Developed to accompany

Facing the TruthFacing the Truthwith Bill Moyerswith Bill Moyers

Funding for FACING THE TRUTH WITH BILL MOYERS is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,the Henry J. Kaiser FamilyFoundation, and Mutual ofAmerica Life InsuranceCompany.

Premieres on PBS stationsMarch 30, 1999(check local listings)

Truth & Reconciliation

What can America learn from South Africa?

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Dear Viewer,

At first glance you might think Facing the Truth is just a horror story,another litany of the awful human rights violations of which therehave been so many in the 20th century. It is hard to understand whypeople do to each other what we see in the film.

But Facing the Truth is not just about horror; it is also about healing.South Africa is attempting to show the world how a shattered nationcan become whole again.

The basic story is familiar to you: South Africa’s long history of offi-cially sanctioned racial separation – apartheid – finally was over-turned in 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president in thecountry’s first truly democratic election. Part of the negotiated settle-ment was the appointment of the Truth and ReconciliationCommission, to get as complete a picture as possible of the cruel-ties that had occurred during apartheid. “We needed to acknowl-edge that we had a horrendous past,” said Nobel LaureateDesmond Tutu, who chaired the Commission. For two years, theCommission listened as people from all over South Africa poured outtheir wrenching stories. “Our capacity for evil is great,” ArchbishopTutu said. “We were festering. It was necessary to open the woundto pour in a balm. It will be a long process, but it will be a true heal-ing.”

When I was there filming the documentary, I saw hope on the facesof people whose stories you will hear in the film. I saw courage,wisdom, and incredible magnanimity.

We have a lot to learn from South Africa, and while this study guideis intended to provide background information about Facing theTruth, my hope is that viewers and discussion groups will be encour-aged to relate the South African experience to our own. During ourfilming I kept seeing a mirror image of America’s past and our con-tinuing struggle with the legacy of slavery, segregation, and discrimi-nation. We can learn from South Africa that the past need not holdus hostage any longer. As you watch the documentary, please thinkabout its implications for facing the truth in our own lives, communi-ties, and country.

Bill Moyers

AcknowledgmentsThis guide was produced by

Educational Resources CenterRuth Ann Burns, Director

Publisher: Robert A. MillerEditor: David Reisman, Ed.D.Design: B.T. WhitehillWriters: Michael CroninPolly Horton DewhirstSheila T. Haji Patricia Moore Harbour, Ed.D.Bob HerbertLazarus KgalemaAlex KotlowitzHugo van der MerwePhoto Editor: Christina L. DraperCopy Editor: Sue Young Wilson

Advisors: Dawn EngleExecutive Director, Peace JamCathy Flavin-McDonaldStudy Circles Resource CenterJudge Richard GoldstoneConstitutional Court of South Africa Patricia Moore Harbour, Ed. D.Program Director, Heart of Healing Project, The Fetzer Institute

Roselle KovitzMidwestern Regional Director, PTOA, NebraskaPublic TelevisionMartha McCoyStudy Circles Resource Center

Martha MinowProfessor, Harvard Law SchoolSandy RobinsonExecutive Director, Bureau of RehabilitationAnne Marie SantoroPresident, From the Heart Communications Ellen SchneiderExecutive Director, Television Race InitiativeMegan ScribnerThe Fetzer Institute

FACING THE TRUTH WITH BILL MOYERSProducer: Public Affairs Television, Inc.Executive Producers: Judith Davidson Moyers and Judy Doctoroff O’NeillProducer/Director: Gail PellettEditor: Vanessa ProcopioDirector of Photography: Robert ShepardAssociate Producer: Mandy JacobsonDirector of Special Projects: Deborah Rubenstein

Funding for FACING THE TRUTH WITH BILL MOYERS isprovided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the HenryJ. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Mutual of AmericaLife Insurance Company

WEB SITESThis guide can also be downloaded free of chargefrom the Web at www.wnet.org/facingthetruth.

Videocassettes with public performance rights attached are available through Films for the Humanities and Sciences for $159 by calling 1-800-257-5126.

Off-air educational rights are available for one yearfrom each broadcast.

© 1999 by Thirteen/WNET and Public AffairsTelevision, Inc.

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INTRODUCTIONFACING THE TRUTH WITH BILL MOYERS tells the

dramatic story of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation

Commission. The TRC offers amnesty to people who

committed human rights violations during the apartheid

era and can show a political motive for doing so. In ex-

change, perpetrators must tell the truth publicly, testifying

about their knowledge of state-sponsored torture, kidnap-

pings, and assassinations.

The program reveals the powerful and disturbing stories

of perpetrators, victims, and family members, and

describes the complexities of life in South Africa today. It

raises important questions about justice and reconciliation

in South Africa, while offering hope for the future.

