Waking ourselves for the benefit of all.
Defecting from Supremacy Participant Page
Welcome! This page is for registrants in our Summer, 2020 Defecting from Supremacy course. Please do not share this page with anyone who is not registered for the course. You are welcome to share specific homework materials, but not the link to the page – which will include links to recordings as they become available.
Homework Assignments:
Important Information
Homework: Homework materials for August 16, 23 & 30 and September 13 & 20 will be posted below. Please allow a minimum of 1-2 hours for homework per session. We ask that everyone engage with the study materials section prior to each session. We also encourage participants to engage your physical, emotional, and creative body in deeper learning and healing through the additional practices (designed by Topher) related to the theme of the coming session. We ask that you choose at least one of the practices each week that seems particularly valuable to you. More are encouraged if/when you can find the time. There will be a chance for participants to reflect on their experiences with these practices during our live sessions but you will not fall behind or be excluded if you haven’t done them. In the first live session, Topher will give more context as to why we believe this holistic approach is essential in the struggle for collective liberation.
Recordings: Recordings of each live session will be available 2-3 days after it takes place. Links to these recordings will be posted at the top of the homework assignment for the corresponding session. Recordings, along with the participant page as a whole, will remain accessible through Dec 20, 2020 (three months after our final live session). After this, study materials will be mailed to you as a PDF and session recordings will no longer be available.
Have you visited the Logistics Page for the Course? Please allow 20 minutes to review this page and take the action steps outlined within it prior to the course. Applications for your personal zoom login must be submitted by the end of the day Saturday, August 22, in order to participate in the second live session (applications are approved manually, not instantly).
Session One: An Introduction
Session Recording (8/16): Watch Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Presentation Slides: View Topher's / View David's
Study Materials:
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What is White Supremacy – Elizabeth Martínez (15-20 min read)
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Relinquishing the Patriarchy – adrienne maree brown (10-20 min read)
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Tony Porter Ted Talk: A Call To Men (11 min video)
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From a Place of Love: Catalyst Project and the Strategy of Collective Liberation Leadership in White Communities – from Chris Crass’ book Towards Collective Liberation (Read final four pages of this chapter, 267 - 270, 10 min read)
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Gender and Patriarchy Definitions Sheet – Topher Stephens (10-12 min read)
Additional Practices:
(Do at least one of the following exercises)
Embodiment Practice:
"Mindfulness of Body" Guided Meditation (17 min)
Emotional Intelligence Practice:
Reflect on Your Feelings and Needs (15-20 min)
Imaginative / Creative Practice:
Write a "Where I'm From" Poem (15-20 min)
Session Two: Historical Context
Session Recording (8/23): Watch Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Presentation Content: Notes from Topher's Talk
Study Materials:
Early Human Cultures, Indigeneity and the Dawn of Patriarchy:
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The Vast and Beautiful World of Indigenous Europe – Lyla June (15-20 min read)
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Origin of Gender video (9 min watch)
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The History of Patriarchy – Elle Beau (9 min read)
Capitalism, Race, Gender & Religion:
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Roots Deeper Than Whiteness Parts I & II – David Dean (30-35 min read OR listen)
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Dancing in the Streets, Excerpt from a Book Review (5-7 min read)
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Notes on Caliban and the Witch - Silvia Federici summarizing her book (7 min read)
Note on Federici piece: "Production" denotes work done by wage laborers. "Reproduction" denotes work done to birth and sustain human life, and, under capitalism, give wage laborers the sustenance to toil for the boss.
Additional Practices:
(Do at least one of the following exercises)
Embodiment Practice:
Nature Exploration (20-25 min)
Emotional Intelligence Practice:
"Exploring and Illustrating Emotions" Guided Meditation (12.5 min)
Spiritual/Imaginative Practice:
Imagining Yourself as a Benevolent Ancestor (15-20 min)
Session Three: Harm Caused & Harm Endured
The following study materials are meant to offer an opportunity to bear witness to the vast harm perpetrated by white men in the past and present while also waking up to the ways that racialized, gendered capitalism has created suffering and disconnection in our own lives. Even though we have separated this content into the two categories “harm caused” and “harm endured,” we understand that there is crossover between them. For example, we recognize the notion that, as Kazu Haga says, “hurting people hurts” on a psychological level as well as the reality that racism and misogyny can distract white men from seeing the real causes of their own suffering under capitalism.
