INTERNAL WORK FOR EXTERNAL IMPACT
Welcome to the non-profit community resource of Race Conscious Dialogues! Whether you are interested in affinity group work, seeking to supplement DEI conversations in your workplace, or looking for a place to start a personal journey of learning and reflection, we offer a variety of small group cohorts held both in person in Oak Park IL, and virtually on Zoom.
UPCOMING SESSIONS
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WHITENESS & ANTI-RACISM: affinity group cohort for HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS
(for those who identify as white, held Sundays on Zoom)
Session 1: Whiteness & Socialization
JANUARY 12TH, 4PM – 7 PM CST
Session 2: Identity & Privilege
JANUARY 26TH, 4PM –7 PM CST
Session 3: Allyship & Racism Interruption
FEBRUARY 23RD, 4PM – 7PM CST
Session 4: Systems of Oppression & Moving Forward
MARCH 9TH, 4PM – 7 PM CDT
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WHITENESS & ANTI-RACISM: affinity group cohorts open to the COMMUNITY
This experience is designed for people who are white to deepen awareness of identity, privilege, positionally to power and more, and provides tools for integrating learning with everyday life. It is important to attend all 4 sessions - they are interconnected and build upon one another.
VIRTUAL as well as IN-PERSON opportunities in Winter 2025.
Session 1: Whiteness & Socialization
Session 2: Identity & Privilege
Session 3: Allyship & Racism Interruption
Session 4: Systems of Oppression & Moving Forward
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PGM / BIPOC AFFINITY GROUP COHORT
(for People of the Global Majority who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
Interested in the next PGM/ BIPOC Affinity Group Cohort?
Sign up to be notified when registration opens.
Weekend retreat coming Winter 2025!
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Coming Soon ....
RCD Facilitation Training Session
Whiteness & Anti-Racism for the LGBTQIA+ Community
Our Programs
Whiteness & Anti-Racism
The primary focus of our organization is working with white-bodied and white presenting persons in the context of racial affinity space, through a four-part workshop series. Topics include whiteness, socialization, social identity, dominant narratives, privilege, racism interruption, solidarity, systems of oppression and more. It is important to attend all 4 sessions.
BIPOC affinity groups
We periodically offer courses for people of the global majority with lived experience of racism in the United States. Topics explored are sharing our narratives, social identity, assimilation and white dominant culture, colorism, solidarity, systems of oppression and more. It is important to attend all 5 sessions.
Non-profit Cohorts
If you are interested in a cohort for your non-profit organization, REACH OUT HERE
The Journey Together
The Journey Together is a three-day, two-night collective journey for post Race Conscious Dialogues and/or RGW trained participants that is designed to move us beyond foundational race conversations, challenge us to think about how we are complicit in racial injustices that exist today, and what we can do to embody justice and build beloved community across dividing lines in our own context.
Additional Resources
Here are some resources to check out before, during and after participation in the workshops.
In particular, we recommend the podcast series “Seeing White” .
Participant Reflections
Purpose
The Race Conscious Dialogues are designed to deepen awareness of identity, privilege, positionality to power and more, then integrate learning with everyday life. The foundational series consists of 4 sessions, 3 hours each, and are held both in-person and online. Each session is preceded with light readings to be done at home and the curriculum was developed in partnership with the Nova Collective.
All discussions, readings and activities are framed around unpacking and understanding Whiteness - our own socialization, the historical and current harm being caused by Whiteness and guided discovery of what we can do to disrupt racism and dismantle White supremacy. This personal work informs authentic solidarity and cannot be 'skipped' as we push to eradicate interpersonal and systemic racism.
Together, we are creating a brave and supportive space to show up through honest conversation.
Board of Directors
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Reesheda N. Graham Washington
Board Chair
Reesheda N. Graham Washington is an educator, licensed minister and certified coach with over 10 years of experience working with people from all walks of life on their equity and anti-racism journey. She currently serves as the CEO of RGW Consulting, LLC, a boutique consulting firm that invites partners and clients to reimagine and generate wonder and curiosity around community and organizational development, economic development, and equity through coaching, training, consulting, and facilitation.
