Services
Services to Particular Audiences
All services include the following considerations:
- Assessment to determine the need and the best approach
- Design a meaningful experience to meet your group wherever they are on their journey.
- Develop a goal and outcome statement with the sponsor
- Implement the program event, the processes and facilitate new learnings
- Evaluate throughout the planning process, during and after the program
Civic
Civic concerns in urban and suburban life are challenged by successful engagement around racial and ethnic issues from past histories that impact our present realities. Racial Sobriety offers an approach that engages racial and ethnic matters challenging the elected official’s bridge-building efforts, community leaders, law enforcement, the courts, and a network of social agencies.
Always open to design a program to address the civic need, the following formats have been successful throughout the country:
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racism. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about bigotry that brings on anxiety; facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own voice
in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal, and introduces other instruments for a continuing understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach. A brief introduction is a two-hour program, while a complete introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six-hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach. It demonstrates its use with committees, task forces, and other forms of working groups entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops its social and organizational transformation applications from this core approach.
Executive Leadership Training
This is a 12-hour workshop aimed at leaders who need tools to get the organization on the same page
in their conversation on race, ethnic, cultural, and religious issues. It offers a benefits approach to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their voice
of racial Sobriety as a personal way to balance the internal feelings of their concerns and the feelings and challenges that come with a diverse workforce. The training outcome is to equip leaders with the tools they need to construct a culture of racial Sobriety within their organization.
Community Organization
Building bridges between various communities is the heart of community renewal. Coalitions are the result of leaders seeing each other as allies for their own self-interest. In our racialized and ethnically polarized urban, suburban and rural communities, Racial Sobriety is a tool and process to end the “stinking thinking” or racism of all sorts. The approach traces the historical realities that have pitted people against one another. It has been used across the country by leaders of various racial and ethnic groups to re-engagement their efforts for building unity. The racial sobriety approach offers time for personal reflection, small dialogue groups, and group reporting to the larger circle facilitates and intensifies social transformation. The Racial History Journal process is an experience of sharing one’s journey of racial awareness in a non-threatening way. All the participants will feel bonded and transformed in their experience of breaking the “Don’t Talk” rule which makes it taboo to talk about race. This shared experience of racial sobriety becomes a foundational experience for a future of open and authentic conversation on a range of issues. Subsequent programming is available for a five-step building bridges protocol to support ongoing racial, ethnic, and cultural coalitions.
Every community has unique needs. The initial programs listed below have proved successful across the country.
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racisms. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about racism that brings on anxiety; facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own “voice” in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal, and introduces other instruments for continuing one’s understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach.
A brief introduction is a two-hour program; while a full introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach and demonstrates its use with committees, task forces and other forms of working groups who are entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops from this core approach its applications for social and organizational transformation.
Executive Leadership Training
This is a 12-hour workshop aimed at leaders who need a tool to get the organization on the “same page” in their conversation on race, ethnic issues. It offers a benefit paradigm so as to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their “voice” of racial sobriety as a personal compass to feel their way within their organization or group, and tools to direct a conversation that many would rather not have. The outcome of the training is to equip leaders with the tools to construct a culture of racial sobriety for their educational institutions.
Building Bridges Between Racial, Ethnic, Religious,
Class and Cultural Groups
This learning and training program has been used for ten years across the country. The process has been designed for community use and national conferencing. The protocol involves five processes to constructing a common understanding of how coalition building and cross-racial/ethnic/religious/cultural dialogue can be initiated and sustain. The training involves goal setting, vision statement, and strategy. The learning involves self-reflection, dialoguing, group planning, and the sharing of vision. The length of the training is determined by the goals that the group would like to attain.
