1 / 4

Observations from the Field

DIALOGUE ACROSS RACE. Observations from the Field. 13 Challenges for Facilitators of Race Dialogues. Defining racism Dispelling the myth of biology Dispelling the myth of “the choir ” Interpretations of anger and emotion Voices that monopolize to control

cain-mcconnell
Download Presentation

Observations from the Field

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. DIALOGUE ACROSS RACE Observations from the Field

  2. 13 Challenges for Facilitators of Race Dialogues • Defining racism • Dispelling the myth of biology • Dispelling the myth of “the choir” • Interpretations of anger and emotion • Voices that monopolize to control • Allowing time for the evolutionary process of learning • Personal dialogue history: Ah ah! to Oh, no... • Avoiding racial polarization • Group size and composition • Lived experiences and objective data • Race-less identity: “I’m just an American.” • Teach me: “Just show me how not to sound racist!” • Your story of triumph is my memory of shame

  3. Interpretations of Anger and Emotion Challenge Expressions of anger and strong emotion are often interpreted to be threatening or inappropriate across race. Response Acknowledge that expressions of anger and emotion are culturally determined and will vary within the dialogue group. Invite conversation: In your culture, what is an acceptable expression of anger/emotion?

  4. Race Dialogue: From Ah ha! to Oh, no... Challenge Oftentimes, dialogue participants will have a wide variety of personal experiences with cross-racial dialogue. Some participants may find it new, intellectually challenging and personally liberating. Others may experience race dialogue as a frustrating rehash of painful, old conversations that required great personal vulnerability but resulted in little meaningful change. Response Acknowledge these differing experiences openly at the start of the dialogue program and ask participants to be aware of these differing emotions. Talk without action is disheartening and it compromises trust. At the close of the dialogue, invite participants to reflect on what they’ve learned AND how they intend to embed their learning within their own behaviors, assumptions and decisions. How will you apply this to your life?

More Related