Workshop #1 Introduction to dismantling oppressions and building climate justice

This workshop will introduce a climate justice approach, in the solutions to climate change about which we organise and in the way that we organise. We need to build a climate movement that can challenge the root causes of climate change. This means building a strong, diverse, inclusive movement where different everyday people can work together and support each other. It means building spaces where people feel safer and are not oppressed by structures of race, class, gender, ability, sexuality or other social demarcations. This workshop will explore how to build a climate movement that is representative of the kind of communities we want to see replace carbon-based capitalism.

1. 10 mins.

Introductions. Going around the circle, each person says their name and what they hope to get out of the workshop. Faciliators assess experience/background of the participants.

Facilitators lay down expected behaviour and raising the difficulties of building a safe space around challenging issues. Faciliators also frame the workshop: that it is about building justice into the way we understand climate change, but also building justice into the ways we organise and behave. Emphasise that this is a starting point, that the facilitators don’t have definitive answers, that these conversations are ongoing and challenging.

WORKSHOP GUIDELINES from the Challenging White Supremacy Workshop

SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART AND YOUR EXPERIENCE: USE ‘I’ STATEMENTS

WE’RE NOT HERE TO JUDGE EACH OTHER, PUT EACH OTHER DOWN OR COMPETE

LISTEN TO THE WISDOM EVERYONE BRINGS TO THE GROUPS

GIVE EACH PERSON THE TIME AND SPACE TO SPEAK – NOTICE IF YOU ARE DOMINATING THE DISCUSSION

PRACTICE ACTIVE LISTENING

RESPECT THE PERSON CHALLENGE THE BEHAVIOR

CREATE ANTI-OPPRESSIVE LANGUAGE AND ANTI-OPRESSIVE GROUP DYNAMICS

PLEASE COME ON TIME

2. 20 mins.

Introducing climate justice. Climate change does not have the same impact for everyone: Bangladesh, Cape York, Pacific Islands, New Orleans. This is not just about race, although there are major issues about equity that are interlinked with race. This is about who is on the margins of the social order.

This section of the workshop will use a photo language exercise. The facilitators will bring various pictures to the session: pictures of majority world climate/enviro activist movements, pictures of flooding, pictures of industrial workers, any other images to spark discussion (how about some pictures of women doing the washing up at direct action camps?!)

Participants choose a picture, and then speak about what it says to them.

E.g.: food prices will go up if agricultural systems are disrupted; people on low incomes will suffer

people in shantytowns on the outskirts of big cities are more vulnerable to climate chaos-induced natural disasters

4. 30 mins (could be shorter)

Marginalisation exercise Facilitators place containers of rice at one end of the space: one blue, one yellow and one purple. The blue container is very full, there is less in the yellow container, and still less in the purple container.

The facilitators then hand out cups that are colour coded – one or two blue ones, several yellow ones, and lots of purple ones. Then the participants are asked to line up several metres back from the rice containers, according to their cups’ colour; so there is a blue line, a yellow line, and a purple line. The exercise is a relay: facilitators explain to participants that they have to run up to the rice container and get some rice, but that they can only go once the person in front of them has got rice and returned to the line. The object is to finish first.

Harvest: ask participants what they think the point of the exercise is? Emphasise that this exercise represents a real impact of climate change – that people’s food security is being threatened. But also emphasise that this is not just about food distribution – it is about who has more access to power. Ask participants to speak about how the exercise felt and how being marginalised feels.

THIS IS WHERE WE LINK – and say justice is not just about abstract concepts ‘out there’. It is structural. And it is also how people experience situations, understand problems and behave. That is: we cannot tick off ‘justice’ by tokenistic appropriations of struggles a long way away, though solidarity work is important – we have to work towards building justice within our communities and organising spaces.

5. 30 mins

How do we overcome marginalisation in the climate movement? If we agree that one of the ways we work towards building a climate justice movement is by dismantling privilege and oppression within spaces where we have some control and agency. Like: our own workplaces, direct action camps, student spaces.

