What is Wake Up?
Wake Up began in the Bay Area. Over the years of meeting and building relationships with each other, we have formed an intergenerational community of white anti-racists. Since then, Wake Up has grown across several states, facilitated by folks who have been mentored by Holistic Resistance. Wake Up is part of a larger collective, the Holistic Resistance community. During this time most groups are online and accessible to people from all over; for more info, visit our Bay Area page.
We invite you to join us in our fight to dismantle white supremacy.
Inspect
How does our racism show up for us individually and collectively? As we uncover what’s been handed down to us generationally, and the ways we perpetuate those systems, we pay close attention to what comes up in our bodies and hearts. As white folks we often get stuck in our intellectual minds. In this space, we encourage each other to notice feelings and sensations in our bodies. We invite each other to slow down our reactions to difficult situations, and ask ourselves and each other questions. We do not use shame and blame as tactics. We aim to meet you wherever you are in your journey, with a desire to move towards more collective liberation and healing.
Connect
When have you felt alone in your racial justice work? We are stronger in community than in isolation. In order for anti-racism to be woven into the fabric of our lives, we need a network of people surrounding us that will support our lasting change. And yet, so much of what we see in social justice communities is a lot of white people judging each other. We are trying to interrupt this, as a way of dismantling yet another layer in these systems of oppression. We aim to build ongoing relationships, connection, resources, and support for each other as we integrate the principles of anti-racism into our daily lives. Practicing deep connection, conflict and repair in Wake Up supports our relationships with People of Color as well.
Act
How can I design my life to be more anti-racist? Our community supports each other through the challenges of activism. As a collective, we encourage each other to build our capacity to act, knowing that activism can take shape in many different ways. To name a few, we connect each other to organizations and opportunities for direct action, raising children in anti-racist ways, and advocating for change in our workplaces. Most importantly, we commit ourselves to facing the unrelenting realities of racism and white supremacy, to standing in solidarity with people of color, to not turning away.
What to Expect in a Wake Up Meeting
Our meetings are facilitated by a rotating group of facilitators. Each location and facilitator brings their own unique gifts and perspective to the process and meetings take shape in many ways. For more information see our Locations page.
Some things you might expect in a Wake Up meeting:
Grounding/mindfulness/simple movement
Land Acknowledgements
Check-ins: How are you feeling physically, mentally, emotionally? What’s on top for you around racism?
Questions to hold us where we’re at, and push us to grow
Dyads or small groups to process and support each other
Space to relate to each other in full group debriefs and conversations
Reparations reminder and direct action announcements
Singing/art/movement
Are mixed race people welcome? Are People of Color welcome?
Yes and Yes. These meetings are aimed for white folks working on their racism, and we invite white people to unedit their responses as much as possible, to really deeply process and notice the racism that lives inside of us. Witnessing this can be very painful for People of Color - and, POC and mixed race folx are always welcome to join. We trust your desire to be in these spaces and will support you in being there and the extra energy that it takes to be in these spaces.
What if I’m white-passing, but I’m not white? If you want to be here, you are welcome here. Part of what we are practicing in Wake Up is holding complexity. Mixed race people who have European heritage or are white-passing hold unique hurts around belonging and identity. We invite you to show up how you’d like; you can come to work on your whiteness with the group, to be heard around your other identities and racial trauma, to just observe and participate at will....you are welcome to show up in a way that works for you.
We look forward to being in community with you!