Copper to Gold: A Transformation

There were a lot of reasons not to join Copper to Gold, a sixteen-week online anti-racism class being offered for the first time to a Rhode Island cohort.

I had more than my fill of online teaching and learning during the pandemic, so spending two hours a week on Zoom was the first drawback. Another excuse formed in my mind almost as soon as I heard about the course. Despite being retired, I can be quite busy. How could I find the time and energy to commit to these weekly classes? And what about that fact that I’ve been working hard at being antiracist for years now? What new stuff could I possibly learn? And even if I could learn more (which I knew I could), why not just read more books instead?

The excuses kept piling up, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this unique opportunity. Soon after starting the course in June, I was glad I didn’t listen to the doubts that tried to give me a way out.

One of the topics we discussed was “white fatigue,” which basically describes how easy it is for white people to check out of the fight for racial justice. It is a privilege to be able to ignore injustice when it doesn’t directly impact you. That is not an option for Black people. As Dwayne Logan explains in his short film “Black Thoughts,” he must go to great lengths to put on a “costume” in order to not be judged as a dangerous thug each time he leaves the house. That is exhausting and fatigue-inducing.

I keep coming back to what one of the Black participants of my cohort said: “If white people give up, then we can’t get there.” It’s true. Racism can’t be stopped without the efforts of those who have the most power.

I was asked recently about my biggest takeaways from the course. I responded by saying I needed more time to think about that. The takeaways will be different for everyone who participates, but here are some of the ideas that stood out for me.

• I realized that though I think I’m pretty good at learning about racism, there’s still plenty of things I need to work on such as:
• • not allowing fear of saying the wrong thing hold me back
  • speaking up when I sense that racism is in action, and not letting my second guessing talk me out of it
  • expanding my circle of friends to include more diversity, especially more people of color (maybe starting my own multicultural activity group as suggested by one of my fellow participants)
  • having more intimate conversations about race with loved ones
• Having two Black participants in our cohort (this is by design) was an enormous gift. The insights, personal stories, reflections, and challenges presented by these two women will remain with me and continue to make be better at this work.
• One of my favorite sessions was when we were given the chance to ask our fellow Black participants things we “always wanted to ask a Black person.” We laughed quite a bit, but also learned so much. And we also experienced a bit of the discomfort and frustration when asked to “speak for our race” by answering questions about white people from the Black participants!
• I was struck by how our deep conversations never veered into politics. My mind went there weekly, as the political environment of this summer and fall related directly to topics we were discussing. Yet, under the guidance of our facilitators, we focused on our own transformative journeys to become better antiracists.
• Listening to the 14-episode Seeing White podcast from Scene on Radio (2017) is itself a transformative experience. This is a resource I will be revisiting.
• Completing this course does not come with a certificate or even new skills. The skills will come with practice. If I don’t continue to practice, I’ll never get better at this.

If you’d like to know more about Copper to Gold, feel free to contact me (otimo1995@gmail.com). And consider taking advantage of this free opportunity to develop your antiracism toolbox. Here are two ways to join:

• If you are in Rhode Island (or nearby), a new cohort is beginning on November 7! Contact Lauren Baer (Lbaer5@cox.net, 401-440-9750) or Jim Berson (jberson9@cox.net, 401-465-5169 for more information. Even if you cannot join this cohort, give them a call so you can be notified of future opportunities.
• The Copper to Gold website has information about national cohorts that are run every spring and fall. Visit the website and learn more.

Are you hearing excuses form in your head now? I get it, but try not to let those excuses keep you from this transformative opportunity.

banner image from freepik.com