This Guide will provide viewers with background informa-

tion on the program and help individuals and community

groups examine questions of race and reconciliation in the

United States. We have provided suggestions, including a

four-part workshop, which community groups may use to

conduct discussions about reaching toward racial reconcil-

iation in the U.S.

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE

This Guide includes the following:

m Essays by two prominent journalists that examinequestions about race, history, violence, and justicein the United States

m Profiles of four people in the program whose sto-ries serve as starting points for discussion in work-shops

m Workshops that provide ideas for organizinggroup discussions

m Notes for Facilitators on how to conduct FACINGTHE TRUTH workshops (Please see WorkshopSuggestions)

m A South Africa background page with a timelineof historic events leading to the establishment ofthe Truth and Reconciliation Commission, adescription of the TRC, and quotes from SouthAfrican leaders on the meaning of reconciliation

m Resources, including organizations and Web sites,that may be helpful for learning more about issuesdiscussed in FACING THE TRUTH and that canoffer guidance for facilitating workshops.

Workshop Suggestionsm The workshops outlined in the guide may be orga-

nized and planned for professional, religious, com-munity, or study groups interested in exploringissues of personal growth, racism, and reconcilia-tion. The goal is to bring a diverse group of partici-pants together to share different perspectives andcultural experiences. Workshops may be held inorganizations, offices, community centers, class-rooms, or private homes.

m A recommended format for each workshop isincluded. The duration and spacing of sessions maybe modified to meet the needs of the participants.

m Facilitators may draw upon their prior experiencesof working with diverse groups on issues of race,multiculturalism, community building, or experien-tial learning.

m Various organizations such as the Anti-DefamationLeague and local Human Resource Commissionsmay offer workshops or resources to enhance ordevelop facilitation skills. Some of these are listedon the back cover.

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CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2by Bob Herbert and Alex Kotlowitz

Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Notes for Facilitators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

South Africa: Background . . . . . . . . . . .11

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back cover

Photocopying and Taping Rights

Educators are encouraged to photocopy and distributethis guide. They may tape the program and use it forone year after each broadcast.

FACING THE TRUTH WITH BILL MOYERS premieres on PBS stations March 30, 1999 (check local listings).

Carlton Brown was 28years old when he was picked up in Brooklyn fora minor traffic violation on a summer afternoonin 1992. He should never have been arrested atall. A summons would have sufficed. He men-tioned that to the police officers. They roughedhim up for mouthing off. He expressed his dis-pleasure at that, too.

What happened next was the kind ofatrocity you would more readily associate withSouth Africa under apartheid. Mr. Brown wasthrown to the ground, and his hands were cuffedbehind his back. He was dragged to a patrol carand driven to a local stationhouse. Along theway, he was slapped and cursed and humiliated.

Not too long ago, acolleague of mine, an African-Americanwoman, stopped me in the hallway and,with an edge to her voice, challenged,“Why don’t you write about your ownpeople?” It took me aback, but what shewas suggesting, I realized later, was thatif I was to write about race, I needed towrite as much about my own communi-ty as I did about the black community.She was right. Race, after all, is a socialconstruct, all about who we are vis-à-viseach other, and yet most whites stroll

At the stationhouse Mr. Brownwas dragged from the car and hus-tled up the steps and into a foyer.Still handcuffed, he had difficultykeeping his feet. He asked the offi-cers to ease up, to let him regainhis balance. Their response as theyapproached the glass doors at thefar end of the foyer was to yankup on Mr. Brown’s handcuffedarms, which forced his headdown. The officers then aimed Mr.Brown at the closed doors andshoved him violently forward. Hishead was driven into the bullet-proof, double-plated glass with thekind of force one would expectfrom a battering ram. The glassshattered.

The Casualties of Denial22

by Bob Herbert

by Alex Kotlowitz

Bob Herbert is acolumnist for TheNew York Times.

Alex Kotlowitz isthe author of TheOther Side of the

River and There AreNo Children Here.

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the sidelines or, worse yet, walk away as if racedoesn’t matter.

I spent the better part of four years in andout of two small Michigan towns– one white, the other black – reporting on themysterious death of a 16-year-old African-American boy. People often ask me – let me clari-fy that, white people often ask me – how I wasreceived in Benton Harbor, the black community.How did they feel about me writing a book,about telling their stories? I chuckle to myself, forit was my own race, the people in St. Joseph,who gave me the harder time. Blacks were notonly willing, they were eager, to share their expe-riences. But their white neighbors across the riverusually wanted to know why I was writing such a

The result was catastrophic. Mr. Brown’scervical vertebrae were compressed and somewere fractured, causing severe damage to hisspinal cord. He was instantly and permanentlyparalyzed from the chest down.

