Joce Ryder
Learning to notice and stop racist thoughts and actions common for white people
The Listening to Racism Workshop offers white-identified people a community in which to practice noticing and stopping our racist thoughts, assumptions, attitudes and actions. Becoming aware of our participation in white supremacy can be scary and painful. Yet, when we bring these thoughts to the light of empathetic community support, we can open up and change, maintaining our enthusiasm and stamina together.
Workshops
Listening to Sexism
Because people have different experiences with sexism, depending on their gender assignment at birth, this class will be divided by the gender binary. At the initial workshop, participants agree to keep a journal of their sexist thoughts and actions. This practice allows participants to hear their latent sexist thoughts—directed both externally and internally—and learn to take opposite action.
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For non-binary gender groups, we explore the prevailing culture's common effects on gender expression.
Classes
Learning to Equalize
Too often, the need to be understood is conflated with the need to be right. When a person or institution needs to reinforce their rightness—really, their expectation of authority—they often use controlling and coercive tactics that are so common, we accept them as "just the way things are."
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In weekly two- to three-hour classes, we'll learn from restorative-justice practices. These have been in use for more than 40 years, helping people who control and coerce themselves and others to notice and stop their destructive behavior. It is also a way to understand and change socially accepted, destructive ways of relating that daily undermine a peaceful and just society.
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This practice creates a culture shift away from personal and institutional denial, minimization, blame, and collusion of interpersonal and institutional coercion tactics, to one of personal and institutional accountability. Using an each-one-teach-one process, the group will learn active-listening, empathy-building tools that foster vulnerability and create clear, equitable, and consent-based solutions.
Speaking Engagements
I am an experienced and engaging public speaker with theatre, TV, film, and radio/podcast experience. I am available for presentations, interviews, panel discussions, etc.
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Some of my previous talks:
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"The Necessity of Consent at Work"
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"The (Not New) Sexual Harassment Crisis"
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"Shutting Down of OccupySF: Lessons on Using the Tools of the Establishment to Undermine the Establishment"
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"Accountability is the New Diversity"
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"How Interpersonal Abuse Causes Global Warming"
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"Listening to Racism"
