OLOC = Old Lesbians Organizing for Change

20 questions for workshop on race (making whiteness visible)

Questions based on Video Making Whiteness Visible produced and written by Shakti Butler go to http://www.world-trust.org/videos/visible.html OLOC SF/E Bay worked on questions after seeing video

A line ( can be made out of a string or cray paper or whatever) is drawn with one side designated as yes and the other no. It is best to have 12 or more people to play the game. Each questions is asked and people can see how people are divided or arranged on their side of the line on each question. Some discussion is allowed but it is important to move the questioning along until all 20 questions are answered. Some confusion is bound to take place and that can be discussed after all the questions are answered or in some cases participants realize that someone has misunderstood the questions and can move the person to the right side of the line with their consent. Sometimes people's answer seem very surprising. In my group, I was surprised at how many people in our workshop did not have immediate relatives that emigrated to this country in the last 3 generations.

This list of questions should not be used out of context. It is part of a set of presentations based on the new school of thought called "Making Whiteness Visble" same name as a video made by Shakti Butler which is a good prelude video to show before the questions are asked. We saw another video Butler made which shows individuals representing many cultures, the most diverse array of cultural perspectives I have ever seen from a very personal level. After the video, when we were at a retreat we broke down into small groups and answered questions i.e. When did you first become aware of your race; how did your family deal with race issues; describe your early experiences in relation to your race and other races. These were just a few questions that come to mind. Others can be developed. The whole idea is to focus on whiteness and its implications and then attempting to deconstruct the concept block by block. It takes time and usually discussion ends at an early point in the process. That s why a series of workshops needs to be held.

Sharon Raphael