The officers took Mr. Brown inside andtried to sit him in a chair. He could not remainupright. The officers found that amusing. Theylaughed. They refused to remove the handcuffs. Itwas only after emergency medical personnelarrived that the cuffs were removed and Mr.Brown was taken to a hospital.

Stories about atrocities by the police andothers in the criminal justice system come acrossmy desk not by the dozens but by the hundreds.And in virtually every instance there has been

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negative book. Or, more to thepoint, why was I making such anissue of race? For whiteAmericans, race does not imposeon our daily routines; it does notpose a sense of urgency.Subsequently, most whiteAmericans sit up and take noticeonly in moments of crisis – as inthe Rodney King beating or theO.J. Simpson trial or the death ofthis 16-year-old boy – and by thenit’s usually too late. Even the bestof people have already chosensides. Moreover, in those longpauses of silence, we build upmyths about each other, mythsoften rooted in a combination offact and fiction.

These myths often serve apurpose. When I asked people in

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some effort by government officials to conceal thematter, to cover it up, in whole or in part.Nothing even close to the full measure of the hor-ror ever reaches the public’s consciousness.Without the stunning, nationally televised video-tape, we would never have heard of RodneyKing. Except for an extraordinary leak to thepress, we would not have known about the freak-ish attack on Abner Louima, who almost diedwhen police officers in Brooklyn shoved a wood-en cylinder deep into his rectum. Last year I got atip about two teenaged boys who were shot andwounded by the police on Broadway in upperManhattan. The police department had tried tocover the shooting up. The officers at the scenesaid they thought the boys had a gun. No gunwas found. Incredibly, the boys were arrestedanyway.

Of most cases, we know nothing, whichsuits us. We turn our backs and call upon the gift

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St. Joseph, the white town, “Why BentonHarbor’s decline?”, they would offer this expla-nation: Single moms with kids in tow movedfrom neighboring states because of Michigan’sgenerous welfare benefits. It held a kernel oftruth. Some single moms did move to smallMichigan towns for the benefits, but, as Ilearned, there was more. Much more. In the1930s and ’40s, the industrialists in the area, allof whom were white, actively recruited blacksfrom the south to work the factories and thefoundries – and when the population of blacksgrew in the ’60s, the whites crossed the river. Andthe institutions soon followed: the YMCA, thehospital, the local newspaper, even the FBIoffices. By the mid-’80s, most of the factories andfoundries had shut down, and Benton Harborwent the way of most communities where workhas disappeared. So why the myth of the welfare

moms? It absolved the people of St. Joseph, thewhites, of any responsibility in their neighbors’history. Such myths move people only furtheraway from the truth and from reconciliation.

During my time in Michigan, old-timersin Benton Harbor would pull me aside and inhushed tones tell me of a lynching that had takenplace in the county. No one could remember thedetails, let alone the year or place. And, in fact, Ihad trouble believing it. About a year after I’dheard the first of these stories, I came across theincident they’d been talking of: On a hot summernight in 1923, nearly a thousand white men andwomen gathered on the courthouse lawndemanding the sheriff turn over two young blackmen accused of raping a white woman. The sher-iff held off the mob at gunpoint. It’s a story thathad been lost over time, a part of history shred-ded. Interestingly enough, after recounting the

of denial to shield ourselves from awareness ofthe atrocities – the savage beatings, the tortureand the maiming, and the killings, sometimes ofchildren. The most difficult crimes to accept arethose committed by officers acting in the name ofgovernment and the law.

The bits and pieces of horror that forcethemselves on our attention are shunted off asquickly as possible to the dark corners of ourcivic unconscious. This is, after all, America. Wemove on in blessed, willful, shameful ignorance,betraying the ideals of fairness and justice andracial and ethnic tolerance of which we claim tobe so proud. The result, of course, is that theatrocities continue, claiming their victims and eat-ing away silently at our integrity and our human-ity, like an untreated disease.

This awful problem won’t go away untilwe summon the will to confront it, to haul it andall of its implications into the light of our aware-

The Stories We Tell(continued)

The Casualties of Denial(continued)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are some of the ways in whichrelations among ethnic groups aredamaged by police brutality and otherforms of misconduct in the criminaljustice system?

2. Who should take the lead in address-ing the problem of misconduct in thejustice system?

3. Discuss ways to determine the extentof police brutality and other forms ofmisconduct in the criminal justicesystem.

4. Is there sufficient civilian oversight ofthe police in your community? If not,why not?

5. Propose remedies for the problems ofpolice brutality and other forms ofmisconduct in the criminal justicesystem.

RECOMMENDED READING

Kluger, Richard. Simple Justice: TheHistory of Brown v. the Board ofEducation. New York: Vintage Books,1975.

