Civic concerns in urban and suburban life are challenged by successful engagement around racial and ethnic issues arising from past histories that are impacting our present realities. Racial Sobriety offers an approach which engages racial and ethnic issues challenging the bridge building efforts of elected official, 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 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 a continuing 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 tools to get the organization on the "same page" in their conversation on race, ethnic, cultural and religious issues. It offers a benefit approach so as to move away from a 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 own concerns and the feelings and challenges that come with a diverse work force. The outcome of the training 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 - 2010