looking for OS practitioner in Philadelphia area

[John Engle]

Hi Nigel,

When my friend communicated that they preferred a person of color to  
facilitate, my first response was, "I'm not going to put that in my  
message to the OS list." I knew there would be philosophical questions  
and didn't feel I had the energy and time to respond, even though I  
felt no need personally, to call into question the wisdom of this  
particular group or another one that indicates such a preference in  
their facilitator.

When it comes to groups dealing with issues of anti-racism, gender  
equality, etc. i just assume that each one is dealing with nuances,  
complexities and intricacies that would require an immense amount of  
time for me to begin to understand.

This particular group indicated that they preferred to have a  
facilitator who is a person of color. I made no mention that they have  
a preference of color in general.

I'm white, my wife's black, my three year old son calls himself  
yellow ; ). My wife and I don't think of ourselves as racist. In fact,  
we're committed to promoting equality and love among all human beings.  
I don't know this group wanting the facilitator except for my co- 
worker who is a part of it. Coincidently, he is white and has two  
black daughters. But I can certainly imagine either my wife or i  
feeling like there might be a type of person (color, class, gender,  
sexual preference) that is better suited to create a trusting and safe  
environment, depending upon the group involved, even if it's a group  
committed to love and equality among all human beings.

Can't you?

Meeting people where they are is so essential. I know you do this in  
your work. I've met people who glow when they speak of you and what  
you do.

The pain and wounds among many people--even those committed to not  
discriminate--are so deep. Where I currently live in Florida, black  
people in their 70's share stories of family members being lynched by  
KKK and how they grew up in fear and terror. Haiti, where I lived many  
years and still work, where black Africans were enslaved by whites for  
centuries, color (and even shade) is, unfortunately, of huge  
consequence, whether one wants it to be or not.

In my humble opinion, the fact that an anti-racist group prefers to  
have a person of colour facilitate their open space meeting should not  
necessarily call into question their commitment to anti-racism. In my  
humble opinion, it could be a very wise preference, depending on the  
circumstances.

John



On May 4, 2009, at 8:57 PM, NigelSeys-Phillips wrote:

> Can an anti-racist group 'prefer' a colour?
>
> Nigel
>
> Nigel Seys-Phillips
> Fulcrum Business Management Solutions
> 30 Mount Elizabeth
> #13-32 Highpoint
> Singapore 228519
> Tel: +65 9639 2510
> E-mail: nigel at fulcrum.com.sg
> www.fulcrum.com.sg
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of  
> Michael M
> Pannwitz
> Sent: Monday, 4 May 2009 11:49 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] looking for OS practitioner in Philadelphia area
>
> What color does the anti-racist group prefer?
>
> mmp
>
> John Engle wrote:
>> Fellow-listers,
>>
>> One of my colleagues is looking for an OS practitioner in the
>> Philadelphia area. It's an anti-racist group and their preference  
>> would
>> be to have a person of color.
>>
>> Anyone?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> John
>>
>> _________________________________
>>
>> John Engle Associates
>> Tel. 202-236-6532
>> Haiti Tel. 011-509-3461-3067 or
>> 011-509- 3685-3273
>> www.johnengle.net
>>
>> Open Space Facilitation
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
> -- 
> Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
> ++49-30-772 8000
> mmpanne at boscop.org
> www.boscop.org
>
>
> Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 461 resident Open
> Space Workers in 73 countries working in a total of 139 countries  
> worldwide
> Have a look:
> www.openspaceworldmap.org
>
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