Lelyveld, Joseph. Move Your Shadow:South Africa, Black and White. NewYork: Random House, 1985.

Skolnick, Jerome H. and James J. Fyfe.Above the Law: Police and theExcessive Use of Force. New York:Free Press, 1994.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What racial myths do you think othershave concerning you? Concerningyour community?

2. What stories about other races haveyou heard from others that you thinkare myths? Why do you think that?

3. How did your neighborhood come tobe all white or all black or mixed? Is itdifferent from nearby communities?Why?

RECOMMENDED READING

Williams, Gregory Howard. Life on theColor Line: The True Story of a WhiteBoy Who Discovered He Was Black.New York: NAL-Dutton, 1996.

Greene, Melissa Fay. Praying forSheetrock. New York: Fawcett, 1992.

Lukas, J. Anthony. Common Ground: ATurbulent Decade in the Lives ofThree American Families. New York:Knopf, 1985.

Gates, Jr., Henry Louis. Thirteen Ways ofLooking at a Black Man. New York:Random House, 1998.

Love, Spencie. One Blood: The Deathand Resurrection of Charles R. Drew.Chapel Hill: University of NorthCarolina Press, 1996.

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ness. Real progress cannot bemade until we are face to facewith the truth, with the enormityof the evil we have concealed.First the truth. Only then can weengage the problem honestly andbegin to understand the feelings ofrage and resentment and mistrustand hurt that intensify the isola-tion of individuals and groups,and help fuel the bitter conflictsamong us.

A sustained spotlight onthe problem would show up thediscrepancy between what is hap-pening and who we think we are.With reality conflicting so radical-ly with the values we claim to liveby, it is impossible to imagine that,as the truth is brought to light,corrective steps would not betaken.

tale in my book – helped in largepart by newspaper accounts at thetime – I heard not just from theblack community, which wasgrateful to have its history resur-rected, but also from some in thewhite community who thanked mefor helping them understand theirneighbors’ tentativeness and dis-trust just a little bit better.

There is such power in ournarratives. Telling stories not onlyaffirms our experiences and givescredence to our histories, but itcan also help guide us, deconstructour myths, and, if we’re fortunate,build connections.

by Michael Cronin

Tandy Shezi

Sometimes the hardest personto forgive is yourself – evenwhen you didn’t do anythingwrong.

Tandy Shezi was detained with-out trial in 1988. Four police-men tortured her with electricshocks. They beat her, tore herclothes, threw her on the floor,and left. Then they came backand raped her.

“They said I [was] going to hatemyself after they [were] finishedwith me,” said Tandy. “I askedmyself so many questions.Why, in the first place, did Iinvolve myself in politics? Themother of two kids; what was Idoing?”

She couldn’t tell anybody whathappened to her in jail. Aftereight years, on the verge of hav-ing a nervous breakdown, Tandybegan working with a groupcalled Khulumani, which means“Speak Out” in Zulu. She alsojoined a theater group in 1996that dramatized the stories peo-ple brought to the Truth andReconciliation Commission.

newspaper interview with a for-mer policeman revealed that hehad been assassinated. Eventhen, she had to wait sevenmore years for the perpetratorsto recount his murder and revealwhere they had disposed of hisremains. At a 1997 hearing ofthe Truth and ReconciliationCommission, Joyce listened toher son’s killers describe howthey drugged and shot Siphiwo,burned his body on a campfire,and dumped his ashes into ariver.

“If it were not for the TruthCommission, even today Ishould not have known whathappened to my son,” Joycesaid.

Siphiwo had been a leadinganti-apartheid student activist inPort Elizabeth. Fearing hisgrowing influence, the policedetained him without trial andtortured him for six months.Upon his release, Siphiwobecame seriously ill. Doctorsdiagnosed him as having beenpoisoned with thallium – rat poi-son. When released, Siphiwosued the government for tortur-ing and poisoning him. He wasmurdered by government agentsfor this action.

“I won’t just forgive if you don’tcome to me and ask forgive-ness,” Joyce Mtimkulu said ofher desire for justice. “Theyshould come to me and ask for-giveness. To me, and then toGod.”

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PROFILES The following stories are from FACING THE TRUTH WITH BILL MOYERS.

Tandy credits both with helpingher to find her voice again.

“All the victims of apartheidcome together, and we talkabout our past experiences,”said Tandy. “For we understandthat talking is healing. Themore you talk about your pain,the more you get relieved.”

Once Tandy couldn’t speakabout what happened to her inprison; now she wants to goback there and reclaim the spiritshe left behind in that room.

“At the Truth Commission, I toldthem that I wish to go back [tothat prison] to collect my soul,for the real Tandy is still there.”

