Hello old friend,
When I wrote in my previous newsletter that I’d be pausing for a while due to having post-viral fatigue, I definitely didn’t think that ‘a while’ = seven months and one day!
It has been a difficult time, with plenty of frustration and anxiety, alongside moments of gratitude for the deep kindness of friends and colleagues. I slowly turned a corner in the depths of December, took January off client work entirely, and saw my energy really start to return in March. Things that seem to help include acupuncture, eating meat, getting my first pair of glasses and simply doing much less for a while. I’m probably back up to 80% now - generally doing well with occasional dips.
There’s a lot more learning to dig into one day.
But for now, while I get back into something resembling a rhythm, I’m going to break up the format a bit to focus on something I’ve been cooking up for a while…
White Men: What’s Next? is a peer-to-peer learning journey (AKA a ‘Huddle’) for white men who want to explore and embody what it looks like to contribute to change, and create a world beyond patriarchy and white supremacy.
Over six months, we’ll do the deep and meaningful work to unlearn, experiment and rebuild. Without intentional change, white men can perpetuate patterns of domination and oppression - both consciously and unconsciously. What might be possible if white men confront this? Together, we’ll seek out the practices and ideas that are needed for white men to participate in bringing about a world beyond supremacy.
This is something that deliberately blurs the line of professional and personal for me.
In recent years, I've realised that I want to work on issues that I have a stake in - including where I might be part of the problem. I've been interrogating my own whiteness and masculinity, and working on some projects related to race, gender and power. While doing this, I have noticed a lack of spaces where white men can explore and reimagine our roles and behaviour, without relying on marginalised groups to do the work for us.
As you may have noticed from previous posts, I have a lot of big questions. For example... What is the role of white men in moving to a more just world? How might we be accomplices to women and people of colour? What inner work of reflection do we need to do? Where might white men find a healthy sense of belonging and identity? Meanwhile, how might we recognise that the experience of white men is not monolithic?
I've realised that there's only so much I can learn and do by myself. As I understand it, one of the traits of patriarchy is to separate us from community. But my experience is that we grow in community. I believe in the power of small groups to enable us to lean into discomfort, be tender with ourselves and hold each other to account.
My vision for this Huddle is that we embody the future we want to create. This will require some unlearning, some persistence and some bravery. I believe that it's easier to act into a new way of thinking than it is to think into a new way of acting. My hunch is that the peer-to-peer approach of a Huddle can help us to embody a different way of being together and hold us to our intentions.
A Request to Share
I’m now trying to gather eleven other white men to join me in this Huddle and would love to enlist your help in finding folks who would be interested.
I think that personal recommendations will make a huge difference. Let me know if you’d like any more information from me in order to do this.
You can find a lot more details online here but it might be helpful to know that:
The Huddle kicks off in October, with the application deadline on September 5th.
There will be at least five in-person gatherings in or around London and the rest will be online - so participants should be in/near London or willing to travel.
I’m also continually open to feedback on the Huddle - so please reach out if you have any concerns or questions. What you see on the web page is so much better due to the feedback and suggestions of a dozen or so thoughtful, generous people (thank you!).
An Invitation
Speaking of which, I’m delighted to be supported in my Huddle by my friend - and intersectional feminist activist - Huda Jawad. The two of us will be co-hosting a conversation on this topic next Friday, May 26th.
While the Huddle itself is for white men, the event is open to anyone with an interest in the topic. Please sign up here if you’re interested.
It has been fun to write one of these again. I hope to be back to more normal service - i.e., plenty of links - soon. (I’ve managed to get my podcast queue down from 85 to 35 so have lots to share!).
I was chatting to the fantastic
about her newsletter the other day and saying how weird it is to press send and put things out into the ether. So, please do say hello if you read this!See you in a while. Or hopefully sooner.
In community,
Jamie
P.S. As an example of how not to do it, try “Straight white guy tries not to take up space @ nonprofit lunch”.
P.P.S. On the other hand, adrienne maree brown is excellent, as ever, on relinquishing the patriarchy (no, I couldn’t quite get through a whole newsletter edition without sharing some links!)