Welcome to the
Fall 2026 Antiracism Learning Circles!
Schedule Details & Descriptions are shown below. Just scroll down.
To register, scroll down to the very bottom of this page
Website: https://mylearningcircles.com
A printable flyer is HERE
OVERVIEW (keep scrolling for scheduling detail - this is just a summary)
Podcast series
Seeing White - Tuesdays starting Sept 22 @ 2 pm pacific
The Land That Has Never Been Yet - Wed starting Sept 23 @ 2 pm pacific
The News - Mondays starting Sept 28 @ 7 pm pacific
Master Plan - Thursdays starting Oct 1 @ 7 pm pacific
Books
Doughnut Economics - Wednesdays starting Sept 23 @ 7 pm pacific
America, U.S.A. - Tuesdays starting Sept 29 @ 5 pm pacific
What If We Get It Right? - Mondays starting Nov 2 @ 7 pm pacific
Working on Inclusion - Wednesdays starting Oct 7 @ 7 pm pacific
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story - Thurs starting Sept 24 @ 7 pm pacific
The Fourth Turning is Here - Mondays starting Oct 5 @ 2 pm pacific
TO REGISTER
Scroll down to the BOTTOM of this page to enter your name, email, location, and which Learning Circle(s) you would like to join. Your facilitator will reach out to you with a Zoom link & assignments for your first session. Remember to add the dates to your calendar!
ABOUT LEARNING CIRCLES
Free and open to all. These Learning Circles are open to all and are free of charge. They are conducted via video conferencing (Zoom), so you can participate from any time zone. Times shown are pacific. Please invite your friends and neighbors to join these Learning Circles! If you are moved to donate to the sponsoring organization, you can do that HERE.
Why Learning Circles? As Maya Angelou reminds us, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." This is a format where we learn together, strive to hear every voice, provide a safe space for expressing doubts and discomfort, encourage each other, and learn in a small group setting. It is a way to deepen our relationships and understandings. We've been offering Learning Circles since 2020 and have engaged over 700 individuals to date.
Our goal is to build multicultural, diverse, engaged communities and work to dismantle racism and other oppressions. Antiracism Learning Circles are opportunities to do some of that work, to expose ourselves to our true history, to increase awareness of ongoing oppressions, and to explore and reveal our reactions to issues concerning race in America. We are animated by imagining "what if?" a critical mass of us are exposed to this information and knowledge.
To get updates of future offerings, simply click that box in the registration form. We offer Learning Circles starting in the Fall, Winter and Spring each year.
Questions? Interested in an offering but at a different time? Want to offer a custom session for your group? Like to be a facilitator? Got a suggestion? Contact Jody at feldmanjody@gmail.com
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SCHEDULE DETAILS & DESCRIPTIONS -- FALL 2026 OFFERINGS
Seeing White This is where to start your journey!
Seeing White is from season 2 of Scene on Radio, a podcast that has been twice nominated for a Peabody Award recognizing “excellence in storytelling that reflects the social issues and the emerging voices of our day.” Seeing White intends to “turn the lens around, looking straight at white America – and the notion of whiteness itself.” What is “whiteness? Where did it come from? How has it changed over time? How does it function? What purpose does it serve? Episodes will highlight three central ideas: (1) The idea of "race" is socially constructed rather than determined by biology; and the construction is ongoing. (2) Racism is “systemic” or “structural” (built into law, organizational policy, and cultural practice); it is not limited to intentional “bad acts” of prejudiced individuals. (3) Racism is an “old story” with a long history. The audio podcast is supplemented with related video, audio or print pieces. Discussions are guided by Don Stepich from Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
- Tuesdays, weekly
- Afternoons @ 2:00 pm Pacific (3:00 MT, 4:00 CT,
5:00 ET)
- 8 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 9/22, 9/29, 10/6, 10/13, 10/20, 10/27,
11/3, 11/10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Land That Has Never Been Yet (Seeing White is a pre-requisite)
This sequel to Seeing White asks whether we have ever really had a democracy. The title is taken from the Langston Hughes poem “Let America Be America Again.”
