Racism is everybody’s problem. Yet for too long, many white people have shirked the responsibility of learning about racism and talking about it with their white peers. That has shouldered dismantling racism on communities of color. 

It’s past time for white people to do more growing, dismantling, and getting uncomfortable, together and apart. To get uncomfortable. We want to help.

With our Let’s Get Uncomfortable series, we’re created facilitated group experiences to discuss racism and anti-racism, and to practice what we can do (right now, today) to develop ally-ship skills.

contact us below to find out about setting up a Let’s get uncomfortable for your group or organization.

meet our Facilitators

Our facilitators are trained improvisers who encourage an improv mindset through the skills of listening first, being curious and harnessing our imaginations.

Tane Danger founded Danger Boat Productions and The Theater of Public Policy alongside Brandon Boat in 2011.

Tane Danger founded Danger Boat Productions and The Theater of Public Policy alongside Brandon Boat in 2011.

Jim Robinson is a veteran of the Brave New Workshop, Disney Cruise Lines Off-Beat Comedy Club, and 30 years of teaching at various colleges.

Jim Robinson is a veteran of the Brave New Workshop, Disney Cruise Lines Off-Beat Comedy Club, and 30 years of teaching at various colleges.

Derek “Duck” Washington is a multifaceted theatrical  artist in the Twin Cities area with a history of aiming his platform  toward activism and social justice.

Derek “Duck” Washington is a multifaceted theatrical artist in the Twin Cities area with a history of aiming his platform toward activism and social justice.

Erin Roberts is a professional actor, teacher and coach, transplanted from New England and most recently, New York City.

Erin Roberts is a professional actor, teacher and coach, transplanted from New England and most recently, New York City.

Conversation Series Overview:

Let’s Get Uncomfortable, LEVEL 1 is a ‘first step’ space to get people (particularly white people) to talk about racism and how we share the responsibility to work for change. Our facilitators are trained improvisers who encourage an improv mindset through the skills of listening first, being curious and harnessing our imaginations.

Let’s Get More Uncomfortable, LEVEL 1.5 takes the conversation farther, and pushes participants to confront their own biases and privileges, honestly. Having attended a previous “Let’s Get Uncomfortable” session is not required, but attendees should be prepared to talk openly about their own past shortcomings on race and reflect on the ways they benefit from a white-centered society.

How to Be a Better Ally is a training that provides tools to identify the racism participants see in their communities, to better understand the traits and tactics of a constructive ally, and to practice promoting safe environments for all.

Want us to lead a conversation with your group, team or organization? click here to get started.

Support this program

100% of all proceeds go to supporting Danger Boat Productions fund to support new work from BIPOC artists in our community.

Donate

Please also consider supporting our work as The Theater of Public Policy on GiveMN and Patreon. Every donation helps support more events like our Let’s Get Uncomfortable series and workshops. Thank you for keeping us going.

LGU LEARNING LIST

Below is a community resource list that past participants have helped us curate. We are constantly adding new resources, so check back regularly.

BOOKS

We Were Eight Years in Power Ta-henesi Coates
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
The 1619 Project by The New York Times
The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit by Thomas J. Sugrue
My Grandmother’s Hands by Ressma Menakem
Numerous works by Beverly Tatum
The Book of Night Women by Marlin James
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
A Good Time for the Truth by Teagan Hynes
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute
We Keep Us Safe by Zach Norris

DOCUMENTARIES

LA’92 (Netflix)
13th (Netflix)
Disclosure (Netflix)
Jim Crow of the North (TPT, PBS)
The Kalief Browder Story (Netflix)
Birth of a Movement (YouTube, PBS)
I am not your Negro (Netflix, Amazon Prime)
Love Them First: Lessons from Lucey Laney Elementary (Amazon Prime)


PODCASTS

Seeing White
Ear Hustle
Speaking of Racism
Pod Save the People
Podcast Code Switch

PLAYS


Notes From the Field by Anna Deveare Smith
Pipeline by Dominque Morisseau

Organizations

Theater Mu
Penumbra Theater: Equity Training
Root & Restore

OTHER ARTICLES, VIDEOS AND EVENTS


The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
Muhammed Ali on Black and White
Anti-racist Theater: A Foundational Course by Nicole Brewer

Have a recommendation you’d like to add to the list? Email our Communications Manager Destiny at destiny@t2p2.net

Just talking out loud with people about racism with people I don't know was helpful in clarifying my own thinking. .png