Joyce Mtimkulu

Joyce Mtimkulu sees no conflictbetween her Christian faith andher desire to avenge her son’sdeath. She wants justice. “Theymade me suffer for fifteen years.I would like to see them beingpunished.”

Security police abducted andmurdered Joyce’s son, 20-year-old Siphiwo, in 1982. Joyce hadno idea what happened toSiphiwo until 1990, when a

Joyce Mtimkulu

Tandy Shezi

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Mcusta Jack

When Mcusta Jack does some-thing, he goes all the way.

In 1985, Jack organized a blackconsumer boycott in PortElizabeth that crippled and infu-riated white-owned businesses.The apartheid state tried tosilence him. Jack was routinelyarrested, detained without trial,beaten up, and tortured. Hishome was firebombed and hespent more than five years inprison during the 1980s.

Today, Mcusta Jack is a well-known businessman, and hehas hired one of his former ene-mies, Colonel Laurence duPlessis, as a manager. Jack’scapacity to forgive is remark-able.

“I was against the Truth andReconciliation Commission,”said Jack. “I believed thereshould be blanket amnesty foreveryone. Everybody is conta-minated in some way or anoth-er. I still don’t believe in punish-ment of culprits on any side. Isatisfied my political goals; nowI’m in business.”

As Jack’s nemesis during theapartheid years, du Plessis

monitored Jack’s every moveand provided intelligence on hisactivities for the South AfricanDefense Force. But after duPlessis became one of the firstofficers to admit that the govern-ment ordered the deaths of cer-tain activists, he was shunnedby his colleagues. Jack gavehim a job.

“I understood the dilemma ofbeing ostracized,” said Jack. “Ithought he was on the right trackand I wanted to encourage him, ifonly to show that you can havenew friends.”

Jesus told Peter that we mustbe willing to forgive “seventimes seventy,” and that’s whatDawie Ackerman tried to dowhen three youths shot his wifeto death during the St. JamesChurch Massacre in 1993.

“I sought out the camera crewsimmediately, knowing it wasvery important to defuse anyangst that might be going out,”Ackerman said. “In other words,getting the correct Christianmessage out. No bitterness.Not seeking revenge.”

Ten others died and 58 werewounded during the attack onthe predominantly white churchby the armed wing of the PanAfrican Congress. At theiramnesty hearings, the guerillasdefended their action as aneffort to get whites to “open theireyes” to the oppression ofblacks in South Africa. One ofthe guerillas, Ilaya Makoma, hadbeen found guilty of the crimeand sent to jail. His gettingamnesty at the Truth andReconciliation Commissionwould mean his immediaterelease.

One of the most poignantmoments at the TRC hearingsoccurred when Ackerman askedthe perpetrators to face him asthey apologized, asked for for-giveness, and expressed theirdesire to be personally recon-ciled. Ackerman discovered,however, that offering forgive-ness does not guarantee recon-ciliation. The perpetratorsanswered their interrogators atthe Commission defiantly. Yes,they killed people, but they werefollowing orders. They weredoing what they believed wasright. Ackerman requested thatthe questioning stop after wit-nessing their angry responses.Sobbing, he asked, “How onearth are we going to be recon-ciled?”

That question remains SouthAfrica’s challenge.

Mcusta Jack

Dawie Ackerman

WorkshopExperiences for Deepening the DialogueDeveloped by Sheila T. Haji and Patricia Moore Harbour, Ed.D.Based on the Healing the Heart of Diversity Series. A Fetzer Institute Initiative

The following workshops are intended to provide partici-pants with a constructive framework for discussing poten-tially sensitive themes in a safe and non-judgmental experi-ential learning environment. Notes for Facilitators areincluded on page 10.

OverviewFacilitator-led workshops are designed to offer participantsthe opportunity to draw personal lessons from the SouthAfrican Truth and Reconciliation experience. Participantsmay choose to convene for one session only, or they maycontinue the learning experience with three additional ses-sions that may be held over three consecutive weeks.

Format-Session OneIntroduction & video set-up:The facilitator introduces self and uses the Viewer’s Guide togive a brief overview of the Truth and ReconciliationCommission and the four workshops prior to showing thevideo. Participants are asked to watch the entire video orsegments that have been pre-selected and ask themselves,“What thoughts and feelings are being triggered in me aboutthe oppression of people based on race and skin color?”

Large group:Participants are asked to introduce themselves and todescribe their thoughts and feelings about the video with aphrase, word, gesture, or movement.

Small group dialogue:In small groups (4-5 members), participants take turns shar-ing their personal stories, with a focus on the following:

“What was awakened in me, as I watched the video,that relates to my skin color, my race, and oppres-sion and racism in America?”

