Activist organisation Race2Dinner has chosen International Women’s Day to launch a crowdfunder to bring its “pioneering and impactful” conversations about racism to Britain.
Race2Dinner was formed in the United States, and stages a series of dinner parties.
The UK branch of Race2Dinner is being run by two Croydon women: Bushra Ahmed and Mala Thapar.
Race2Dinner says that its “mission is to initiate radically honest conversations that enable each of us to acknowledge, understand, and take personal responsibility for stopping the harm done to ourselves — and to each other”.
They are planning a week of events in London and the Midlands in July.
“Since this year’s International Women’s Day theme is Embrace Equity, it’s the perfect time to take these conversations to a wider audience,” Saira Rao, one of Race2Dinner’s American co-founders.
“Our signature Race2Dinner event shows that there’s no better place for honest conversation than the dinner table. In fact, we can safely say that breaking bread together helps to facilitate challenging, liberating and transformative conversations around white supremacy, racism and xenophobia.”
Rao is a former Wall Street lawyer, has stood for Congress, is a published novelist and an entrepreneur. Her co-founder is Regina Jackson, who grew up in Chicago in the 1950s and 60s in the midst of civil unrest, assassinations and racist murders.
Race2Dinner recently released a hard-hitting documentary about the dinners, Deconstructing Karen, and published a book, White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better, and these will be used as the foundation of the launch in Britain.
Coming to a dinner party near you: Saira Rao (left) and Regina Jackson
Plans have been made for the signature Race2Dinner experience, as well as public documentary screenings with moderated discussions.
While public events will be open to all, signature events are reserved for women and those, no matter their gender identity, who identify with being socialised as female.
The crowdfunding campaign will cover the costs of event planning, securing venues, catering and more. People can support the campaign here: https://www.race2dinner.com/r2d-uk.
The fund-raising campaign will run until the end of April, with new perks and options released throughout the campaign.
“We’re asking for your support for our UK launch because it’s important to make this a global conversation,” says Jackson. “For many white women, these events are the first step in moving beyond internalised white supremacy – which we all need to do.”
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American race politics don’t tend to travel well to the UK, in my opinion. The USA remains one of the most racist ‘developed’ countries and our experience with their imports like Critical Race Theory and the rest have proved divisive and unhelpful here. We even had Rev Al Sharpton coming over to call for an end to the ‘cop killings’ and whipping up hate. We need our own home-grown solutions rather than discredited US imports
You might want to google ‘Chris Kaba’. Also, the UK leg is being host by two women from Croydon, as the article suggests so I don’t see how this will American-ise the racism in this country. Racism is still racism, whether you see it as ‘better’ than the US or not.
Whilst I would love some honest and open discussions on race, gender and plain just getting on together, I do not think the US is a good place to start. It also seems neither is the UK when we see parents being told by schools they cannot see teaching materials being shown to their children or even told of conditions their children might express in dealing with such issues. Who can we trust to be open and honest in discussions and will they be cancelled by those that disagree?