Corporate
Corporations seek to enhance the workplace by providing an environment in which racial and ethnic diversity is taken for granted find Racial Sobriety is an approach that moves beyond tolerance. Managers and Directors of Diversity have found that this approach provides a standard frame of reference for ongoing discussions and programmatic development. The benefit approach of racial Sobriety moves beyond the anxiety/guilt approach that has made discussions of racial and ethnic differences taboo in corporate America. The racial sobriety workshop experience offers multiple learning styles in a low-key ambiance. The learning formats include: Time for personal reflection. Small dialogue groups. Group reporting, which enhances the insights shared with the assembly. The Racial History Journal process is an experience of sharing one’s racial awareness journey in a non-threatening way. One of the significant learning experiences for an institution is that the Don’t Talk
rule talks about race a taboo is suspended. The participants experience a shared growth in their appreciation of the day’s team-building work and enhanced self-esteem in finding their own voice
around a complex subject.
Always open to design a program to address the particular learning objective of an institution, the following formats have been successful throughout the country.
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racism. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about bigotry that brings on anxiety; facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own voice
in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal, and introduces other instruments for continuing one’s understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach. A brief introduction is a two-hour program, while a complete introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six-hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach. It demonstrates its use with committees, task forces, and other forms of working groups entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops its social and organizational transformation applications from this core approach.
Executive Leadership Training
This is a 12-hour workshop aimed at leaders who need tools to get the organization on the same page
in their conversation on race, ethnic, cultural, and religious issues. It offers a benefits approach to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their voice
of racial Sobriety as a personal way to balance the internal feelings of their concerns and the feelings and challenges that come with a diverse workforce. The training outcome is to equip leaders with the tools they need to construct a culture of racial Sobriety within their organization.
© Institute for Recovery from Racisms, 2002 – 2021
Education
Educators seeking to create in the 21st-century curriculum and learning experiences for their faculty and their students to bring about a culture of Racial Sobriety in their schools have found this program a powerful tool. The program can engage the faculty in constructing a new culture for the learning environment and extending into the student body. The processes and the skill base have been used in every level of education, from Junior High school to the university level. The experience can be intergenerational and involve parents and the community. The racial sobriety approach offers time for personal reflection, small dialogue groups, group reporting to the larger circle facilitates and intensifies social transformation. The Racial History Journal process is an experience of sharing one’s racial awareness journey in a non-threatening way. One of the significant learning experiences for an institution is the suspension of the Don’t Talk
rule that makes casual conversations about race taboo. It participants to find their own voice
of racial Sobriety.
Always open to design a program to address the particular learning objective of an institution, the following formats have been successful throughout the country.
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racism. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about bigotry that brings on anxiety; facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own voice
in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal, and introduces other instruments for continuing one’s understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach. A brief introduction is a two-hour program, while a complete introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six-hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach. It demonstrates its use with committees, task forces, and other forms of working groups entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops its social and organizational transformation applications from this core approach.
Executive Leadership Training
This 12-hour workshop focuses on preparing leaders who need tools to get the organization on the same page
in their conversations on race, ethnic, cultural, and religious issues. It offers a benefits approach to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their voice
of racial Sobriety as a personal way to balance the internal feelings of their concerns and the feelings and challenges that come with a diverse workforce. The training outcome is to equip leaders with the tools they need to construct a culture of racial Sobriety within their organization.
Global Leadership
Participation in the global village requires new skills in perception and communications. In the United States, the awareness of racial and ethnic differences becomes the backdrop for transferring one’s general perceptions to the global partners and their world. Understanding and assessing our issues at home gives a foundation for articulating the emerging problems of racial, cultural, and religious differences in the target population to which we are destined. This experience of what has been termed as a cultural audit
has proved beneficial for groups concerned about promoting world populations with experience deprivation and a lack of validation for their people, culture, and value.
This particular Racial Sobriety experience focuses on the global patterns of culture and how each culture develops a sense of ethnocentrism and social arrangements along the lines of color and blood ties. The racial sobriety workshop engages multiple learning styles to engage the participants’ experience in developing their reflective powers.
The learning formats include:
- Time for personal reflection.
- Small dialogue groups.
- Group reporting, which enhances the insights gained as they are shared with the assembly.
The Racial History Journal process is an experience of sharing one’s racial and ethnic awareness journey in a non-threatening way. One of the significant learning experiences is how cultures use the Don’t Talk
rule to talk about cultural taboo differences. The participants experience a new sense of team building and self-esteem as they find their own voice
for artistic reflection and insight.
