The Women’s and Men’s Leaders’ Workshop
I participated in the one-day Women’s and Men’s Leaders’ Workshop led by Diane Balser [International Liberation Reference Person for Women] and Tim Jackins [International Reference Person] for West Coast North America. Women and men met separately with their respective leaders the first half of the workshop. We met together the second half, with Diane and Tim each leading a class.
Diane reminded us that women’s oppression is big and that in the current society it has been minimized and made invisible.
For me, sexism is intertwined with racism. The early material [distress] makes me feel rigidly protective of the behavior of Black men and like apologizing to them when I try to work on sexism.
I live with an undercurrent of fear and worry because of the fear and worry about survival we experienced in my family. We are African heritage. We were poor small farmers during the time of segregation. The early worry and caretaking patterns have pulled me away from prioritizing myself, my body, and my health during the pandemic. I’ve decided to prioritize myself more as I go forward.
From Tim: ”How can we go forward together as a unified front even though the material is not yet resolved? What agreements do we need? Each of us has to take responsibility for the distresses that have been pushed on us and not blame and hang our upsets on others.”
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC Community members
(Present Time 200, July 2020)