Thanks to the Presenters!

Reverend Virginia Jarocha-Ernst and Lorraine Stone

Program at Brookdale Community College

Title: "The Dream of Whiteness: The Hidden Power of White Identity"

Presenters: Reverend Virginia Jarocha-Ernst and Lorraine Stone

Rev. Virginia Jarocha-Ernst, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County, and Lorraine Stone, performance artist and AAUW member will present Dream of Whiteness, a program on racial justice that grew out of the tragic headlines of the past few years and a growing recognition that communities need a way to discuss racial divisions.

Rev. Jarocha-Ernst has a special interest in the issues of social justice and sees this as a critical time for the community to talk with each other and share the stories each one has to tell. She describes Dream of Whiteness this way: "It is hard to see what whiteness is within a dominant culture so deeply dependent on that strange, almost surreal identity. For those of us who benefit from the privilege of this dream it is time to clear the fog and try to see what it really might be. We will listen especially to the voices and descriptions of people of color to learn more."

Lorraine Stone who has brought Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman to life for audiences across the state will embody those voices and stories. Lorraine Stone, performance artist, is an actor, storyteller, writer and dancer. She is a community activist and also a doula, but most exciting she says is that she is the mother of three adult sons and abuelita (grandmother) of three. A unique community that she participates in is Core of Fire, an Interfaith dance ministry of mature women, who use the healing power of dance to combine spiritual connection and creative movement into choreography that speaks to one's deepest longings to express the awe, wonder and anguish of the life experience.