Always open to design a program to address an institution’s particular learning objective, the following formats have been successful in past experiences throughout the world.
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racism and ethnocentrism. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about bigotry that brings on anxiety; facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own voice
in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal, and introduces other instruments for a continuing understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach. A brief introduction is a two-hour program, while a complete introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six-hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach. It demonstrates its use with committees, task forces, and other forms of working groups entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops its social and organizational transformation applications from this core approach.
Executive Leadership Workshop
This is a 12-hour workshop aimed at leaders who need tools to get the organization on the same page
in their conversation on race, ethnic, cultural, and religious issues. It offers a benefits approach to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their voice
of racial Sobriety as a personal way to balance the internal feelings of their concerns and the feelings and challenges that come with a diverse workforce. The training outcome is to equip leaders with the tools they need to construct a culture of racial Sobriety within their organization.
Every community has unique needs. The initial programs listed below have proved successful across the country.
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racism. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about bigotry that brings on anxiety; facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own voice
in the conversation on racial issues; allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal, and introduces other instruments for continuing one’s understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach. A brief introduction is a two-hour program, while a complete introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six-hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach. It demonstrates its use with committees, task forces, and other forms of working groups entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops its social and organizational transformation applications from this core approach.
Executive Leadership Training
In this 12-hour workshop, we prepare leaders who need a tool to get the organization on the same page
in their conversation on race, ethnic issues. It offers a benefit paradigm to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their voice
of racial Sobriety as a personal compass to feel their way within their organization or group and tools to direct a conversation that many would rather not have. The training outcome is to equip leaders with the tools to construct a racial Sobriety culture for their educational institutions.
Building Bridges Between Racial, Ethnic, Religious, Class, and Cultural Groups
This learning and training program has been used for ten years across the country. The process has been designed for community use and national conferencing. The protocol involves five processes to constructing a common understanding of how coalition building and cross-racial/ethnic/religious/cultural dialogue can be initiated and sustain. The training requires goal setting, vision statement, and strategy. The learning involves self-reflection, dialoguing, group planning, and the sharing of vision. The length of the training is determined by the goals that the group would like to attain. Building bridges between various communities is the heart of community renewal. Coalitions are the result of leaders seeing each other as allies for their self-interest. Racial Sobriety is a tool and process to end the stinking thinking
or racism of all sorts in our racialized and ethnically polarized urban, suburban and rural communities. The approach traces the historical realities that have pitted people against one another. It has been used across the country by leaders of various racial and ethnic groups to re-engage their unity efforts. The racial sobriety approach offers time for personal reflection, small dialogue groups, and group reporting to the larger circle facilitates and intensifies social transformation. The Racial History Journal process is an experience of sharing one’s racial awareness journey in a non-threatening way. All the participants will feel bonded and transformed in their understanding of breaking the Don’t Talk
rule, making it taboo to talk about race. This shared experience of racial Sobriety becomes a foundational experience for a future of open and authentic conversation on various issues. Subsequent programming is available for a five-step building bridges protocol to support ongoing racial, ethnic, and cultural coalitions.
Personal Development
The journey to personal development in Racial Sobriety can be pursued in as many ways as there are people. Each person has the motivation, challenge, and capacity for growth. The best way to begin the journey towards healing and wholeness is to attend an introductory workshop. There is a national calendar of workshops offered below and a directory of Certified Facilitators throughout the country who are offering workshops. An immediate way to begin the journey is by purchasing the book. There are formats in the book that provide directions for individual growth and a small group process. There are various training programs for those seeking to be leaders in better racial, ethnic, religious relations. And for those who belong to church organizations, there is a bible commentary on the Sunday readings as they relate to the spirituality of racial Sobriety.
National Calendar Directory of Certified Facilitator The Book on Racial Sobriety Gospel Commentary
Enjoy your Racial Sobriety!
Religious Leadership Programs
Those seeking a spirituality that engages the issues of racisms, ethnocentrism, and religious bigotry can find an ongoing resource in the Racial Sobriety program. Many spiritual traditions and Christian denominations have used the program to support their confessional beliefs. They seek to bring their congregations, institutions, and pastoral ministers into committing to the human family under God.
