Plans to bring "White Like Me" to Bonner Leaders

My blog post this week is going to serve as a space to plan a lesson around Tim Wise's White Like Me, and in particular Chapter 6, which deals with the institutional colorblindness that can be found in the world of non-profits. As Bonner Leaders, Jamie, Aastha and I thought it would be both appropriate and necessary to bring this conversation to Bonners. We spend 8 hours a week in volunteering in communities such as Norristown and North Philadelphia. This racial divide is quite apparent (for example, CASA is an after school program for 5th and 6th graders in Norristown, and all of the children are black with the exception of one Hispanic girl) However, none of our community partners mention race in their mission statement-- or seem to address the issue at all. Racial justice cannot be achieved through service if our service is colorblind.

p. 230-231: Wise discusses the different service trips that came through New Orleans in the wake of the hurricane, and how many of them lacked the adequate preparation to think critically about the community they were engaging with.

"Occasionally the answers I would receive suggested a very high level of critical engagement, which was heartening. By this I mean, the persons who had organized the trip had recognized the importance of preparing the students for the experience by having pre-arrival conversations regarding racism, classism, the history of the city, and the political and cultural context within which the tragedy had occurred. In those cases, the volunteers were not simply going to New Orleans to "get their help on," or perform some version of perceived Christian duty; rather they were going to bear witness to inequality, learn from local leaders about their experiences, and work in real solidarity with the people struggling to rebuild the city--working with, not for" (230). 

He goes on to note that the above was not usually the case. I'd like to use this passage in the text to spark critical thinking regarding our own approach to "service trips" in the past, as well as our regular service.

Some questions:

In which ways do you feel you are "in solidarity" with those you are serving?

When did you become aware of the racial divide within our community partners--when you became aware, did you think about why that might be?

A service trip, in essence, is an exercise in privilege. What are the potential positives and negatives of such an exercise?  Consider both sides (i.e. the travelers as well as the community being served) when formulating a response.