We provide public workshops in unlearning racism, bystander intervention and other themes that promote equity. Using embodied games and applied theatre techniques, we make space for participants to investigate oppression as it manifests internally, inter-personally and at the institutional levels. The goals of every workshop offered are to identify barriers to equity, increase cultural and interpersonal awareness, and explore best practices for equity and inclusion.
Registration is now open for our newest offering:
Healing Whiteness
an affinity group learning process for white bodied people
Overview
What does it mean to be white?
What defines whiteness?
What was lost or forgotten when we traded cultural and ancestral belonging for whiteness?
What might be possible if we rekindled connection to all that we were before we became white?
What possibility might being in conscious relationship with our whiteness and the wider world open?
If you desire reclamation of the whole self and its inherent dignity, belonging, and interdependence, consider journeying with us in this six-week course where we will use embodied and creative practices to compassionately dismantle internalized white supremacy and expand our capacity for resilience and choice.
Through six, 90 minute sessions, white-identifying folks will explore internalized unconscious bias and white supremacy ideology. Participants will engage in a practicum that encourages reflection, curiosity, and compassionate interrogation of subtle and unconscious participation in racist structures for the sake of personal and ancestral lineage healing.
In addition to the six practicum sessions, participants will have the option of meeting with a smaller group for two, sixty-minute facilitated sessions aimed at supporting individual growth and co-intentional learning according to your ancestral lineage.
Who is this course for?
White folks who:
What you will gain from course participation
The course runs weekly on Tuesdays from Oct. 31 to Dec. 05 from 12-1:30pm ET; 9-10:30am PT.
Facilitators
Marissa Metelica (she/they) is a queer, white racial equity consultant, facilitator and healer steeped in the embodied and community-based practices of somatics and applied theatre. She approaches racial healing, consulting, and training from a place of reverence for the wisdom and support of non-human realms that help her to relearn healthy interdependence. She is the architect of Equity Allies, a racial equity training and consulting organization. She is on Board of Trustees at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center.
Nichola Torbett is a white spiritual seeker, recovering addict, gospel preacher, racial justice podcaster, nonviolent direct action trainer, and petsitter. She is committed to helping other white people recognize their own trauma and discontent as catalysts for the dismantling of systems of oppression that are killing us all, and killing Black and Brown people first. She is grateful to First Congregational Church of Oakland and Second Acts as her primary communities of accountability and currently serves as associate director at Kirkridge Retreat & Study Center, where she is experimenting with moving this work forward.
Cost
The cost for participation in this six week course is a sliding scale $450-$600 per person, payable in one or two installments by venmo or zelle.
Minimum enrollment is eight people; participation will be capped at 24 to ensure engagement quality.
A justice tithe will go to Seeding Sovereignty, “a multi-lens collective that works to radicalize and disrupt colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation. By investing in Indigenous folks and communities of the global majority, we cross the threshold of liberation together.” https://seedingsovereignty.org/
Sliding scale info
At Cost fee: $525 - is the sustaining cost of the workshop
A little less fee: $450 - this is for folks who would like to participate but need some sponsorship
A little more fee: $600 -This pays for the cost of the workshop, plus supports the participation of another.
You may be at the “At cost” or “a Little more” participation levels if some or all of the following are true for you:
You may choose to participate at a little less than at cost level if you:
What does it mean to be white?
What defines whiteness?
What was lost or forgotten when we traded cultural and ancestral belonging for whiteness?
What might be possible if we rekindled connection to all that we were before we became white?
What possibility might being in conscious relationship with our whiteness and the wider world open?
If you desire reclamation of the whole self and its inherent dignity, belonging, and interdependence, consider journeying with us in this six-week course where we will use embodied and creative practices to compassionately dismantle internalized white supremacy and expand our capacity for resilience and choice.
Through six, 90 minute sessions, white-identifying folks will explore internalized unconscious bias and white supremacy ideology. Participants will engage in a practicum that encourages reflection, curiosity, and compassionate interrogation of subtle and unconscious participation in racist structures for the sake of personal and ancestral lineage healing.
In addition to the six practicum sessions, participants will have the option of meeting with a smaller group for two, sixty-minute facilitated sessions aimed at supporting individual growth and co-intentional learning according to your ancestral lineage.
Who is this course for?
White folks who:
- Immigrated to the US one or more generations ago, and thus have internalized some common aspects of white culture.
- Have an understanding of white supremacy ideology in the US context.
- Are already on a racial healing journey.
- Long for belonging, authenticity, and connection to healthy aspects of ethnic and cultural identity without shame.
- Those who want to nurture healthy multi-racial relationships and understand that that process begins by unearthing and healing internalized white supremacy.
- Those who seek to understand and deepen connection to aspects of their healthy european cultural lineage.
- Those who identify as truth-seekers, disruptors, healers, and/or those who are engaged in social justice.
