Invisible racism in my life

Emotional awareness Invisible racism

Summary

Participants explore emotions accompanying situations of racism, reflecting on their own experience through a silent walk in nature.

Procedure

1. Ask the participants to form pairs, grouping with a person they would like to walk together with in silence. Once the pairs are formed, start with a walk in nature. Invite participants to stay silent. 2. After a while, ask participants to think about one moment in which they experienced an act of invisible racism (as a perpetrator, as a victim or as bystander). Then continue the walking in silence. 3. When you feel that all participants are ready for the next step, ask participants to think about the emotions they felt when the situation of invisible racism occurred. Continue walking in silence 4. For the last step, ask participants to share their emotions in their pairs and provide details about the situation, as long as they feel comfortable to share. Continue walking and go back to the departure point, where participants can sit and start the debriefing.

Debriefing questions

• How do you feel? • Was it easy/difficult to recall a situation of invisible racism in your life and why? • Can you briefly share some of the cases you recalled? • Which were the emotions you felt in relation to the situation you were able to recall? • What are the links between emotions and situations of invisible racism? • Which are the emotions accompanying racism and invisible racism?

Why, in your opinion?

To support your participants in expressing their emotions, you may briefly introduce the six basic emotions as defined by Paul Eckman.