Reflections

On Racism

On Fragility and Accountability

On July 26, 2020, Carmen Barsody and Sam Dennison spoke at the Universalist Unitarian Society of San Francisco about experiences of whiteness and racism. Carmen spoke to the growing realization of whiteness and racism through her experiences in Mississippi and Nicaragua. As a white person raised in a segregated society with advantages that never needed naming, Sam considers how to move from regretting racism to meaningful action.

Watch the Video of Carmen & Sam>>>

32 minutes in length

Read Sam's Reflection>>>

10-15 minute read approximately

Suggested Reading

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-term Effects of Childhood Adversity

By Nadine Burke Harris, MD

Purchase  here >>

This book entirely changed how we think about trauma. It frames the impact of childhood adversity in terms of lifetime impact. Not only does childhood adversity have psychological implications, it also increases health outcomes in general including propensity for heart disease, obesity, and other inflammatory conditions. 

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris's book is essential for understanding the long term effects of community trauma as well as individual trauma.

Suggested Reading

The Warmth of Other Suns

By Isabel Wilkerson

Purchase  here >>

The history of the Great Migration is singularly important in understanding the legacy of slavery and the reality of Jim Crow violence and segregation. Rather than focus the contours of White racism, this book shows us how racial domination shaped the lives of African-Americans and how the rich legacy of endurance within African-American families, passed down from generation to generation, gave them life and the landscape of the US.