Self Awareness & Consciousness Raising

A. Explore Your Own Class Experience More Deeply

Respond to our Class Background Inventory 

Write your “Class Autobiography.”   A powerful way to reflect on class is to take an hour and write the story of your upbringing in relation to money and class.   See some suggested questions to stimulate your reflections.   The Ministry of Money has also published a helpful pamphlet on writing a “money autobiography” that is for people reflecting from a Christian faith perspective. It is not entirely focused on class issues, although there are many useful questions.  

Attend a Class Action workshop

Participate in other workshops and programs on class with one of the following organizations:

• Be Present
• Resource Generation
• No Class (website currently under construction)

B. Explore the Race and Class Intersection

There is a powerful interaction between race and class.   It is important to unpack our assumptions in both of these areas.   Sometimes when people focus on class, they don't factor in race.   Sometimes people focus on race, while ignoring class.   See Class Action's resources on exploring the race and class divide. And read Class Action's thoughts on the intersection of race and class.

C. Learn More About Other People's Class Experience

• Interview your friends and members of your family—invite them to tell their stories through the experience of class. You can ask some of the questions from the Class Background Inventory or the class autobiography.

• Attend a Class Action workshop

• Read autobiographies and memoirs of people who come from very difference class experiences.   See our resource list.

• Explore Class Action's resource section to learn about:
  • Raised Poor or Working Class
  • Middle Class
  • Wealthy/Owning Class

• Download a PDF checklist on upper class privilege, created by the Class Acts project of the Women's Theological Center

• Visit the Class Action educational resource center and Web links

C.   Spend a Day Looking Through A Class Lens…Keep a Class Journal Over the Day…

One terrific way to build our awareness is to make a commitment to spending a day really observing, listening, and noticing things from a class perspective.  

• Listen to or watch the news or look at a newspaper and identify references to class.
• Listen for all the euphemisms about class (“successful people,” “scrappy athlete”).
• Look at everything you do and say –and think about class implications.
• Notice how businesses segment their customers by class.   Lots of service companies have premium services: “Preferred,” “Advantage,” “Silver,” and “Platinum.”
• Talk to a friend about what you notice.
• If it is useful to you, bring a small notebook with you to record any things you notice.
• Let us know what you notice… E-mail us and include “class reflections” in the subject line.

D. Start or Participate in a Cross-Class Dialogue Group

One of the most meaningful ways to deepen understanding of your personal class and other people's class experience is through participating in a “cross-class dialogue group.”

Think about the various places where you have contact with people of different classes.   Consider organizing a cross-class dialogue group in your place of worship, school, workplace, or neighborhood.

The co-founders of Class Action, Jennifer Ladd and Felice Yeskel, were in an ongoing Cross-class dialogue group for many years.   They have shared some of their lessons on how to start and sustain such a group.

“Coming Soon:” A Download Class Actions' “Cross Class Dialogue Model.” E-mail us if you would like to be notified when this resource is added.