Heart to Heart Conversations*

Heart to Heart Conversations^® serve to initiate a deep, structural shift in thoughts and feelings, which then inform one's actions. This shift in consciousness alters our understanding and our relationships with other people, the natural world, and ourselves. This is a national program of public dialogue that speaks to social issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation focusing on oppression through the lens of race. It moves the conversation beyond black and white and speaks to the inter-connectedness of racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia. These conversations are sparked by facilitator guided viewings of videos which serve as a model for dialogue. Facilitators will conduct ongoing Heart to Heart Conversations in the Madison community as well as at area workplaces.

Heart to Heart Conversation® I:  The Way Home.  This three-hour workshop includes a facilitator guided viewing of The Way Home. This film shows what happened when eight ethnic councils of women came together to talk honestly about race, gender, and class in the United States. Over the course of eight months, sixty-four women, representing a cross-section of cultures in the U.S., met in councils separated by ethnicity—African-American, Arab, Asian, Euro-American, Indigenous, Jewish, Latina, and Multi-Racial. Their candid conversations offer rare access into their multi-dimensional cultural worlds mostly invisible to outsiders. With uncommon courage, the women speak their minds and hearts about resistance, love, assimilation, standards of beauty, power, school experiences and more. The stories are strands that weave together perspectives on how we are the same and how we are unique.

Heart to Heart Conversation^® II:  Making Whiteness Visible. This three-hour workshop focuses on the learning experiences of white people committed to challenging racism in the United States. The stories highlighted in the film are insightful, poignant and speak to the subtle and overt behaviors stemming from bias that takes many forms: personal, interpersonal, cultural, institutional and systemic. The shared self-inquiry and analysis of the interviewees makes noticeable the impact and cost of racism to every member of this society.

Beyond the workshop
While no one will attend a workshop and undo a lifetime of experiences, we expect that the workshops open the door for people in attendance to view their community from new perspectives, and hopefully encourage many in attendance to either begin or continue their personal journey to eliminate racism.  The YWCA offers regular community opportunities to attend Racial Justice Workshops and these program are also available to private groups and employers. No element of the YWCA's Racial Justice programming is meant to stand alone. Each workshop is one in a continuum of services to meet individuals and employers where they are, and through our programming and support, improve race relations and find ways to eliminate racism.

Upcoming Workshop Dates
Heart to Heart Conversation^®: Making Whiteness Visible
These workshops are not currently offered. See our schedule of Upcoming Events for a list of our current workshops.

All Racial Justice workshops are held at the YWCA Empowerment Center at 3101 Latham Drive.

Click here to register online or call Kristy at 608-257-1436 to register by phone.

For more information contact Colleen Butler.

*Heart to Heart Conversations^® is a trademark of World Trust, and centers around the work of Dr. Shakti Butler.  For more information about trainings from World Trust, please visit: www.world-trust.org.