5 mins Quick interactive brainstorm of the lines along which here people experience oppression and marginalisation: economic status, race, ability, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, language group…

Facilitators acknowledge that there is not space in this workshop to get to grips with the different ways these various oppressions and privileges manifest and interact; therefore the remainder of the workshop will deal with learning how to be an ally. Raise the point that people’s role can shift according to their context – i.e. the same person can be marginalised in one context, and a holder of privilege in another.

We need to support each other as allies, both interpersonally and in political organising contexts.

5 mins In pairs. Think about a time when you felt marginalised, and you felt like someone backed you up effectively. Alternatively, think about a time when you weren’t backed up, how it felt, and what someone could have done to be a better ally. This can be in personal situations or in political organising contexts. If someone has told you a story that you feel is important to raise, do that – but please respect their right to privacy and leave out parts of the story that would identify them. People of colour caucus during this exercise.

10 mins Report back to the group, and discussion/brainstorm about what makes a good ally. Facilitators harvest this on butchers paper for a visual. Discussion can include negatives (i.e. what to avoid doing) as well as what to do.

Facilitators can contribute the following - :

Commit part of your time and energy to social justice work

Listen, and try not to be defensive, if someone calls you out on behaviour or language, and appreciate that they are engaging with you

Challenge other people on their behaviour in a constructive way

Think about your own privilege and how it affects your behaviour, whether you are challenged or not

Read more on the issues!

Don’t

Recount instances of oppression that you have heard or seen to members of the oppressed group (e.g. ‘oh my god, I heard this really fucked up thing on the bus today’)

Look for constant approval and congratulation for your ally work

Rely on people experiencing oppression to be your ‘informants’

Be immobilised by guilt

Assume that you know everything important there is to know about privilege and oppression

6. Debrief and evaluation?

5 mins How is everyone doing? How did people find it, how can we do it better? – make space for written/anonymous feedback.

Workshop #2

‘But I LOVE hip hop!’: White privilege, environmental activists and racial justice in Australia

This workshop is based on the premise that white activists have to take some responsibility for building an anti-racist agenda. Addressing, identifying and confronting white privilege and structural racism in our society and in our activism must be taken on, in part, by white people. This workshop is part of reflecting on how white activists might move from consciousness through guilt to a politics of solidarity. Note: although this workshop is targeted at white activists doing self-reflective work, it is not an exclusive space. There will be a caucus for people of colour who would like to participate, and all perspectives, contributions and observations will be valued and appreciated.

1. Introductions

10 mins.

Going around the circle, each person says their name and what they hope to get out of the workshop. Faciliators assess experience/background of the participants.

Facilitators lay down expected behaviour and raising the difficulties of building a safe space around challenging issues. Faciliators also frame the workshop: that white people and particularly enviro activists have been involved with struggles related to racial justice in Australia (e.g. refugee justice campaigns, land rights solidarity) but that we don’t necessarily have a good language or reflective politics around white privilege. That we are interested in white people taking responsibility for dismantling structural and interpersonal racism. There is a lot of white guilt and a lot of confusion – the workshop aims to do facilitate critical self-reflective work, and also provide people with some concrete strategies and skills. Speak about the fact that there is common ground in trying to change the situation, because everyone has an investment in dismantling racial hierarchy – privilege damages people (though careful not to equate this with the experience of oppression.) Emphasise that this is a starting point, that the facilitators don’t have definitive answers, that these conversations are ongoing and challenging.

WORKSHOP GUIDELINES from the Challenging White Supremacy Workshop

SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART AND YOUR EXPERIENCE: USE ‘I’ STATEMENTS

WE’RE NOT HERE TO JUDGE EACH OTHER, PUT EACH OTHER DOWN OR COMPETE

LISTEN TO THE WISDOM EVERYONE BRINGS TO THE GROUPS

GIVE EACH PERSON THE TIME AND SPACE TO SPEAK – NOTICE IF YOU ARE DOMINATING THE DISCUSSION

PRACTICE ACTIVE LISTENING

RESPECT THE PERSON CHALLENGE THE BEHAVIOR

CREATE ANTI-OPPRESSIVE LANGUAGE AND ANTI-OPRESSIVE GROUP DYNAMICS

PLEASE COME ON TIME

2. Exercise -Talking about race: The River

30 mins (can be shorter) Introduce the idea of a caucus.

