by Carmen Van Kerckhove

The Monday track of New Demographic’s Anti-Racism Action Group has been completely filled. Thanks to everyone who enrolled!

However, there are still spots available in the Saturday track. But you only have one more week to sign up.

If you’re interested in enrolling, I would encourage you to fill out the brief application form as soon as possible. I’ll get back to you right away and provide a link for you to register and pay the $297 enrollment fee.

Remember: there are only 12 spots available for each track and I’m doing enrollment on a first come, first served basis.

As soon as I receive your enrollment fee, your spot is guaranteed in the group!

What It Is

The Anti-Racism Action Group is a 13-week-long course that takes an in-depth look at race, racism, privilege, and stereotypes. In order to provide you with personal attention, I am limiting each group to just 12 participants.

If you would like to enroll, please fill out the brief application form here.

How It Works

1. Phone sessions
At the heart of the program are seven biweekly 90-minute group discussions that I facilitate by phone. I’ll use a telephone bridge line that you can access from anywhere in the world. During these phone sessions, I will give you personal feedback on the prior week’s reading and writing assignments, and as a group we will discuss the topic assigned for that week. I will give you audio recordings and transcripts of each phone session so that you can review what we covered.

2. Reading and writing assignments
Every other week, between each phone session, I will give you a reading and writing assignment on a specific topic. You will read the material assigned (up to 50 pages) and write a few paragraphs in answer to questions that I pose to you. You will share this writing assignment with the other members of your group, who will give you their feedback. You will also send the writing assignment to me so that I can give you personal feedback on the following week’s call. The writing assignments are designed to make you engage with the material and reflect on how it relates to your personal experiences. So don’t worry about being judged on your writing ability!

3. Small group
I am deliberately limiting each group to just 12 participants. Not only will this ensure that you receive the personal attention and support you need from me, but you will also be able to build relationships with the other members of the group. We’ll all learn from each other in this small, intimate setting.

If you would like to enroll, please fill out the brief application form here.

What We’ll Cover

Here’s a run-down of the topics we’ll be covering:

Week 1: Introduction
Weeks 2 and 3: Why Race Doesn’t Exist Biologically
Weeks 4 and 5: The Fundamentals of Racism
Weeks 6 and 7: Understanding White Privilege and White Supremacy
Weeks 8 and 9: Challenging Racial Stereotypes
Weeks 10 and 11: Learning to Recognize Institutional Racism
Weeks 12 and 13: Review and Conclusion

If you would like to enroll, please fill out the brief application form here.

What You’ll Get From Me

Mini-Library of Books
Value: $75.00
Included in the enrollment fee are all the books you’ll need for the reading assignments:

• The Race Myth: Why We Pretend Race Exists in America - Joseph Graves
• “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity - Beverly Daniel Tatum
• The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism And White Privilege - Robert Jensen
• Amazing Grace: Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation - Jonathan Kozol
• The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges — and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates - Daniel Golden

Archive of Our Phone Sessions
Value: $140.00
Also included in the enrollment fee are audio recordings (MP3 files) and transcripts (PDF files) of the seven 90-minute phone sessions. These will be yours to keep so that you can review what we covered at any time.

New Demographic Audio Seminars and E-Books
Value: $200.00
And finally, you will receive as a gift from me, free access to audio recordings and e-books of all New Demographic’s seminars.

In other words, you’ll receive $415.00 worth of free stuff!

If you would like to enroll, please fill out the brief application form here.

How I Approach Discussions About Race

My goal is to create relaxed, authentic, and productive conversations about race, whether that’s through the Anti-Racism Action Group, in-person seminars or through my podcast or blogs.

To give you a sense of what to expect from me, here are some testimonials from people who have attended my live seminars in the past:

“That was one of the best seminars or talks I’ve been to, and I’m a junior already. I think it was really good because she did a really great job of creating a really comfortable space where people could share their opinions…”
–Colette Carmouche, University of Rochester

“Carmen has a way of putting things in perspective for younger adults by bringing in pop culture issues, by bringing in issues that are relevant to a younger demographic, which is great because that way people can actually relate. I think it really opens up people eyes…”
–Lily Yuan, New York University (NYU)

“She drew from current examples but she also went into the history of stereotypes. This was important because it shows the longevity of how these stereotypes came about and where they come from and gives you some insight into why it’s so hard to break away from them.”
–Delia Cheung Hom, Northeastern University

If you would like to enroll, please fill out the brief application form here.

When It Starts

Saturday Track: starts September 8th
This action group will have phone sessions on every other Saturday afternoon at 5 pm Eastern. The dates of the phone sessions are: September 8th, September 22nd, October 6th, October 20th, November 3rd, November 17th, and December 1st.

How to Enroll

For the 13-week-long course, the enrollment fee is $297. If you would like to enroll, please fill out the brief application form here. I’ll get back to you right away and provide a link for you to register and pay the enrollment fee.

I’m doing enrollment on a first come, first served basis. As soon as I receive your enrollment fee, your spot is guaranteed in the group.

Deadlines

Saturday, September 1st will be the last day to register for the Saturday track. This is to ensure I have enough time to ship the books to you before our first reading assignment.

Waiting List

I’m starting a waiting list for folks who need a discounted enrollment fee. If there are any open spots left after the registration deadline passes, I will offer them at a steep discount to people on the list. Email me at carmen@newdemographic.com if you’d like to be on the waiting list.

But remember that this list is for people with genuine economic need (students, low income, etc.). Please don’t ask to be on the waiting list because you’ve just blown your paycheck on an iPhone or anything like that.

I look forward to learning with you and getting to know you!