2. Purpose
The purpose of this manual is to provide an alternative pathway to think, discuss, and explore
privilege. Themes, ideas, and language comes from The Storytelling Project Curriculum: Learning About
Race and Racism through Storytelling and the Arts, created by Lee Anne Bell, Rosemarie A. Roberts,
Kayhan Irani, Brett Murphy, and the Storytelling Project Creative Team at Barnard College.
Why should we analyze privilege through personal stories?
● Research shows that stories can serve as a useful entry point for critically examining race and
racism in our society.
● Stories help develop a better understanding of how racism operates on both individual and
systemic levels.
● Personal stories show how as individuals we can both reproduce and resist racism as we interact
with historical, cultural, and institutional patterns and practices.
● Stories show how as individuals we can both produce and resist racism.
● They also help us to encounter others in more authentic and honest ways.
● Storytelling can create an opening for the teller and listener to resonate with, extend and
deepen what each of us thinks of when we talk about privilege and race.
● In the end, stories can provide ideals and images toward which to aspire as a society.
● They offer ways for people who are oppressed by current structures as well as for those who
benefit consciously or not from the status quo, to imagine more just and equitable ways of
constructing a social order that includes us all.
Steps in Crafting your Personal Narrative
The following framework can be used to craft your personal story. As a facilitator it is important to
think critically about your story and why you think others need to hear it. Facilitators mustn’t ask
participants to do anything they themselves are not willing to do, therefore it is important that the
facilitator craft and prepare their own personal story prior to facilitating a dialogue. Here are some
critical steps to creatively think about a story you have relating to privilege:
● Come up with a challenge you faced or scenario you experienced
● Think about the decision you made or why you failed to act
● How you’d like to transform that scenario/narrative
● What did you learn from the situation
● What would you like others to know about your story
● Where do we go from here?
One of the most critical pieces of thinking about privilege and any stories related to it is
understanding/exploring your “why.” Facilitators ought to have a decent understanding of why they feel
committed to combating and dismantling systems of privilege and oppression. Personal stories are one
of the best ways to help figure out your “why.”
3. Why this is important
● When you share your story, you connect with other people
● When you connect with other people you build relationships
● Building relationships has to be a key aspect of this fight:
○ So that we can learn from one another
○ So that we can lean on one another
○ So that we can bring people together
○ So that we can maximize our impact through collaboration
● One of the best ways to get other people invested
● Accountability for Privilege People
○ Holding our own selves accountable as privilege people
○ Holding our fellow white communities, friends, and families accountable
● What does holding ourselves and our loved ones accountable imply?
○ Genuine intentions
○ Just values
○ Humility
○ Deep care for ourselves and our communities
● What does accountability cultivate?
○ Trust
○ Space for constant learning & improvement -- we are all always learning
○ Reflexive, robust community
○ Culture of responsibility and honest
4. How to Facilitate a Conversation about Privilege [approximately 1 hour long]
Link to Facilitator's Powerpoint Presentation (http://bit.ly/1SgoPWu)
1. Introduce the Storytelling Project and share information under “Why should we analyze
privilege through personal stories?” with participants. [5-10 minutes]
a. Create space for questions and comments, allow participants to contribute to list of why
this is a useful way to analyze privilege.
2. Depending on group size, break up into small groups of no more than 10.
3. Ask participants to share a story about their name (i.e. where it comes from, what it means to
them, why they like or dislike their name etc.) [10-15 minutes]
4. Center group attention on facilitator and share your personal story in relationship to privilege in
front of the whole group. [5 minutes]
a. Refer to “Steps in Crafting your Personal Narrative”
b. Before beginning, ask participants to resonate with your story; this encourages active
listening and helps participants relate to your story.
c. When facilitator is able to share their personal narrative in front of the whole group,
that will ease participants into trusting one another and recognizing that you have
created a safe space for others to share their stories.
5. After facilitator shares their personal story, walk participants through the “Steps in Crafting your
Personal Narrative”. [5-7 minutes]
a. Create space for questions and comments, allow participants to contribute ideas about
logical steps in creating personal narratives.
b. It can be helpful to refer back to facilitators story and make connection between “Steps
in Crafting your Personal Narrative” and how it is directly connected to the facilitators
story.
6. Split back into groups of no more than 10 and encourage participants to reflect, develop, share,
and resonate with stories. [15-30 minutes]
a. It can be helpful here to have co-facilitators in each small group so they can begin the
storytelling process. This will give more time for participants to think about their
scenarios and the story they’d like to share with the group.
b. 3 minutes for sharing stories, 1 minute for resonating.
7. After participants have shared their personal stories within small groups, bring everyone back
together and discuss “Why this is important” [10 minutes]
a. Create space for questions and comments, allow participants to contribute ideas about
importance of understanding our narratives and how it can lead us closer to
understanding our “Why.”
8. Close [5 minutes]
a. Thank participants, invite folks to continue exploring their story and gauge participants’
interest in hosting another dialogue for further learning.
