Is Your Racial Affinity Group Helpful Or Harmful? - LinkedIn

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Two weeks back, I was in a professional learning community where my Blackness was welcomed and celebrated. I felt affirmed emotionally, racially and culturally. I was challenged to think creatively and offered time and space to just be Black with other Black people. IT FELT SO GOOD! I saw myself and my community represented in the illustrations, poems, videos, and other tools used by the expert facilitator throughout our 4 meetings. Black was cool. Black was chill. Black was complex. And yet, Black wasn't defined, just welcomed. And that made all the difference.

All that said, not all racial affinity groups are the same. They have the potential to serve many different purposes, depending on who's in the room and who is leading the room. As a result, they can be a space of healing or a space that causes more harm. I felt blessed to have participated in professional learning community that brought me healing. Take a listen as I share more about my experience.

I can help your organization/institution design, train staff and facilitate racial affinity groups to create the conditions for healing. Let's talk about it. Email me at [email protected] to set up a 30-min virtual call to explore ways I can help you.

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I listened to the podcast and really appreciated it! Especially like the part about spending time "just being" and focusing on the internal vs the external. Would love to follow up about what you discuss at the end: understanding the different purposes that folks come into a space with - and how to leverage that into the identity of the affinity space. 💛 🖤

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