“Waking Up White,” a book by Debby Irving, will be the focus for a series of free events arranged by Not in Our Town Princeton starting on March 22.
Irving will share her adventure of going from white oblivion to white awareness in two FREE programs on Monday, April 18, the first at 4 p.m. at the Princeton Public Library, and the second at 7 p.m. at The Hun School of Princeton, 176 Edgerstoune Road. (Please pre-register for the Hun event by clicking here.)
The first three conversations will be on consecutive Tuesdays (March 22, 29, and April 5) at 7 p.m. at the Princeton Municipal Building, 400 Witherspoon Street. Books may be borrowed from the Princeton Public Library or bought on April 18, courtesy of Labyrinth Books.
Co-facilitators Patricia Deeney, Steven Drake, Linda Oppenheim, and Jim Weber will help participants explore this New England woman’s cringe-worthy struggle with racism and how she went from “well meaning” to “well doing.” Lawrence residents, Deeney and Weber are facilitators with the NJ Intergroup Dialog Coalition and members of the Experiential Diversity Training Team for the Presbytery of New Brunswick. Oppenheim co-chairs Not in Our Town Princeton.
The book will also be the focus of NIOT Princeton’s Continuing Conversation on April 4 at the Princeton Public Library and a follow-up discussion at the library on Thursday, May 5, both at 7 p.m.
A former classroom teacher and arts administrator, Irving focuses on working with white people exploring the impact white skin have on perception, problem solving, and engaging in racial justice work. A graduate of the Winsor School in Boston, she holds a BA from Kenyon College and an MBA from Simmons College.
“These conversations will help people explore their own white framing of their lives and communities,” says Oppenheim. “We are grateful to the Princeton Public Library and the Hun School of Princeton for supporting this program.”