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Wilonda Cannon
Wilonda Cannon is Senior Director of Development at Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Chicago, Illinois. Over the past four years, she has grown Breakthrough's annual revenue by over 60 percent. Moreover, she mentored a team of fundraising professionals who are ensuring that Breakthrough is no longer the "best kept secret" on the west side. As an award-winning public speaker and leader in non-profit fundraising, Cannon provides guidance and expertise to organizations managing campaigns and annual funds. Previously, Cannon served in the Air National Guard as a civil engineer. In addition to leading the fund development and strategic initiatives for Project Eden and the Joseph Business School, she graduated from the Joseph Business School, Forest Park, Illinois. For her work with Project Eden, she was named State Farm's Phenomenal Woman of the Year in 2010.
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Faith Cole
Dr. Faith Cole lives in Oak Park, Illinois with her husband and son. She is the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for D212. She is a passionate leader with 18 years of educational experience in Oak Park in grades K-12th grade. Her extensive experience includes MTSS, PBIS, Equity and Justice, Teacher and Principal Mentoring, Special Education, Restorative Practices, and Student Services.
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Kina Collins
Known for her work in policy formulation, coalition building, and community engagement, Kina Collins advocates for gun violence prevention and health care. She established the Illinois Council on Women and Girls and successfully lobbied for House Bill 40, legislation that provides state health insurance and Medicaid coverage for women's reproductive health care. As part of Generation Progress, she helped launch the Beyond the Gun campaign and was selected to participate in the National Leadership Council for the Fight4AFuture network, a group of young people who work on actions that address the root causes of violence and inequality
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Samina Hadi-Tabassum
Professor Samina Hadi-Tabassum teaches cognitive and language development courses at Erikson Institute. Her research focuses on issues related to race, language, and culture. In addition to academic writing, she has published a book of poems and short stories. She has three children and lives in Oak Park with her extended family.
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Lotus Lindez
Our sincere thanks go out to Lotus Lindez! Lotus is a creative and heart-driven leader who seeks to heal others in all aspects of her life.
As a UX Designer, they have performed 8+ Years in startup companies, large corporations, and agencies. Currently, they are leading the Oak Street Health design team to develop healthcare technology that helps healthcare providers heal their patients.
Lotus has studied and practiced Buddhist philosophy and meditation for over 6 years, and teaches workshops at the Kadampa Meditation Center to help people heal their minds and unlock their potential.
Lotus is also an actor, writer, and singer, making audiences laugh and bringing levity, joy, and reflection into their lives through Chicago theater.
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Anne McNamee-Keels
Anne McNamee Keels was a pioneering collaborator and facilitator for Race Conscious Dialogues. With a background in Theatre for Youth and Communities, she is passionate about fostering dialogue through the arts. She produces and co-hosts Lapsed, a podcast about growing up Catholic in which the hosts reexamine the faith in which they were raised from an intersectional feminist perspective. She lives with her husband and two children in Oak Park, Illinois, where she is active in antiracism and advocacy initiatives. We’re incredibly grateful for you, Anne!
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Yoko Terretta
Yoko Terretta advises Fortune 500 brands about how empathy-in-action, enhanced by digital solutions, can build stronger and more rewarding customer relationships. That same empathy is applied to Yoko's volunteer programs that work to eliminate race as a predictor of physical, mental, educational, and financial health. As a result of her work, she has become curious about what policies and solutions could counterbalance the many barriers to equity and liberate marginalized communities. With an MPH degree, she hopes to shift her day-job accordingly. Thank you, Yoko, for all you do!
The Team
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Sydney Jackson
Sydney Jackson grew up in Oak Park and studied Anthropology and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies (CRES) at The University of Chicago. Sydney founded and ran a not-for-profit organization in high school (Roses4Austin) and later supported local calls to action to promote equity for all regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or area code. They serve as Program Coordinator and support Race Conscious Dialogues virtually through the creation of newsletters, workshop registrations and much more. Sydney is an accomplished dancer, champion for environmental justice and currently working on their law degree as well.
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Dot Lambshead Roche
Dot is a founding member and Executive Director of Race Conscious Dialogues, which are designed to deepen awareness of identity, privilege, positionality to power and more, then integrate learning with everyday life. Additionally, she is focused on local work for reparations and collaborative community efforts through of the founding of Kinfolk CoLab, where she continues to serve as a Board Member. After studying history at Tulane University, she enjoyed her years teaching high school social studies in Chicago Public Schools. She is grateful for the opportunity to earn an MA in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego, and to that end, is ultimately interested in deconstructing whiteness within larger conversations of racial equity. She lives with her family in Oak Park, Illinois, and loves listening to live music and being at the beach.
