What is “White People School”? Developed by mediator and Reparations Sunday organizer Tamara Johnson-Shealey, Acknowledge the Divide / White People School is a structured virtual educational program created specifically for white Americans seeking to confront systemic racism, unlearn racial biases, and understand the historical case for reparations. Built around 20 hours of instruction and an immersive field experience in Savannah, Georgia—where Special Field Orders No. 15 (“40 acres and a mule”) originated—the program guides participants through uncomfortable truths about American history, connecting post-Civil War broken promises to modern economic disparities. Despite a provocative title aimed at breaking through apathy, the initiative aims to build cross-racial relationships grounded in historical truth rather than superficial harmony.
The new program challenges white Americans to rethink what they know about race, racism and reparations.
Overview:
Tamara Johnson-Shealey’s provocatively named White People School asks white Americans to move beyond discomfort and examine what they know — and may need to unlearn — about Black history, systemic racism and reparations.
The name is supposed to get your attention: White People School.
Tamara Johnson-Shealey, the Black woman behind the provocative new initiative from the nonprofit organization Reparations Sunday, believes that dealing with the name of the project itself is a big lesson for the intended students.
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“First, you have to get beyond the shock of the name, right?” Johnson-Shealey said. “That’s been the big kicker. Like, they’re like, ‘What? What is this?’ And I think once they get past that part of it, that’s when they’re open to wanting to know more.”
Johnson-Shealey, a mediator and organizer of Reparations Sunday, is facilitating Acknowledge the Divide/White People School. It’s an initiative specifically designed for white people who want to examine what they understand — and may misunderstand — about Black Americans, racism and reparations.
“This White People School is an opportunity for white people who have a willingness — and I think that’s the bigger word — the willingness to learn,” she said. “And unlearn what they think they know … about the Black community.”
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