<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The simple answer to your question, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> Is the Open Space movement capable of taking
us out of the boxes that we're doing open<BR>> space in - you know what I'm
saying??"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>is that Open Space is all about breaking down
barriers and getting us out of boxes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Having said this, I can't help but react to some
other parts of your message. For one, were you deliberately trying to
provoke reactions when you made the following contradictory comments just
two sentences apart?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> This book that I'm reading called Undoing
Racism says that until we "undo racism"<BR>> that everything else that we do
will be for the benefit of white people. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>and</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> I am also noticing the community service
movement includes a<BR>> majority of white people - incidently doing service
mostly for people of color. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For another, I wasn't aware that either community
service or Open Space had attained the status of
a "movement"</FONT> <FONT face=Arial size=2>-- whatever that may
imply.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>While there is some value in taking the black &
white view of the world that you seem to be adopting, this does seem to ignore
and possibly devalue all the other views. For example, you didn't say
whether you yourself are</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>black, white, yellow, red or ...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>male, female, cross-gender or ...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual or
...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>anglo-saxon, hispanic, cajun or ...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>christian, muslim, jewish or ...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>and so forth.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It seems to me that while there is relevance to all
of these perspectives (and the many others not listed), Open Space is really
about relating to each other as human beings in a universe of other
beings, letting all of us appreciate all views and agreeing on ways to
live together in diversity and harmony.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Patrick McAuley</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PTM Consulting<BR>20 Magnolia Lane<BR>Guelph,
ON N1G 4X7</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Canada</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Tel: (519) 827-9396<BR>Fax: (519)
827-0956<BR><A
href="mailto:patrick.mcauley@sympatico.ca">patrick.mcauley@sympatico.ca</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:nbiver@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu"
title=nbiver@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>biver</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU"
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, April 18, 2000 10:08
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Racism and Open Space</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi folks!<BR><BR>I'm new to Open Space and have been exploring
it as a way to build<BR>university-community relationships. This has
given me the opportunity and the<BR>necessity to take a serious look at racism
and the way it is affecting us - in terms<BR>of who has power, how service
systems ultimately breed dependency, debilitating<BR>affects of the criminal
justice system, just to name a few things. I'm also new
to<BR>understanding the construct of institutionalized racism in the US.
So I've been<BR>thinking about the role Open Space does/could play in all of
this. I can see how<BR>open space can provide a way out of our racist
constructs in that - it breaks down<BR>power. Anyone willing to take
personal responsibility can have power. But where<BR>I'm wondering about
the limitations includes that many of the groups that we<BR>collectively work
with are doing open space within their own boxes - that is, Public<BR>health
is still public health talking about how they can do health to
poor<BR>communities rather than inviting those directly affected to
participate in the open<BR>space. This is clearly a limitation.... not
sure what to do with it and what it<BR>means for open space
collectively...<BR><BR>I'm also wondering if there are any people of color out
there in open space land<BR>benefitting from the monetary fruits and labor of
open space. And if not, why not?<BR>As this has been my year to begin to
become more politically and socially aware, I<BR>can't help but notice that in
the United States the environmental movement, the<BR>spirituality/new age
movement, the sustainability movement, and community service<BR>movement
include mostly white people. Is the Open Space movement the same
way?<BR>This book that I'm reading called Undoing Racism says that until we
"undo racism"<BR>that everything else that we do will be for the benefit of
white people. That was<BR>obviously true with the women's movement - we
should have called it the white<BR>women's movement. I am also noticing
the community service movement includes a<BR>majority of white people -
incidently doing service mostly for people of color. Is<BR>the Open
Space movement capable of taking us out of the boxes that we're doing
open<BR>space in - you know what I'm saying?? Can Open Space move the
movement beyond<BR>racism as well as the limiting organizations/business we're
working with?<BR><BR>I would be very receptive to some dialogue about
this. Open Space and Racism seem<BR>to be the focal points of my
research that I'm wrapping up and can't help but<BR>question things....
And it seems like an important thing to question...<BR><BR><BR>Nancie T.
Biver<BR>National Service Fellow<BR>America's Promise and Higher
Education<BR><A
href="mailto:nbiver@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu">nbiver@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu</A><BR><A
href="http://www.tulane.edu/~amerprom">www.tulane.edu/~amerprom</A><BR>504-862-8000
x1538<BR>New Orleans, LA<BR><BR>"There are those who see the world as it is
and ask, Why? And there are those who<BR>see the world as it could be
and ask, Why not?" -George Bernard Shaw<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>