Credit: Submitted
As part of its “Speak Up For Peace” campaign, The Peace Center will hold two workshops: “Unlearning Racism” on Saturdays, Aug. 27 and September 24 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the center, 102 W. Maple Ave., Langhorne Borough.
Participants will learn the history of racism, examine our biases, move beyond sterotypes and assumptions, effectively respond to other’s bias and address how to become an ally.
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“The definition of racism is power and privilege plus discrimination,” said Barbara Simmons, executive director of The Peace Center.
Simmons said through The Peace Center’s workshop, people can learn to become allies for people treated with injustice. “Participants will learn what we need to do to begin to unravel some of our own biases, be more sensitive to recognizing subtle racism and how to interrupt it,” she said.
“We will examine our differences and come away with an ability to not only embrace those differences, but use our differences to build the kind of community we wish to live in.” Simmons said.
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“We all need to understand our own culture more deeply in order to be more sensitive to other cultures,” she continued. “There is a legacy from slavery that has created institutional racism in our country, which acts as a wedge in our nation and allows for injustice and separation.”
Simmons explained what will happen during the workshops. “We use stories, activities, sharing, videos and more to create a new awareness and reflection on how we got here and where we need to go from here to unlearn racism.”
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She will share the role of facilitation of “Unlearning Racism” with Gayle Evans, a peace educator with the center. They will be joined by Laura Lomax, a board member of the center. Lomax is program director at Pearl S. Buck International.
Evans and Simmons have been involved in teaching Diversity Awareness for many years.
Simmons has been with The Peace Center for three decades. The center is now marking it’s 35th year.
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She is also a teacher in Arcadia University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution masters program.’ She recently received the Al Krass Award for Peace.
Evans worked as the program director at United Way for many years, and prior to that she was the diversity specialist at Bucks County Community College.
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Simmons recommends that it is best if people can attend both workshops. “Once they come to the first one, they will want to come to the second!” she said,
The fee for both workshops is $100. Please register at www.thepeacecenter.org or call 215-750-7220.
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The Peace Center will continue its dialogues on racism in September, October and November. The first one took place Aug. 4 at the Newtown Friends Meetinghouse and followed a well-attended peace vigil for the shootings of African American men in this country. Dates and times of the dialogues will be announced shortly. It was standing room only at the first dialogue in the Quaker meetinghouse.
The Peace Center is a non-profit organization serving the community since 1982. It educates, empowers, and supports individuals, family, schools and organizations with efforts to prevent violence, promote peaceful resolution of conflict, and foster inclusive, equitable and safe communities.
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Programs are offered in conflict resolution, mediation, family empowerment, respect for self and others in an effort to reduce violence, bullying, cyber-bullying, relational aggression, racism, intolerance and inequality.
Editor’s Note: Petra Chesner Schlatter is a representative of The Peace Center.