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(Participants are encouraged to listen and understand with-out responding.)

Large group debriefing:Participants re-convene in the circle to discuss the following:

“How do I feel about telling my story and having itheard by others?”

Closing:Participants close the session with the following verbalacknowledgment:“I have heard your stories, and I take away with me

__________________________.” (a lesson/insight/feeling)

Assignment:Participants are asked to read the Herbert and Kotlowitzessays for the next session.

Format-Session TwoIntroduction:The essays will be used as a backdrop for the group’s dia-logue about experiences with race in America. Facilitatorgives a brief review of each essay.

Affinity groups:Participants are asked to move to small (5-6 people) racialaffinity groups (e.g., African Americans/people of color andwhites). The groupings are intended to create a safe spaceto discuss common experiences from a shared cultural per-spective. (Another option would be for participants to self-select into small groups.)

Participants are asked to spend time sharing the personalstories that have shaped how they live and relate to others,from their racial or ethnic perspective.

Large group discussionParticipants re-convene to discuss their responses to the fol-lowing:

“What were the common threads in our stories?”

“What connects me to others? What separates me?”

Closing:Participants are asked to use a phrase, word, gesture, ormovement to describe what they are taking away from thissession.

Overview

Format-Session One

Format-Session Two

RECONCILIATION: the act of restoring

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Assignment:For the next session, participants are asked to read the Sheziand Jack profiles and to write or be prepared to tell a per-sonal story describing a time when they felt victimized oraffected by racism. Participants are encouraged to selectanother person to get to know, support, and talk to beforethe next session.

Format-Session ThreeIntroduction:Participants are asked to make a brief statement about whathas been awakened in them since the last session.

Profiles:Participants are asked to reflect aloud on what, if anything,deeply moved them about the Shezi and Jack profiles.

Fishbowl set-up:Participants are convened in a large outer circle with 4-6empty chairs placed in a smaller circle in the center. Thefacilitator spotlights one profile at a time. People enter thecenter circle to share their responses to the following ques-tion:

“In what ways does this profile mirror my experi-ences with racism and how racism has affected meand my community?”

(The outer circle remains silent. After people share theirresponses in the small, inner circle, they may return to theouter circle to make space for others in the inner circle.)

Debriefing:In one large circle, participants discuss the following:

“What new insights am I gaining about myself inrelationship to acts of racism and oppression in mycommunity?”

Closing:Participants close the session with a phrase, word, gesture,or movement that describes what they are taking away fromthe session.

Assignment:Participants are asked to read the Ackerman and Mtimkuluprofiles to remember a time when they were perceived to bea perpetrator of and/or colluded in a racial incident. ForSession Four, participants are asked to consider their person-

al learning goals related to forgiveness and reconciliation.Participants are also asked to bring an object that for themsymbolizes reconciliation and that may be chosen and keptby someone else at the end of the last session. It is impor-tant that all participants bring an object, so that everyonewill receive an object.

Format-Session FourIntroduction:Participants are invited to state their personal learning goalsfor this experience.

Profiles:Facilitator presents profiles two individuals (Ackerman andMtimkulu) that appear in the Viewer’s Guide and asks eachperson to consider how the individuals chose to deal withtheir feelings about perpetrators.

Fishbowl:Facilitator reviews and highlights the quotes from these pro-files that focus on forgiveness (pgs. 6-7). Participants areasked to enter the inner circle to share their experience ofthe following:

“What am I doing to move closer toward reconcilingrelationships that have been affected by my actionsand/or lack of actions? What more can I do tomove closer to reconciling these relationships?”

Debriefing:In one large circle, participants discuss the following:

“What do I see as my responsibility for initiating for-giveness and reconciliation in my life and in mycommunity?”

Closing:Participants are asked to tell the story about their “reconcili-ation objects” and place them in the center of the room.Participants select an object to keep and close with a phraseor word that describes what they are taking away fromthese sessions.

Format-Session ThreeFormat-Session Four

friendship or harmony; the settlement or resolution of differences.

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Notes for FacilitatorsPREPARATION:

Preview materials and be prepared to answerquestions from participants; walk througheach activity and consider how you willrespond to discussion questions and work-shop activities.

Have video, audio-visual equipment, and par-ticipant handouts available and ready for use.Photocopies of Viewer’s Guide materials maybe made as needed.

Plan ample time for discussion and process-ing of each activity.

SET-UP:Arrange chairs in a circle so participants arefacing each other.

Prepare and discuss a list of potential groundrules to be used during each session, andhand out to participants to add, delete, orchange as needed.

Sample ground rules may include: speak andlisten authentically; be open to other’s view-points; set aside judgment; be respectful; stayfocused; respect confidentiality; check outassumptions.

