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Building a Community of
Social Justice

By Ellen Morrison, with the help of past and current board members

Photo by Kerry Kehoe.

How did the idea of the white ally lunch come about?

The white ally lunch came about in our planning for PAWMA 2019 when I revisited a moment Aminta Steinbach, Tyler LePard and I had during Camp Sealth 2018. As she was leaving to join the people of color (POC) lunch, Aminta asked us a powerful question: “Wouldn't it be radical if when the people of color lunch happens, we could as a community acknowledge in that moment our absence when not part of our community?" The question was profound because it asked Tyler and me to stop and notice what was happening in the room. I remember the first question that came to mind was, ‘What are the white folks doing and thinking when their people of color friends are gathering in community?’ I noted that, like me, many may be impacted by the change, but were not talking about it. Turns out this was true for many. It also prompted both Tyler and me to reflect on what this question meant to us and heed a call to action about having a conversation about race at PAWMA. When Tyler and I started to talk about how to be responsive, we created a proposal that we hoped would build community and provide a space for an intentional conversation about allyship. We were joined by Lynn Kesler and Leslie Lippard in the planning.

More about how PAWMA is building community »