Foundations for Training

Our Training Philosophy

Why and how we do this work

As followers of Jesus we understand the call of God to work against all forms of oppression. Damascus Road is called to dismantle racism within the context of our community of faith. One of the ways we do that is through training race and gender balanced teams. We allow God to work through us in our learning, growing, and struggling together.

 

What needs to happen

Racism has created a crisis in this country. This training model will reveal that crisis and make it plain. Through both prophetic challenge and pastoral support, we will work through the crisis that racism creates.

 

Outcomes

While both people and institutions need to change, Damascus Road's primary organizing work is, through antiracist education, to prepare teams to act as change agents in their institutions.

 

Roles and responsibilities of trainers

Education is part of Damascus Road's organizing work. As trainers we go through significant preparation in order to fulfill our role of helping participants to understand antiracist concepts, not to demand agreement.

 

Model Development

We are committed to periodic, regular review and updating of the training model. Feedback from the wider Damascus Road network will be a critical component of this process.

 

Training Foci

• Racism in the U.S. - Our work explores the shape, history and impact of racism in the U.S. While racism takes many forms throughout the world, we focus on what it has done here among us. We believe our first responsibility is to dismantle racism in our own house. To explore racism elsewhere has no integrity without first discovering what it means here.
• Focus on racism - not other -isms. There are many ways sin is expressed systemically in our world. We do not want to get into a hierarchy of oppression or ignore other injustices. At the same time, if we don't know how racism works, we will end up acting in racist ways as we try to end other forms of oppression. We make connections to other forms of oppression, but the purpose of Damascus Road is to focus on racism.

 

Primary Approaches for Antiracism Analysis Trainings

• The training presents a Biblical framework for dismantling racism. We work with specific Bible stories that explore the themes of brokenness, identity, and healing. Throughout the training we return to these themes.
• The Anti-racism Analysis Training is focused on analysis, not strategy. The bulk of this workshop is focused on building a common understanding of racism. We focus on strategies in the team-based Organizing Training.
• Our "diagnosis determines therapy" - DDT. We believe we need a commonly held, faith-based diagnosis of racism to guide our action together. How we define a problem will determine our solutions.
• We bring an analysis of racism to this training. It is not the only analysis, but it is one we find effective for dismantling systemic racism. We do not use typical adult pedagogy (an elicitive approach) to share this analysis. We use a more directive approach where the trainers' responsibility is to make sure concepts are understandable, not to demand agreement.

 

Expectations for All Training Events

Damascus Road trainers accept the responsibility to facilitate a process that will help us build a common analysis of racism. In order to fulfill that responsibility, we know that there need to be certain ground rules or expectations. Participants are asked to hold trainers accountable for their role as facilitators in ensuring that everyone adheres to these expectations during this event.

We expect that together we will:

• Respect each other's feelings, life experiences, words (by listening without interruption) and time (by agreeing to begin on time).
• Stay engaged with the process and remain focused on the work at hand by participating through the entire process and struggling together.
• Not repeat stories people tell about themselves outside this circle without first getting permission.
• Support each other as we visit uncomfortable space. Some of our best learning happens when we are in a space we haven't been before.