5-10 mins: Participants, in pairs, are given a piece of paper and a pen to draw a river of their life starting from when they were born to the present moment. They then draw scattered stones along the river, representing moments where they became aware of race – e.g. one of the latter stones may be the Cronulla riots. People of Colour caucus for this exercise.

5-10 mins: After drawing, share with your partner, mentioning if there are things that you don’t really want to share with the rest of the group.

10+ mins: Share in an open discussion what came out of the exercise.

3. Structural racism and movements for racial justice in Australia. Facilitators introduce this, acknowledging (as earlier) that white people/activists in Australia have been active in various movements that are related to racial justice – e.g. refugee rights, Indigenous solidarity, but we don’t necessarily critically analyse. We often assume that we know what anti-racist politics is, but it isn’t always so clear.

20 mins: Exercise - Spectrum of opinion

The facilitators asks people to stand in a line, and reads out a series of statements. People arrange themselves along the line in terms of how they feel about a statement, i.e. if they are at one end they strongly agree, and if they are at the other they strongly disagree. The facilitator, with each question, asks a couple of people from different parts of the spectrum to speak a bit about why they are standing where they are. People can change positions if they hear something that they agree with.

Statements:

Land sovereignty is the most important issue facing Indigenous Australia today.

‘Multiculturalism’ is a policy I support.

Predominantly white organisations have an obligation to contribute financially to Indigenous organisations.

There are no barriers for people of colour from migrant backgrounds who want to get involved with environmental campaigning in Australia.

Autonomous spaces for people of colour are divisive: it is better that everybody works together towards racial justice.

Asylum seekers in Australia who are not genuine refugees jeopardise the reputation and political cause of genuine refugees.

Welfare quarantining is a good idea.

Mining is never acceptable, even when Indigenous landowners support it.

4. Naming white privilege

Exercise: stand up, sit down

15 mins The Benefits of Being White Exercise

by Paul Kivel (modified)

Tell the group that you are going to read a series of statements and that each white people to whom a statement applies should stand up after that statement is read. Tell the group that all the white people are being asked to participate, and people of color are being asked to observe. 
Those who are physically unable to stand may raise their hand to indicate that they are part of the group standing. Each participant should decide for themselves whether the statement applies to them or not. If they are unwilling to stand for a particular statement that applies to them they may pass for that statement but should notice any feelings they have about not standing. The exercise will be done in silence to allow participants to notice the feelings that come up during the exercise and to make it safer for all participants. After a statement is read and people have stood for a few moments, ask participants to sit down and read the next statement. 



Explain to the group that the purpose of this exercise is not to discount what white people have achieved but to question prevalent assumptions that everyone started out with equal opportunity or that white achievement occurs on a level playing field. 


Also remind them that although some of the benefits listed above are money in the bank for each and every white person some white people have bigger bank accounts much bigger than the restIn 1996, women generally made about 74 cents for every dollar that men made. People with disabilities, people with less formal education, and people who are lesbian, gay or bi-sexual face substantial discrimination. 


Benefits from racism are amplified or diminished by our relative privilege. All white people benefit in some ways from whiteness, but some have cornered the market on significant benefits from being white to the exclusion of the rest. 


Finally, point out that individual white people are not responsible for the circumstances under which they stood for particular questions in the exercise. They were born into and inherited a system which exploits people of color and provides benefits to white people whether they want them or not. Individual white people are not responsible for racism—but they are responsible for how they respond to it.

White Benefits Checklist 

Please stand if: 

1. Your ancestors were legal immigrants to this country during a period when immigrants from Asia, South and Central America or Africa were restricted. 



2. Your ancestors came to this country of their own free will and have never had to relocate unwillingly once here. 



3. You live on land that formerly belonged to Indigenous Australians. 





8. You live in a school district or metropolitan area where more money is spent on the schools that white children go to than on those that children of color attend. 



