This is great! If you are regularly involved in conversations about race or facilitate them among others, you should have this information in your back pocket at all times! Click on the title or image below to see the full document.
A couple weeks ago I participated in leading a Vocational Retreat for a group of young adults who are living in Chicago. This group of young people have chosen to spend a year of their lives in service- working with children, partnering with churches, living in community, enjoying the city, and exploring their calling. The latter is where I had the pleasure of joining their conversation. And we asked a ton of questions!
- How do I know if I'm pursuing God's calling or my own ego?
- Will I ever know if I'm really ready to pursue my calling?
- How do I prepare myself for setting boundaries since I already feel so closely connected to the issue I feel called to pursue?
- Why won't God take away all my fears about pursuing my vocation?
- How will I support myself if I pursue my vocation? (We decided that we at least want to afford cheese and crackers for dinner.)
- What am I supposed to do when God puts up a stop sign, when I thought I was pursuing His plan rather brilliantly?
As they revealed how they journeyed from their childhood dream to their current dream vocation, there was a common occurrence. We called it "the stop sign". At some point each of them was on the path of pursuing a specific dream, when all of a sudden there was a dead end, a closed door, someone said no... a stop sign. We learned that for each of them, it was this stop sign that caused them to pursue another dream, ultimately leading them to their vocation. Unfortunately for us all, the stop sign feels a lot like devastation. When we reach a real stop sign, we simply decide which direction to go- left, right, forward. There is very little emotional connection to this common pause in life. But a stop sign while pursuing a dream feels more akin to driving off the cliff (or maybe thats just me).
Hence how we arrived at the need to spend a little more time sipping margaritas with God. Pursuing a vocation that somehow involves using the threads of justice, church, pain and conflict to weave something that resembles goodness, community and life is intense. It's intense to ponder, let alone pursue. So we need to take a couple time outs. When the stop sign comes, don't freak out. Don't drive off the cliff. Embrace the pause, and sip a margarita with God.
Despite all of our questions and the anxiety that comes with them, we affirmed with one another that our peace can be found in God. It is ultimately Him that we pursue, not the vocation itself. Our image of the margarita has little to do with the alcohol content, and more to do with friendship, community, peacefulness, and maybe even a little fun! Anytime I am sipping margaritas with friends there is a lot of laughter involved. Imagine that- laughter with God, tossing your head back and not being afraid to say exactly what you think, exactly how you feel. Imagine pouring your heart out conspiratorially with the God you love.
We imagined ourselves leaving the devastation of the stop sign, laying down the intensity of the pursuit and resting in Him- perhaps even over a margarita! Thanks, Dwell Chicago, for reminding me to delight in God.
Take one step forward. Take one step. The directions are pretty simple, but the impact of this tool can be far reaching. The Privilege Walk is primarily based on an article written by Peggy McIntosh called, "White Privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack". In social justice circles, this article is a classic, a reference point for talking about race, gender, privilege, and socioeconomic realities. Though it seems like a tool which wraps all of this into one activity would be difficult to lead, its actually quite simple.
Instructions
All participants line up shoulder to shoulder, facing the same direction. Using Peggy McIntosh's list of the ways she experiences privilege, the facilitator will ask participants if they have had the same experience. At the end of each statement, participants are asked to step forward or backward. For example, the facilitator will say, "If you are often asked to speak for all members of your race, take one step back" or "If you do well at work or school but are never told that you are 'a credit to your race', take one step forward." The questions all speak to various aspects of male, white or economic privilege. Many of the questions link these aspects within one question. Its beautiful. The questions can be far extended beyond the 25 listed in Peggy's article. My team almost doubled the number of questions the last time we used this tool.
Once all the questions have been asked, and everyone has taken plenty of steps forward and/or backward, the room will realize how polarized America remains between genders, races and classes. Its a clear visual and compels conversation! This is where a great facilitator steps in. Having a full discussion about this experience can be incredibly fruitful for sharing stories, understanding the impact of race, gender and class in small ways and large, and unpacking our feelings about it all.
Variations
There are a number of variations of this activity as well. To have an extremely focused conversation, the facilitator could carefully choose only gender questions or only racial questions. This can be helpful for participants who are new to the idea of privilege and need a small stepping stone into the conversation. Or the questions could be expanded to include sexuality, ability, religion, etc. The elasticity of the questions greatly expands the reach of this activity. Another variation is to change the formation. I've heard of facilitators who choose to group participants in a circle, so that there is less of a notion of hierarchy at the end. Lastly, there are some facilitators who choose to add money- first person to cross an invisible line receives $20. As you can imagine, this heightens the emotional response of participant answers throughout the activity.