For those seeking an institutional approach such as education, community organization, and global leadership, existing programs can be presented in the context of biblical and confessional tenets.
In our programs’ design, local religious leadership articulates the appropriate spirituality for racial Sobriety in their tradition. The following list of past programs exhibits the range of vision and scope that our ministry partners have realized.
- Assemblies for Religious Congregations
- Certification in Racial Sensitivity for Presbyteral Ordination
- Clinical Pastoral Education
- Cultural Orientation for Pastoral Ministers From Other Countries
- Diocesan Curia and Juridical Executive Leadership Retreats
- Diocesan Renewal Series of Leadership Development at All Levels
- Formation Programs in Seminaries, Convents and Diaconal Programs
- International Conferences for Religious, Church NGO’s (in English, Spanish and Portuguese)
- Jurisdiction Leadership Retreat Weekend
- Mission Training for Overseas Assignment
- Presbyteral Convocations (Week Long)
- Regional Retreats for InterReligious Communities Collaborating on Justice Issues
Church, Congregation and Parish Programs
- Changing Faces, Changing Faith Family
- Building Bridges in our Faith Family (English and Spanish)
- Lenten Program on Racial Sobriety
- Confirmation Retreat Weekends
- Parish Council Retreat
- Parish Athletic Program In-Service
- Personal Development
- Preaching and Teaching Resources on the Sunday Gospel
Global Leadership
Participation in the global village requires new skills in perception and communications. In the United States, the awareness of racial and ethnic differences becomes the backdrop for transferring one’s general perceptions to the global partners and their world. Understanding and assessing our issues at home gives a foundation for articulating the emerging problems of racial, cultural, and religious differences in the target population to which we are destined. This experience of what has been termed as a cultural audit
has proved beneficial for groups concerned about promoting world populations with experience deprivation and a lack of validation for their people, culture, and value.
This particular Racial Sobriety experience focuses on the global patterns of culture and how each culture develops a sense of ethnocentrism and social arrangements along the lines of color and blood ties. The racial sobriety workshop engages multiple learning styles to engage the participants’ experience in developing their reflective powers. The learning formats include:
Time for personal reflection. Small dialogue groups. Group reporting enhances the insights gained as they are shared with the assembly. The Racial History Journal process is an experience of sharing one’s racial and ethnic awareness journey in a non-threatening way. One of the significant learning experiences is how cultures use the Don’t Talk
rule to talk about differences, a cultural taboo. The participants experience a new sense of team building and self-esteem as they find their own voice
for artistic reflection and insight.
We are always open to design a program to address an institution’s particular learning objective. The following formats have been successful in past experiences throughout the world.
Introduction to Racial Sobriety®
This facilitated workshop introduces the audience to a unifying approach to begin the conversation on racism and ethnocentrism. The experience includes the explanation of the three elements of talking about bigotry that brings on anxiety; – facilitates a discussion of finding one’s own voice
in the conversation on racial issues; – allows for a discovery of one’s Racial History Journal,
and introduces other instruments for a continuing understanding of the Racial Sobriety approach.
A brief introduction is a two-hour program, while a complete introduction is a four-hour program.
Racial Sobriety and Working Groups
This six-hour workshop takes the Racial Sobriety® approach. It demonstrates its use with committees, task forces, and other forms of working groups entrusted with bettering racial and ethnic relations for their respective communities or organizations. This program includes the Introduction to Racial Sobriety and develops its social and organizational transformation applications from this core approach.
Executive Leadership Workshop
This is a 12-hour workshop aimed at leaders who need tools to get the organization on the same page
in their conversation on race, ethnic, cultural, and religious issues. It offers a beneficial approach to move away from an anxiety/guilt model as a motivation for Racial Sobriety®. The leaders will develop their voice
of racial Sobriety as a personal way to balance the internal feelings of their concerns and the feelings and challenges that come with a diverse workforce. The training outcome is to equip leaders with the tools they need to construct a culture of racial Sobriety within their organization.