What you will gain from course participation
- Greater alignment with your anti-racist values.
- Awareness of unconscious biases the body holds and tools for subverting them.
- Greater choice when responding to stress.
- Increased awareness of the ways white dominant norms manifest and tools for de-centering them.
- Connection to a community of like-hearted white folks.
The course runs weekly on Tuesdays from Oct. 31 to Dec. 05 from 12-1:30pm ET; 9-10:30am PT.
Facilitators
Marissa Metelica (she/they) is a queer, white racial equity consultant, facilitator and healer steeped in the embodied and community-based practices of somatics and applied theatre. She approaches racial healing, consulting, and training from a place of reverence for the wisdom and support of non-human realms that help her to relearn healthy interdependence. She is the architect of Equity Allies, a racial equity training and consulting organization. She is on Board of Trustees at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center.
Nichola Torbett is a white spiritual seeker, recovering addict, gospel preacher, racial justice podcaster, nonviolent direct action trainer, and petsitter. She is committed to helping other white people recognize their own trauma and discontent as catalysts for the dismantling of systems of oppression that are killing us all, and killing Black and Brown people first. She is grateful to First Congregational Church of Oakland and Second Acts as her primary communities of accountability and currently serves as associate director at Kirkridge Retreat & Study Center, where she is experimenting with moving this work forward.
Cost
The cost for participation in this six week course is a sliding scale $450-$600 per person, payable in one or two installments by venmo or zelle.
Minimum enrollment is eight people; participation will be capped at 24 to ensure engagement quality.
A justice tithe will go to Seeding Sovereignty, “a multi-lens collective that works to radicalize and disrupt colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation. By investing in Indigenous folks and communities of the global majority, we cross the threshold of liberation together.” https://seedingsovereignty.org/
Sliding scale info
At Cost fee: $525 - is the sustaining cost of the workshop
A little less fee: $450 - this is for folks who would like to participate but need some sponsorship
A little more fee: $600 -This pays for the cost of the workshop, plus supports the participation of another.
You may be at the “At cost” or “a Little more” participation levels if some or all of the following are true for you:
- You own property
- You are relatively debt-free
- You have intergenerational wealth
- You can afford occasional vacations
- There is more than one contributing income earner in your household
You may choose to participate at a little less than at cost level if you:
- Rent or co-habitate with others to share/stretch resources
- You have debt
- You live on a fixed income
Past Workshops.
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Curriculum Topics.
Unlearning Racism
This interactive training will provide delve deeply into issues of race, racism, and whiteness. Through activities, dialogue, and lecture, participants will learn about the historical legacy of racism in the US, increase racial literacy, and investigate unconscious bias. Participants will learn about and practice strategies for interrupting racism on three levels: internally, interpersonally, and institutionally. By the end of the training, participants will have tools, resources, and practice in allyship. Learn more...
Bystander Intervention
Participants will observe their default nervous system responses and learn to use those responses as assets when disrupting racist behavior in both the public and private spheres. Role play is an effective tool because the nervous system responds in the same ways it would when activated on the street or at a family gathering when someone expresses harmful behavior. Practicing using our body's natural responses when interrupting injustice provides valuable muscle memory, making it easier and more likely that we will advocate for the rights of others when we witness racial injustice in real life. Learn more...
Unconscious Bias
Despite our best intentions, even the most pure-of-heart can make snap judgements that stereotype, generalize, and otherwise diminish the full humanity of another person. While conscious bias can be easier to identify, unconscious (aka implicit) bias is trickier to spot in ourselves and others; and that’s the thing, we all have biases. Unconscious biases are particularly important to work on because they can cause unintended harm to others. In this training, participants will learn to identify conscious and unconscious biases in self and others, learn skills for interrogating and combating bias, and non-violent communication skills to support healthy dialogue around this touchy topic.
This workshop investigates internal, unconscious favoritism and limiting beliefs through theatre games, dialogue and individual written exploration. Participants will explore blind spots where our biases lie and learn best practices for combating them. The goals of this workshop are to augment awareness, increase personal responsiveness, and explore best models for sustainable, responsive, culture-setting. Learn more...
This workshop investigates internal, unconscious favoritism and limiting beliefs through theatre games, dialogue and individual written exploration. Participants will explore blind spots where our biases lie and learn best practices for combating them. The goals of this workshop are to augment awareness, increase personal responsiveness, and explore best models for sustainable, responsive, culture-setting. Learn more...
Power & Privilege
This training investigates issues of power and privilege through theatre games, dialogue and individual written exploration. Participants investigate models of confronting interpersonal, institutional conflict and oppressive behaviors, contextualized within our nation’s historical framework. The goals of this workshop are to augment awareness, increase cultural and interpersonal responsiveness, and explore best practices for inclusion. Learn more...