FACILITATION:Establish a framework for this experience asa four-week journey experienced together togain a deeper understanding and respect foreach other. Acknowledge that at times it maybe uncomfortable, but the process is designedto help us move beyond that discomfort.

Encourage participants to speak from theirpersonal experiences, telling stories and shar-ing memories.

Remember that the workshops are notintended to “fix” people but rather to sup-port people in the process of personal learn-ing.

Remind participants that experiences withracism vary. Encourage people to view eachperson’s experiences with respect and dignity.Offer examples from your own experiences,and stay personally engaged with the process.

Participants may want to have more time todeepen the dialogue or to expand on theirpersonal stories. Be prepared to assist peoplewith their emotional responses.

Encourage the formation of learning pairs atthe end of each session for mutual supportand to continue the dialogue between ses-sions.

Offer participants guidance on how to pre-pare assignments, such as focal points forpersonal stories or ideas for bringing in “rec-onciliation objects.” For example, objectsmay include a picture of a dove, an actualolive branch, a drawing, a poem, song lyrics,or an object representative of a personalexperience.

Monitor individual and group dynamics dur-ing the workshops. Offer support as needed while respecting the needs of the participant.

Encourage the continuation of experientialactivities to process the racial discriminationthat exists in participants’ hearts and/or intheir community.

Notes for Facilitators

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1652 Europeans first settled in South Africa Over the next twocenturies, Dutch and British settlers expanded the colonized ter-ritory to include the whole of South Africa. After the Anglo-BoerWar, at the turn of the 20th century, South Africa became a uni-fied territory under white rule.

1912 African National Congress(ANC) founded.

1948 Discriminatory laws thatwere put in place from the incep-tion of white rule are worsenedwhen the National Party (NP), sup-ported mainly by white Afrikaners,comes to power. Its members areelected on the platform ofapartheid.

1960 Sharpeville Massacre: 69blacks are killed and 180 woundedduring a peaceful march to protestagainst the pass laws that restrictthe movement of blacks aroundthe country. Most of them areshot in the back.

The Sharpeville Massacre leads toan intensification of conflictbetween the liberation movementand the government. The govern-ment responds by banning theAfrican National Congress and thePan African Congress.

1961 ANC leaders launchUmkhonto we Sizwe, the militaryarm of the organization. Initially,they target exclusively strategicinstallations and try to avoid theloss of life.

Albert Luthuli, president of theANC, awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

1964 Rivonia Trial: NelsonMandela and nine other ANC lead-ers are sentenced to life imprison-ment on charges of treason andsabotage.

1973 The international community declares apartheid a crimeagainst humanity in the International Convention on theSuppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

South Africa: Background

1976 Soweto Uprising: Schoolchildren across the country engagein protests against apartheid, particularly the conditions in blackschools. The state again responds with severe force, and hundredsof protesting children are killed and thousands detained.

1982 Archbishop Desmond Tutu awarded Nobel Peace Prize.

1983 A Tricameral Parliament is established, with representationfor whites, “coloureds,” and Indians and excluding the black majori-ty. This enrages the liberation movement, and the banned ANCforms the United Democratic Front as its surrogate to unify opposi-tion to the sham reforms of Parliament and to continue the cam-paign against repressive measures.

1990 Mandela released after 27years in prison, and political par-ties unbanned. After becomingpresident in 1989, F.W. de Klerklifts the ban on the ANC, PAC,and other political organizations.

1990-1993 Negotiations aroundthe transition to democracy: Thegovernment, the ANC, and otherparties engage in negotiations toestablish a new constitution. Ajudicial investigation into violenceestablishes that senior membersof the State’s Security Forceshave committed criminal humanrights abuses. In December 1993,an interim constitution is accept-ed which guarantees a mecha-nism to allow for amnesty forthose involved in past conflicts.This becomes the legal justifica-tion for the Truth and Reconcilia-tion Commission (TRC).

1994 In April, the first democra-tic election is held in SouthAfrica. The ANC wins the electionand Nelson Mandela is electedpresident of South Africa.

1995 TRC Act passed byParliament: After extensive nego-tiations with all the interestedparties, Parliament enacts thePromotion of National Unity andReconciliation Bill, which createsthe TRC. The TRC officially comesinto existence in December 1995.

Truth and ReconciliationCommission

In 1995, the Truth and ReconciliationCommission (TRC) was established by theSouth African Parliament to inquire intoand investigate the serious human rightsabuses of apartheid and of the liberationmovement and to make reparations to thevictims. The perpetrators could apply foramnesty in exchange for revealing theirinvolvement in these abuses. Over its two-and-a-half-year lifetime, the TRC heardstories of killings, torture, and disappear-ances from over 20,000 victims and theirfamilies, through statements and at publichearings. The TRC’s Amnesty Committeereceived over 7,000 applications and hasthus far granted amnesty to 125 perpetra-tors from all political parties. It is antici-pated that some form of reparations will bemade to as many of the victims as possible.Some cash payments have already beenmade. The TRC process hopefully willrestore rights to victims, entrench a cultureof human rights, promote reconciliationamong former enemies, and prevent theseabuses from ever happening again.