The series touches on concerns like authoritarianism, voter suppression, gerrymandering, neoliberalism, foreign intervention, and the role of money in politics. But it goes much deeper, effectively retelling the story of the US from its beginnings to the present. Previous participants say this information is critical to understanding how our system came to be and what it will take to move closer to the Beloved Community. Audio documentary is supplemented with related video, audio or print pieces. Discussions facilitated by Jody Feldman from First Unitarian Portland.
- Wednesdays, every other week
- Afternoons at 2 pm Pacific
- 10 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 9/23, 10/7, 10/21, 11/4, 11/18, 12/2, 12/16, <break>, 1/6, 1/20, 2/3
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The News
The latest Season 8 from Scene on Radio explores what passes for journalism today. This 8-part series, co-hosted by John Biewen and Chenjerai Kumanyika, explores the deep challenges facing American journalism, and the nation’s news and information crisis. It seems everyone’s mad at the media, but we’ll ask, what’s really wrong with the news? Is it what we think it is? What would a more independent and democratic media look like? Discussions facilitated by Bill Yasnoff from First Unitarian in Portland.
- Mondays, weekly
- Evenings at 7 pm Pacific
- 8 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, <break>, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, 11/23
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Master Plan Audio documentary from The Lever
How did our democracy become a kleptocracy, where "one person one vote" has been transformed to "one dollar one vote"? The Lever has unearthed never-before-reported documents revealing this 50-year plot as a coordinated effort by wealthy individuals and political ideologues. Across 11 audio episodes, the series traces this historic thread from the Watergate scandal in the '70's to the Citizens United decision, current Supreme Court outrages, and the 2024 election. It's a story of infamous figures like President Nixon, Senator McConnell and Fox News founder Roger Ailes, plus operatives and oligarchs you've never heard of.
Hosted by David Sirota, former speechwriter for Bernie Sanders and cowriter of the movie Don't Look Up. Winner of the 2025 National Press Club Award for audio journalism. Master Plan uncovers a deliberate scheme to legalize corruption in the US, enabling the wealthy to buy policies that serve them at the public's expense. Discussions facilitated by Bill Yasnoff from First Unitarian in Portland.
- Thursdays, weekly
- Evenings @ 7 pm Pacific
- 11 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, <break>, 12/3, 12/10, 12/17
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Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, by Kate Raworth
The extreme inequality, lack of opportunity, persistent poverty, and ongoing destruction of our planetary environment due to our current neoliberal economic system is both inconsistent with our values and pushing us towards human extinction. Rising anger about this has helped fuel the “fake populism” represented by Donald Trump.
What would an economic system supporting our values look like? One such vision is “Doughnut Economics,” developed by Oxford economist Kate Raworth, which proposes managing the economy specifically and deliberately to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet. The goals are to ensure that no one falls short on life’s essentials (from food and housing to healthcare and political voice), while ensuring that collectively we do not overshoot our pressure on Earth’s life-supporting systems, on which we fundamentally depend – such as a stable climate, fertile soils, and thriving biodiversity. The Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries is a serious approach to reframing our economic assumptions and objectives that can help guide human progress toward the social and economic justice in harmony with the Earth that we envision for the beloved community. Discussions facilitated by Luke Groser from First Unitarian Portland.
- Wednesdays, weekly
- Evenings @ 7 pm Pacific
- 9 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4, 11/11, 11/18
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America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries by Eddie Glaude, Jr.
Celebrated public intellectual Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. presents a groundbreaking analysis of the vicious cycles of American history and the country’s enduring refusal to face its true nature—especially at the moments when national anniversaries steer us back toward the mythology meant to disguise the truth.
America, U.S.A., deliberately formulated and beautifully written, details a heart-wrenching exploration of America’s legacy. It is a magnificently complex combination of lessons and voices—from W.E.B. DuBois and John Dos Passos to Herman Melville and Martin Luther King, Jr.—that, together, paint a sprawling and honest tableau of the United States, its complicated past, and ever more tenuous future. Glaude’s is a powerful voice of conscience in our tumultuous world. He pulls no punches, calling on us to interrogate our conceptions of innocence and freedom and the stories we tell ourselves about our past and present. Discussions facilitated by Cathy Tortorici and Jean Pierce, Democracy In Action, First Unitarian Portland. The syllabus is HERE.