9. You live in or went to a school district where children of color are more likely to be disciplined than white children, or more likely to be tracked into nonacademic programs. 



10. You live in or went to a school district where the textbooks and other classroom materials reflected your race as normal, heroes and builders of the Australia, and there was little mention of the contributions of people of color to our society. 





14. Your ancestors were immigrants who took jobs in railroads, streetcars, construction, shipbuilding, wagon and coach driving, house painting, tailoring, longshore work, brick laying, table waiting, working in the mills, furriering, dressmaking or any other trade or occupation where people of color were driven out or excluded. 



15. You received job training in a program where there were few or no people of color 



16. You have received a job, job interview, job training or internship through personal connections of family or friends. 
17. You worked or work in a job where people of color made less for doing comparable work or did more menial jobs. 



18. You have worked in a job where people of color were hired last, or fired first. 



19. You work in a job, career or profession or in an agency or organization in which there are few people of color. 



20. You received small business loans or credits, government contracts or government assistance in your business. 



22. You can always vote for candidates who reflect your race. 



23. You live in a neighborhood that has better police protection, municipal services and is safer than that where people of color live.

24. The hospital and medical services close to you or which you use are better than that of most people of color in the region in which you live.

25. You have never had to worry that clearly labeled public facilities, such as swimming pools, restrooms, restaurants and nightspots were in fact not open to you because of your skin color.

26. You see white people in a wide variety of roles on television and in movies. 



27. Your race needn't be a factor in where you choose to live. 



28. Your race needn't be a factor in where you send your children to school. 



29. A substantial percentage of the clothes you wear are made by women and children of color in this country and abroad. 



30. Most of the food you eat is grown, processed and/or cooked by people of color in this country and abroad. 



31. The house, office building, school, or other buildings and grounds you use are cleaned or maintained by people of color. 



32. You, other family members, friends or colleagues were ever cared for by people of color either at home or at a medical or convalescent facility. 



33. You don't need to think about race and racism everyday. You can choose when and where you want to respond to racism. 




After the exercise ask white people to pair with other white people to talk about what feelings and thoughts came up for them participating in the exercise. Ask people of color to pair with other people of color to share what came up for them and what it was like to observe white people doing the exercise. 


Reassemble the group and facilitate a group discussion of the feelings, thoughts, reflections, and insights that people want to share. 




5. Moving from guilt to solidarity: The work is not the workshop! Being an ally. Explain the definition of ally work. Points to raise: Racial justice work can be hard and scary and confronting. Often people are pushing against their own immobilising guilt, anxiety and fear of failure, and this can be demanding. So we’ll spend the last bit of the workshop talking about how to be an ally, in political organising contexts and in interpersonal settings.

5 mins In pairs. Think about a time when you felt marginalised, and you felt like someone backed you up effectively. Alternatively, think about a time when you weren’t backed up, how it felt, and what someone could have done to be a better ally. This can be in personal situations or in political organising contexts. If someone has told you a story that you feel is important to raise, do that – but please respect their right to privacy and leave out parts of the story that would identify them. People of colour caucus during this exercise.

10 mins Report back to the group, and discussion/brainstorm about what makes a good ally. Facilitators harvest this on butchers paper for a visual. Discussion can include negatives (i.e. what to avoid doing) as well as what to do.

Facilitators can contribute the following - :

Commit part of your time and energy to social justice work

Listen, and try not to be defensive, if someone calls you out on behaviour or language, and appreciate that they are engaging with you

Challenge other people on their behaviour in a constructive way

Think about your own privilege and how it affects your behaviour, whether you are challenged or not

Read more on the issues!

Don’t

Recount instances of oppression that you have heard or seen to members of the oppressed group (e.g. ‘oh my god, I heard this really fucked up thing on the bus today’)

Look for constant approval and congratulation for your ally work

Rely on people experiencing oppression to be your ‘informants’

Be immobilised by guilt

Assume that you know everything important there is to know about privilege and oppression

5. Debrief and evaluation?

5 mins How is everyone doing? How did people find it, how can we do it better? – make space for written/anonymous feedback.