Lee Mun Wah
My group experience as a community therapist and facilitator has taught me that whenever there is denial and/or defensiveness, there is also a fear and need to protect something or someone. I think that the general reaction of most whites is that when the subject of racism comes up, they will be scapegoated and blamed by BIPOC, and that the focus of discussion will be on how they have continued to perpetuate racism.
As I’ve grown older, life seems to be filled with so many deja vu moments: some joyous and others painfully familiar. Such is what happened recently when I read about a sheriff’s department in Mississippi under investigation after a series of disturbing reports of violent interactions with Black men, including two that were fatal and … Read more
I remember that when my film, The Color of Fear, was released in 1995, so many in my audiences (particularly BIPOC) asked, “Why is up to us to spend three whole days to convince one white guy about the injustice and pain of racism?” It was a fair question then, as much as it is now, … Read more
This one statement and many others like it by whites, keeps us (BIPOC and whites) apart and in constant fear and hesitation to fully get to know each other. Let me share how and why. Recently, in one of my workshops, Mary, a participant shared that as a white woman, she’s afraid to ask questions … Read more
Recent uproars about asking the above questions have many pundits labelling this type of persistent questioning by whites: racism. My experience tells me that this will probably be followed up by a variety of reactions from whites: a.) Deciding to never ask this type of question again for fear of being publically humiliated or expelled … Read more
by Lee Mun Wah Recently, a white man shared that whites would be more receptive to looking at their own racism and privilege if they only knew how much BIPOC cared about them. Everyone in the room was white except for me and I could see how moved they were when they heard this. Once … Read more
In the film, Seabiscuit, a horse that is broken comes back to win in a major race. At the end, the rider shares: I know that many think we helped bring a broken horse back to life, but I think it is, we, who were brought back from our broken lives…and in the process we … Read more
As I’m about to turn seventy-six on October 25th, so many thoughts come to me about life and what it’s all about. As was shared in one of my favorite films, Letters to Juliet: “There are two words what and if. Separately, they have different meanings, but put together, what if…they represent a longing of … Read more
For the past thirty-five years I have come to realize that so many Human Resource, DEI, managers, directors, and diversity trainers/presenters are not trained on how to facilitate diversity conflicts and confrontations. What they are often hired for is organizing ethnic luncheons and speakers, presenting the latest diversity models and power points, and, of course, … Read more