- Tuesdays, every other week
- Late Afternoon @ 5 pm Pacific
- 5 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 9/29, 10/13, 10/27, 11/10, 11/24
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What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.
Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create. Discussions f
acilitated by Harriet Shaklee and Susan Weinstein, Community for Earth, First Unitarian Portland. - Mondays, weekly
- Evenings @ 7 pm Pacific
- 7 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14
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Working on Inclusion: Creating Inclusive UU Spaces
Creating congregations and groups within our congregations that are welcoming, inclusive, and multicultural is a big task. Becoming aware of how our culture and “positionality” affect both how we Unitarian Universalists are perceived and how we behave, is a helpful foundation for exploring how we attract people to our congregations, how we engage and hold on to them, and how we eventually build a “beloved community.”
This learning circle will use the book Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions (Second Edition authored by Tiffany Jana and Michael Baran), as well as videos by Will Guidara who wrote Unreasonable Hospitality and Peter Bowden who heads up the UU Growth Lab. It is advised that you obtain a copy of Subtle Acts of Exclusion and read chapters 1-4, 6 and 10 plus the Glossary once you sign up.
We will talk about basics like microaggressions. But, more importantly, we will look at how we individually and within our congregations approach being more welcoming and inclusive--and where we might be missing the mark, even though we are very nice about our approaches.
Discussions are facilitated by Sharon Copeland who serves on
the Advancing Racial Justice Action Group and on the Membership Engagement Team at First Unitarian Portland.
- Wednesdays, weekly
- Evenings @ 7 pm Pacific
- 5 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 10/7, 10/14, 10/21, 10/28, 11/4
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The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, edited by Nikole Hannah Jones
A dramatic expansion of a groundbreaking work of journalism, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story offers a profoundly revealing vision of the American past and present. This book that speaks directly to our current moment, contextualizing the systems of race and caste within which we operate today. It reveals long-glossed-over truths around our nation’s founding and construction and the way that the legacy of slavery did not end with emancipation, but continues to shape contemporary American life. We will read one essay per week, by 18 acclaimed authors, and meet for 19 weeks. It is a journey well worth the commitment. Discussions facilitated by Jody Feldman from First Unitarian Portland. - Thursdays, weekly
- Evenings @ 7 pm Pacific
- 16 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29, 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, <break>, 12/3, 12/10, 12/17, <break>, 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28
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The Fourth Turning is Here : What the Seasons of History Tell Us About How and WhenThis Crisis Will End by Neil Howe
Thirty years ago, Neil Howe and the late William Strauss dazzled the world with a provocative new theory of American history. Looking back at the last 500 years, they’d uncovered a distinct pattern: modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting roughly eighty to one hundred years, the length of a long human life, with each cycle composed of four eras—or “turnings”—that always arrive in the same order and each last about twenty years. The last of these eras—the fourth turning—was always the most perilous, a period of civic upheaval and national mobilization as traumatic and transformative as the New Deal and World War II, the Civil War, or the American Revolution.
Now, right on schedule, our own fourth turning has arrived…and Neil Howe has returned with an extraordinary new prediction. What we see all around us—the polarization, the growing threat of civil conflict and global war—will culminate by the early 2030s in a climax that poses great danger and yet also holds great promise, perhaps even bringing on America’s next golden age. Every generation alive today will play a vital role in determining how this crisis is resolved, for good or ill. This is a rather "thick" book, but we'll tackle it in sections of 60-90 pages every two weeks. Discussion facilitated by Jody Feldman from First Unitarian Portland.
- Mondays, at 1-week* and 2-week** intervals
- Afternoons @ 2 pm Pacific
- 7 sessions, 90 minutes each
- Dates: 10/5, 10/19**, 11/2**, 11/16**, 11/30**, 12/7*, 12/14*
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R E G I S T E R B E L O W. The facilitator will contact you with more information.
