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own."
Wes Nisker
“Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is
to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the
outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.”
Kofi Anan
“We've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say
you put fire out best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're gonna
fight racism with solidarity.”
Fred Hampton
This year’s conference theme is Overcoming Racism: Awakening, Woke, Taking
Command. Let’s start with definitions:
Awakening: Seeing, naming and deconstructing the dominant racial narratives. This
step is about education and dialogue. It means awakening to the history of colonialism/
(If you don’t know the history, you can’t see it repeating itself.) It means awakening to
the white racial frame and white privilege. It means waking up to the histories and
narratives of other peoples and cultures and valuing them.
Woke: Awakening is a first step, but it’s easy to slip back into habits of silence,
numbness, and not-seeing racism. This step is about vigilance and preparedness. We
can stay awake to how racism surfaces in our everyday life and have confidence in our
ability to respond. People who are truly “woke” carry a strong responsibility to act.
Taking Command: Learning the skills to undo racism, seeing the opportunities to undo
it and applying our skills to the challenges at hand. This step is about building skills,
courage and leadership.
FREC sees these stages as fluid and non linear. We all are constantly awakening.
Depending on the issue and context, people can be in each stage of growth. For instance,
we might be taking command when working on immigration issues or the Dakota Access
Pipeline, but still be awakening when it comes to racism in our workplace.
This Conference builds on previous conferences (Vigilance Now! and Disrupt Racism as
Usual!). We want workshops that meet people where they are at, but we want to
emphasize that we are in critical times, and – ready or not – we need to act, each with our
own skills.
2
We seek workshops that promote the work of Awakening, Staying Woke, and Taking
Command, and moving from one stage to the next. We seek workshops that promote these
skills at the individual and organizational level, and support movement building.
All workshop proposals should encourage participant interaction and be aligned with this
year’s learning objectives, which are found in the next section.
This is a time of great uncertainty. People are deeply worried about the direction of our
country. It also is a time of great engagement. We seek workshops that tap into the current
energy and give people direction.
We seek proposals that speak to a broad audience, both people of color and white allies,
who include:
● Community artists and activists
● Employees working within organizations/institutions
● Students and educators
● People trying to discuss issues of race with friends and family
● Individuals working to change the internalized racism we all carry in our heads and
hearts
2017 Overcoming Racism Conference Learning Objectives
Participants will:
● Experience awakening to the historical roots of racism and its modern
manifestations.
● Learn what it requires of us to “stay woke” in our daily lives.
● Practice skills to take command when we see instances of racism in our daily lives.
Leave inspired to develop our own action plans.
● Network with individuals and organizations who are working to overcome racism in
themselves, their organizations and our communities, and find opportunities to plug
into their work.
● Understand how racism intersects with many other pressing issues of the day, from
immigration reform and environmental policies to Islamophobia and criminal justice
reform.
Be Prepared
The work that we are doing at the conference is challenging for all involved, particularly
people of color. The material you present could bring up painful memories and re-traumatize
participants. Be aware of your audience and woke to this possibility. Be prepared to step out
of your planned presentation and facilitate a process to unpack whatever is coming up for
people. It could be a powerful learning opportunity for everyone. FREC volunteers will attend
each workshop and be able to bring in additional support if needed.
3
Call for Proposals
Proposals are invited for workshops/breakout sessions that address the conference theme
and objectives above. They will be offered both afternoons of the conference in breakout
sessions lasting 90 minutes each. While you are welcome to include as many
presenters/facilitators as you wish, a maximum of 2 free full conference registrations will be
offered to presenters per workshop/session selected.
Your proposed workshop/session should explicitly address the conference theme:
“Awakening, Woke, Taking Command” and be consistent with one or more of the learning
objectives of the Overcoming Racism 2017 conference.
To propose a workshop/session, please use the online form at
http://goo.gl/forms/ZtF1wWROp9- also linked from www.overcomingracism.org.
Or alternatively submit your proposal by email as indicated below.
You are encouraged to design a participatory and challenging experience that includes skill
building for all participants.
Proposals must be received by 5:00 pm on August 1st, 2017. The Conference Program
committee will review submitted proposals, and a decision will be communicated to the
indicated contact person by August 18, 2017.
Proposal Outline – If possible, please submit your proposal online at:
http://goo.gl/forms/ZtF1wWROp9
1. Title:
2. Level (Choose the one that best applies):
Introductory: These workshops or sessions are designed to support those
newer to conversations on race, power, and privilege. Participants will be introduced
to fundamental concepts of how racial bias and prejudice develop and how they
become structured into institutions and systems.
Intermediate: These workshops or sessions are designed for participants who
already have some working knowledge of systems of privilege and oppression.
Participants will be challenged to apply their knowledge and analyze effective ways
to disrupt racism as it manifests in their daily lives, institutions, and society-at-large.
Advanced: These workshops or sessions offer experienced practitioners ways to
share insights, deepen their knowledge, and refine their techniques, methodologies,
and skills at effectively disrupting racism and building an antiracist/anti-oppressive
society.
4
3. Sector (Choose 1-3):
K-12 Education
Higher Education
Human Services
Government
Health/Health care
Community Organizing
Faith
Arts
Criminal Justice
Environment
Business/Economy
4. Please describe what specific skills participants will walk away with by attending your
workshop/session:
5. Workshop/Session Learning Objectives for Participants (should support one or more
Conference Learning Objectives):
6. Workshop/Session Description, 50 words or fewer, for printed Conference Program:
7. Additional Workshop/Session Description, up to 200 words, for Program Committee
use in workshop selection. (Please describe what you plan to include in your session:
e.g. roleplaying, exploration of theory/information, story telling, participatory or
interactive activities, etc.)
8. Name(s) of facilitator(s)/presenter(s) with title and/or organizational affiliation for
printed Conference Program:
9. Scheduling restrictions, if any:
[Workshops/Sessions will be scheduled in the afternoons of Friday, November 3rd
and Saturday November 4th ]
10. Contact Person
Name:
Email:
Phone:
5
The Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative (FREC) hopes to be able to share materials
from 2017 Overcoming Racism conference workshops in future webinars and/or other
formats, in order to build local, state and regional capacity to understand, resist and
overcome racism. Materials and learning opportunities would be provided to participants
at cost (not-for-profit.) Recordings and materials would be credited to presenters.
Please indicate your willingness to participate in this effort by checking all that
apply:
___ Presenters agree to have this workshop or session video or audio recorded
___ Presenters agree to provide slides and/or handouts used in workshop or
session to FREC to be made available free online
Note: All workshop rooms have projection and sound capability, white boards and
markers. If you need chart paper or handouts, you will be responsible for supplying
them. No printing or copying will be available onsite. We suggest you bring A/V content
on disc or USB drive, rather than bringing a laptop.
Submit proposals online if possible at http://goo.gl/forms/ZtF1wWROp9
Or alternatively send a Word or similar editable text document (not .pdf) following this
proposal outline, attached to an email to: [email protected]
Deadline: Proposals must be received by 5 pm on August 1st, 2017
6