Session Recording (8/30): Watch Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Presentation Content: Notes from Topher's Talk
Study Materials:
Harm Caused:
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Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz on the Ulster-Scots (7 min read)
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Slate graphic of transatlantic slave trade (3 min interactive graphic; The horror of the human trafficking and enslavement of Africans is vast. As you watch this interactive graphic, take time to reflect on what you already know about the middle passage and subsequent enslavement, then attempt to scale this to the number of dots you see moving across the screen.)
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Soldiers talk about what they saw and did in Iraq (5 min video; Content warning: descriptions of specific acts of violence)
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How Microaggressions are like Mosquito Bites (2 min video)
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The Female Price of Male Pleasure - Lili Loofbourow (15-20 min read)
Harm Endured:
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If you haven’t watched it yet, please view Tony Porter’s talk, “A Call to Men,” from the Session One Study Materials (11 min video)
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Mass Incarceration and Rule by the Rich - Ian Haney López (2 min video)
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Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Interview Excerpt (10 min read)
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Visualization of the wealth of the super-rich shown to scale (3-5 min)
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Costs of Oppression to People from Privileged Groups (5-7 min read)
Additional Practices:
(Do at least one of the following exercises)
Embodiment Practice: Dance and Expressive Movement
Emotional Intelligence Practice: Guilt vs Shame
Imaginative Practice: Read a Visionary Fiction Short Story
Session Four: Cultivating a Renewed Identity
Session Recording (9/13): Watch Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Study Materials:
Toward a healthy anti-racist identity:
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Quotes from Anne Braden on “The Other America” (2 min read)
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St. Patrick’s Batallion: View this infographic and listen to this podcast from 1:08:55 to 1:10:44 (link cued to correct start time)
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War Happens in Dark Places, Too - Keri Leigh Merritt (15 min read)
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The 1968 Rainbow Coalition: Documentary Trailer and Description (1 min) and Fred Hampton’s Speech to the Young Patriots (2 min watch)
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Roots Deeper than Whiteness Part III - David Dean (7-8 min read OR listen)
Toward a healthy gender identity
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10 Responses to the Phrase “Man Up” - A spoken word poem by Guante (3.5 min watch)
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The Opposite of Rape culture is nurturance culture - Nora Samaran (20 min read)
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How Homophobia Has Robbed All Men Of Touch - Mark Greene (7 min read)
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Liz Plank interview about her book “For the Love of Men” - Listen to audio from 21:35 to the end or read starting from the corresponding location. Text starting point to search for is “MC: Awesome, thank you.” (10-13 min)
Additional Practices:
(Do at least one of the following exercises)
Embodiment Practice: Embodied Awareness in Your Daily Activities
Emotional Intelligence Practice: Write a Letter of Gratitude
Imaginative Practice: Make an Intention Collage
Session Five: Taking Action
Session Recording (9/20): Watch Here
Chat Log: Read Here
Study Materials:
Approaches to Social Action:
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Against Patriarchy: Tools for Men to Further Feminist Revolution – Chris Crass (15-20 min read)
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White Anti-Racism Must Be Based in Solidarity, Not Altruism – Jesse Myerson (15 min read)
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Race-Class: A Winning Electoral Narrative – Demos Action (7 min read) (Optional and related: Check out Race-Class Academy)
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Mapping our Roles in Social Change Ecosystems – Deepa Iyer (15 min) Feel free to fill out this worksheet or simply reflect on the questions mentioned.
Getting Involved:
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How to get involved in an activist organization and become a valuable volunteer–starting today – Laura Casado (10-20 min read)
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Activist Organizations to Consider Joining – David and Topher (15+ min read)
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Daniel Jubelirer’s Guide to Taking Action in the 2020 Election (15-20 min read)
Sharing Resources:
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Join us on Mighty Networks to respond (and view others' responses) to Topher's question: What are resources that can help members of this course get more involved to make meaningful change for racial, gender and economic justice? (Look for a post from Topher with this question in big letters / Click here to read our past email with more information about engaging in our Defecting from Supremacy Mighty Networks Group)
Additional Practices:
(Do at least one of the following exercises)
Embodiment Practice: Take a Solidarity Action
Emotional Practice: Practicing a Genuine Apology
Imaginative Practice: Letter from the Future