Conclusion
As a facilitator, I really enjoy using this tool. As a participant, I must have done this Walk more than a dozen times. I'm emotionally effected every time. There is something about this activity and its questions that never gets old for me.
I've used it with a wide range of age groups junior high students through senior citizens. It works with intergenerational groups, and the more diverse the participants (race, gender, socioeconomic, etc) the better the activity and discussion! Word to the wise, you do have to have some diversity to accomplish this activity well. If you have a homogenous group while asking questions about diversity, you will find that their is not much visual impact to draw upon at the conclusion of the activity. The activity also works well with very large groups, as long as you have enough space. I've regularly don't it with 50-60 people and have never felt overwhelmed, perhaps because the activity takes place in silence until the facilitator begins the discussion.
The discussion can be very emotional for participants. It is not uncommon to hear expressions of pain, anger, guilt and shame. So the facilitator should be very skilled in managing the emotions of a group and allow for sufficient time for all members to have an opportunity to express themselves. It can be an incredible time of honest sharing.
Have you ever participated in the Privilege Walk? What was your experience?
Richard Twiss and I only met a couple of times. We never shared coffee or dinner. We never spoke on the phone or emailed each other about our travels. We never had long conversations or even a quick moment of prayer. And yet, none of this is necessary for me to write about the way his words have impacted my life. For two years, I have been listening to Richard Twiss challenge the Church, and I've enjoyed every second.
Richard Twiss has left his mark on my mind and heart, challenging me to think more deeply about Christianity... about Christians. The following lessons he has taught me are in no particular order. They are scattered thoughts and scattered experiences- church services, CCDA, workshops and plenaries, but they are meaningful to me. They are the kind of thoughts I've had to chew slowly or risk choking- the kind that must be digested fully in order to bring their full value to the Body. Here are some of the Words I carry with me:
"In order for there to be unity, there must first be diversity. God is One because He is Three." Even now I have trouble unpacking the beauty, the power of these statements. In an age where there are so many who wish to avoid the muck and mud of race, ethnicity, and culture, who would rather be 'colorblind' and seek assimilation rather than dig for the treasures of our differences, this is so refreshing. He so clearly, so succinctly declares that if we are all the same, if we are not diverse, than we have achieved nothing. But if we are diverse, if there must be an act of coming together, if we are distinct and choose to be one- then we achieved unity. Could there be a more beautiful picture than that of the Trinity? Three in One.
"Behold, all things have passed away and all things are created... white," with this statement Richard Twiss challenged us all to take a closer look at the devastating history of Christianity that told the Tribes there is only one way to be Christian. He recounted his own childhood- a story that represents the lives of millions more- of stolen traditions, stolen language, stolen dress, stolen names, stolen culture. But of course, Richard Twiss wouldn't allow us to simply shake our heads and mourn the actions of history; he challenged us to look around, to ask ourselves how we are still perpetuating the idea that only one culture can define Christianity.
"Can we stop using binary language to talk about Christianity, and enter fully into the messy, ambiguous mystery of Christ among us?" Richard pondered allowed how long we would continue to fight over a singular culture that must represent Christ. He challenged us to expand the possibility of who Jesus among us might be- a black teenager with dreads, a latino girl eating hot-chips, a First Nations man singing his tribal song. He asked us to go beyond fitting people into boxes, judging their level of Christianity against each of our cultural norms. He asked us to imagine a Jesus bigger than us, a Jesus who sits and works and plays among us, who is not bound by our heritage but delights in us all, who doesn't lock His car doors in the hood or ignore the reservations until its time for a missions trip or require Spanish speakers to learn English before coming to Him. Instead He is Christ among us all.
The Power of Narrative. I cannot recount all that Richard would say on this topic, but it is one he proclaimed without fail every time I heard him speak. The power of story. The power of narrative. And the awesome contribution that First Nations communities could contribute to Christianity and the narrative that is the Good News.
There will be many family and friends of Richard's who will speak about his humor, his heart, his life's work. There will be a number of people who can recount phone calls and emails and conversations over dinner. I look forward to these stories being shared, to delight in a man I knew only from afar. But today, I value that I was listener, a listener of Richard Twiss.
Richard Twiss June 1954-Feb 2013 in this life... forever in eternity with Christ.