The Board of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County met for an all-day retreat on October 17th to discuss our progress and future directions. We were graciously hosted in the home of long-time member, Heidi Finkelberg.
We began our meeting with a question that sparked reflection. What is it like to inhabit a white body today? What is it like to inhabit a body of color? In our Ethical Culture community? In America? We looked at works by Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the best-seller, Between the World and Me, and Robin D’Angelo, author of What Does It Mean to Be White? We considered how our Society might be open to feedback about what we don’t know in our efforts to interrupt a system that “is
historic, taken for granted, deeply embedded, and works to the benefit of whites.” We hope to address this in Platforms, social action, through Adult Education, and in our building.
We also participated in a workshop given by Terri Karp on media and the footprint of our Society on the Internet. Ed Gross led a discussion on the revision of the Society’s long-range plan. We were pleased to find that most of the action from the strategic plan had been implemented. It was an intense but productive day.
