Following advice from the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Theatre Alliance, students within the Fordham theatre department created the White Anti-Racist Working Group (WARWG). In their introductory Instagram post, the group called on white-identifying Fordham theatre students to join their meetings and educate themselves about issues surrounding racism. 

According to their community guidelines, the group intends to actively fight against racism and combat it within themselves, their peers and their community. 

WARWG was formed when members of the BIPOC Theatre Alliance, along with white theater students, noticed issues concerning racism within the Fordham theatre department. White students were lacking proper resources to educate themselves and tackle issues within the space, and it was decided a group could be formed to assist in this process, according to Raekwon Fuller, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’23 and a chair of the BIPOC Theatre Alliance.

Fuller and other members of the BIPOC Theatre Alliance hope the group can teach white theater students how to answer each other’s questions.

According to WARWG’s Instagram page, the group wants to “challenge the positions of faculty members and the purpose of program practices that have continually inflicted harm among students.” 

The group also wants to create a space in order to learn the best ways to address racism and create the most inclusive environment possible. Currently, the group aims to combine anti-racism resources with discussions they can build off of for future use. 

Katie Heaton, FCLC ’23 and a social media chair for WARWG, noted that last semester the group had conversations that needed to be had. Heaton referred to WARWG as a microcosm of the larger community, which is how the group approaches which issues to address at meetings. 

Fuller said the anti-racist working group was created to give white-identifying theater students their own space to discuss issues surrounding racism without feeling judged. 

At each meeting, WARWG takes notes about what was discussed. They then share the meeting notes with the BIPOC Alliance, who advises them on further group proceedings. Fuller, who also serves as a point person for WARWG, explained that the BIPOC Alliance strives to ensure members of WARWG are doing good work and are on the right track. 

Meeting notes are available on the @warwg_ft Instagram account. They also include a variety of important resources regarding anti-racism measures and mutual aid, which involves bringing people together to donate to a variety of causes. 

Fuller and other members of the BIPOC Theatre Alliance hope the group can teach white theater students how to answer each other’s questions. 

Even if individuals attend only five minutes of the meetings, they are still taking “one step toward dismantling some of the inherent racial biases within you.”

“Sometimes they came to us, but it was more so saying, ‘Hey, don’t keep coming to us for these problems. Make a group for yourself. That way you can answer these questions,’” Fuller said.

WARWG meetings begin with discussions among group members, as the group seeks to incorporate the viewpoints of all the members to foster an effective conversation. Michelina Smith, FCLC ’24 and one of the outreach chairs of WARWG, said that the group has had great discussions from topics brought up by other members.

“One of our best-ever group discussions in meetings was kind of a spontaneous thing that a group member brought to us,” she said. “It was the week before Thanksgiving break, and a member said, ‘Hey, I know that I’m going back to my home in the South, and a lot of my relatives are very close-minded and blatantly racist. How do I deal with that?’”

Both Fuller and the members of WARWG emphasized that all white Fordham theatre members should attend the group meetings. Smith echoed this sentiment and noted that even if individuals attend only five minutes of the meetings, they are still taking “one step toward dismantling some of the inherent racial biases within you.”