A common exercise in antiracist workshops is termed "Racial Caucusing" (or sometimes referred to as "racial affinity groups"). Participants separate into their own racial groups to discuss the specific ways that racism manifests for their group. Separating by race allows the groups to discuss the specific ways that racism impacts them without the pressure of worrying about how their discussion might impact another group. Typically, the white group discusses internalized dominance, and the groups of color discuss internalized racial oppression.
Why caucus?
The purpose of white racial affinity caucusing is to deal with issues of internalized superiority, reflect on how white people have benefited from the status quo, and to build an anti-racist White collective working together with people of color to dismantle racism. It provides an opportunity to understand how identity dynamics operate in specific institutional settings, and devise strategies to overcome the barriers and oppression that are created by them. Given the extensive evidence that medical professionals have the same implicit and explicit biases of the larger population, it is incumbent upon us to address this. Caucusing is one tool for healthcare professionals to reflect on their own biases and how race and racism can contribute to health disparities.
Why caucus with only white people?
There are a lot of benefits to caucusing separately. The goal of a white caucus is different than a caucus for people of color. A white caucus is focused on addressing white supremacy & white privilege, and to practice holding each other accountable. People of color often focus on healing from the impacts of living in a racist society and confronting internalized racial inferiority. Meeting in separate spaces creates an environment when white people can feel safer having honest and vulnerable discussions, learning from each other without causing harm to their colleagues of color. At the beginning, it can be feel uncomfortable to discuss race in the absence of people of color but it is essential. White Students Confronting Racism make a strong case for this on pages 2-3 of this document. It is important to note that white caucuses should be anonymous but NOT confidential - people of color have the right to know what discussions take place in the group, but it is not productive to “out” the mistakes or journey of individuals.
Getting Started
Before Caucus:
Adequate space – privacy for each group
Adequate time for caucuses
Assigned/identified leadership
A topic and/or process for setting the agenda
Group size – break a large caucus group into 10 person max – have a process for sharing what was learned/discerned back to the whole caucus. Often groups of 3-4 work even better.
Develop a clear covenant/ground rules. An example of guidelines is found here.
Caucusing is not group therapy – sometimes a one-on-one may be called for.
adapted from http://www.crossroadsantiracism.org/
Why don’t you address caucusing for people of color?
Caucusing for people of color is really important and it’s important that white people are not present. As a white woman, that means I’ve never been to a people of color caucus and I never will be. While I can’t speak to how caucusing works for people of color, there are many resources you can find online. Additionally, many of the caucusing activities provided can be done in a mixed race group. However, if both white people and people of color are present for activities, make sure to give people of color the opportunity to step away and take a break if they need to as the exercises can be re-traumatizing. This benefit should not be extended to white people, who typically spend less time discussing race and racism, and are the beneficiaries of white privilege.