THE PATH OF DIRECT REPAIR ANNUAL RETREAT

What attendees are saying:

"This course was a powerful experience to explore and understand how the legacies of slavery continue to inform our present. I learned so much about my own past, and through the shared stories of other participants. What I loved the most was a strong emphasis on using our own agency and power to engage in concrete acts of repair, in service of healing. A transformative learning and action experience. Thank you! " Rabbi Caryn Aviv

"I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to learn about and examine my family history with special attention to my white advantages and privilege. This program helped me understand the impact of misrepresented US history and to discover my family's connections to slavery and the economic comfort I have enjoyed. The presenters were well informed and experienced. The resources offered and the participants' shared stories call me to renew my commitment toward genuine equity at all levels of community." Mary Zinn

"This course was a wonderful opportunity to be in community with people who are doing the hard and impactful work of reparations in their communities. I am inspired and better informed now about how to move forward in reparations work in my own community. " Hilary L.

"Thank you for an incredible program. It was wonderful in content, presentation, homework materials, and in the masterful facilitation of our group. I will be doing this work for the rest of my life. I think this is the most important work to heal and possibly save our democracy, or actually, to create a new way of becoming a unified nation." Susana

8-SESSION RETREAT ON ZOOM

Who is a wealth-holder?

* In the context of this retreat, "wealth-holders" refers to anyone who acknowledges the current 10:1 racial wealth gap and the many invisible benefits white people have access to and wishes to engage in direct repair.

Next Cohort - Winter 2024/2025

Hosted by Reparations Circle Denver, Denver Black Reparations Council and Reparations4slavery.com

We invite you to join us for our annual retreat!

Designed for white individuals who wish to take their support for reparations to the next level by investing in direct reparative change.

In this 8-session retreat, we explore both the economic rationale for reparations to the descendants of the enslaved in America, as well as the moral and spiritual imperative for doing so.

Attendees will gain an understanding of the historic inequities that result in our current 10:1 racial wealth gap and begin to research and clarify where our families fit into this historic puzzle through reparative genealogical research.

We'll evaluate our families' origin and prosperity stories and see how these stories need to evolve to correlate with the narratives of our African American peers.

We'll also map the resources that comprise intergenerational prosperity and work to trace the original sources that have paved the path for our success.

We'll craft family plans of repair based on our family histories plus evaluate ways we can further activate our commitments to repair.

And - our reparative contributions will help fund Denver Black Reparations Council's future reparative grant cycles!

Throughout, we'll engage through spirit, explore connections to beloved community, and chart our reparative paths forward.

Join us on this journey of repair!

Note: This is a fast-paced retreat designed for white people who have committed to the path of repair, have done some genealogical research, and have found ancestral links to slavery or white supremacy.

Registration opens soon

Acknowledgement

Nothing but a national program of reparations, such as HR-40, can be considered true reparations. Yet, harm happens locally and therefore must be repaired locally. We support the engagement of white families in acts of direct repair in our communities: the deployment of our time, agency and resources, at the direction of our Black communities, to facilitate truth-telling and healing.

Retreat Details and FAQ

Cost

Fundraising Goal: $25,000 - all contributions matched!

Fundraising Goal: $25,000 - all contributions matched!
Our goal is to raise $25,000 in this retreat - each dollar we raise will be matched by Reparations Circle Denver founding members, up to $25,000! Contributions will fund Denver Black Reparations Council's upcoming reparative grant cycles. Pledges are due at registration with contributions due by the end of the retreat.

Facilitation

Homework

Session Descriptions

Session Descriptions:

Session 1: Tues 01/03/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
Introductions and orientation to the retreat
Retreatants will meet each other as well as Reparations Circle Denver and Denver Black Reparations Council members and learn why each of us has chosen to work toward repair. We'll discuss goals for the retreat and guidelines for being in community together.

Session 2: Tues 01/10/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
The Racial Wealth Gap: Understanding the Economic Basis for Repair - with Lotte & Briayna
We’ll look at the genesis of white wealth in parallel with the historical harms that have created the current 10-to-1 racial wealth gap, using Lotte's and Briayna's family narratives as our backdrop. We’ll also look at retooling harmful family prosperity narratives that uphold the culture of white supremacy, using in depth scribing exercises and discussion.

Session 3: Tues 01/17/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
Reparative Genealogy: Who Are We in History? - with Lotte & Briayna
We'll expand upon the family narratives we explored in session 2 and begin to explore where our families fit into "erased history." We'll look at tools for exploring our family histories and develop a family history research plan.

Session 4: Tues 01/24/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
White Inheritance: Undoing the Harm of the Bootstrap Argument.
In this session we'll explore our relationships to the bootstrap, meritocracy and noblesse oblige arguments and map out elements of our family's prosperity with a focus on finding their sources.

Session 5: Tues 01/31/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
Engaging Spirit; Developing a Family Plan of Repair.
In this session we'll engage spirit in committing to the path of repair and explore different ways of developing a family plan of repair.

Session 6: Tues 02/07/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
Building Beloved Community Through Engaging in Direct Repair.
We'll hear what is in the hearts and minds of members of Denver Black Reparations Council members as they describe the nature of beloved community; we'll look at the value of engaging in beloved community and what we miss by living in our white bubbles.

Session 7: Mon 02/13/23 6:30 - 8:30 PM MT
From Performative to Transformative: Next Steps on the Path.
We'll assess where we've come from and where we need to go to take our reparative work to the next level. We'll explore additional tools that can help us craft the path forward.

I don't live in Denver - may I still attend?

What will you do with funds raised?

Where do I make my pledge payment?

Beyond the registration fee, which pays for the costs to run the retreat, we ask attendees to make a pledge to fund our upcoming reparative grant cycles.

If you wish to send your contribution right away, you may do so here, at The Denver Foundation's Denver Reparations Fund.

Denver Reparations Fund (fcsuite.com)

Your contribution is tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

What will assignments be like?

Homework:
You will be asked to commit several hours per week to complete reading and research assignments.

The assignments are scalable for folks who want to do more; we plan to send out more information about them two weeks prior to the start of the retreat so folks can get started ahead of time, if desired. For instance, some of the assignments involve doing genealogical research, back through the slavery era, or to the point where your ancestors arrived in this country. For people who have not done genealogical research before, but know what country their family emigrated from, we have other materials that can be reviewed. Beyond research, much of the other assignments will involve readings as well as introspection about shared history. The homework will often involve deepening exercises we begin in our sessions.

Is this retreat right for me?

This retreat is designed for white- bodied people who:

Have already been working toward racial justice
Have worked toward being less fragile when discussing issues of racism and personal complicity
Believe in the movement for reparations
Are either familiar with their genealogical history or willing to do some research
Are willing to engage in personal and group introspection
Are able to face our shared history with both compassion and equanimity
Are aware of personal or family trauma that may surface as we explore our family history and are willing to work through whatever shows up
Are willing to contribute financially toward our reparative grant cycle

We look forward to meeting you!

How should I prepare for this retreat?