Members of the public are invited to attend a presentation by Debby Irving, author of “Waking Up White,” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 19 at First Congregational Church, 145 Capital Ave., Battle Creek.
Irving’s appearance is presented by the Kellogg Community College Center for Diversity and Innovation in collaboration with Bridges to Cultural Understanding. Admission is free; light refreshments will be served.
Have you heard of white privilege but aren’t sure what it is? Are you on a journey toward becoming an ally for people of color in your community? Irving will tackle these questions and more as she engages people in an exploration of whiteness and white privilege. Irving will share her personal journey and take questions from the audience.
Irving was raised in Massachusetts in what she describes as a “blissfully sheltered, upper-middle-class” environment. She later worked as a community organizer and classroom teacher, experiencing firsthand the racial divides that she observed in Boston.
“My book ‘Waking Up White’ is the story of my two-steps-forward-one-step back journey away from racial ignorance. I continue to study racism and strategies for its undoing while working to educate other white people confused and frustrated by racism,” Irving writes on her website, debbyirving.com. “I remember these feelings all too well and am passionate about transforming anxiety and inaction into empowerment and action, be it for an individual or an organization”
For more information about the event, contact Jorge Zeballos, executive director of the Center for Diversity and Innovation, at 965-7349 or zeballosj@kellogg.edu.
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