There is no future without forgiveness.– Desmond Tutu

Our country has been through a long dark nightof anguish, which we must now put behind us.I believe joining hands in that task is a centralaim of reconciliation.

– Nelson Mandela

Reconciliation is not about shaking hands andmaking up. It is a fight for equal humanity andstatus, something we have not yet reached.

– TRC staff member

by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, South Africa

Timeline

OrganizationsThe following organizations conduct culturaldiversity workshops or offer facilitator training.

American Friends Service Committee (Mid-Atlantic Region)4806 York RoadBaltimore, MD 21212Tel: (410) 323-7200; Fax: (410) 323-7292Contact: Gary Gillespie, ggillespie@afsc.org

A social justice organization founded by Quakers.Offers Help Increase the Peace training, Anti-Bias/ Prejudice Reduction Workshops, andListening Project Training. Through educationaland organizing efforts, the AFSC’s offices inBaltimore, Washington, D.C., and Lancaster, Pa.,work to offer a voice to the voiceless in the U.S.

Anti-Defamation League, A World ofDifference® Institute823 United Nations PlazaNew York, NY 10017(212) 885-7700www.adl.orgContact: Caryl Stern-LaRosa

A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE is an internationalInstitute utilized by schools, universities, corpo-rations, and community and law enforcementagencies in the U.S. and abroad. Programs pro-vide practical, experiential, hands-on trainingwith skills to challenge prejudice and discrimina-tion, to foster intergroup understanding, and toequip participants to live and work successfullyand civilly in a diverse environment.

Healing the Heart of DiversityThe John E. Fetzer Institute974 Burnt Chimney RoadWirtz, VA 24184(540) 343-5192Contact: Patricia Moore Harbour, Ed.D.,hthd@mindspring.com

A one-year series of four professional develop-ment and leadership retreats for practitioners,scholars, trainers, community leaders, educators,change agents, and human resource executiveswho are professionally engaged in cultural diver-sity and organizational change practices in theworkplace.

National Conference for Community and Justice (National Office)475 Park Avenue SouthNew York, NY 10016(212) 545-1300Contact: Wayne Winborne

A human relations organization dedicated tofighting bias, bigotry and racism in America.Supports community dialogue about diversity,provides interfaith programs, and facilitates mul-ticultural/diversity workshops and training. NCCJ(Greater NY Region), 70 W. 36th Street, Suite1004, New York, NY 10018, (212) 206-0006.Contact: Sheldon Friedberg.

National Council of Churches, Racial JusticeWorking Group475 Riverside Drive, Room 812New York, NY 10115(212) 870-2387Contact: Sammy Toineeta

The National Council of the Churches of Christ inthe USA (NCC) is the nation’s leading ecumenicalorganization, with 35 member Protestant andOrthodox church bodies embracing 52 millioncongregants. The Council has long maintainedprograms dealing with domestic social issues,worldwide relief and development, and manyother areas. Resisting racism and building racialreconciliation is one of the priorities guiding thework of the Council at this time.

National Issues Forums Research andInformation100 Commons RoadDayton, OH 45459-2799(800) 433-7834Contact: Robert H. McKenzie

A voluntary, nonpartisan, nationwide network offorums and study circles rooted in the simplenotion that citizens need to come together todeliberate about common problems in order toact on them. Each year, more than 20 PublicPolicy Institutes (PPI) are held at institutions allacross the country to train NIF moderators andconvenors.

Resources

Thirteen/WNET450 West 33rdNew York NY 10001

Television Race Initiative

These posters were used bythe South African governmentto encourage people to testifybefore the Truth and Recon-ciliation Commission.

Study Circles Resource CenterP.O. Box 203Pomfret, CT 06258Tel: (860) 928-2616; fax: (860) 928-3713Contact: Molly Barrett, scrc@neca.com.Helps communities use study circles – small-group, democratic, highly participatory discus-sions – to involve large numbers of citizens inpublic dialogue and problem solving on criticalissues such as race, immigration and Americandiversity. Provides assistance to communityleaders at every stage of creating community-wide study circle programs.

Web sitesBibliography on Transitional Justicehttp://www.userpage.fu-berlin.de/~theisseen/biblio/

Centre for the Study of Violence & Reconciliationhttp://www.wits.ac.za/wits/csvr

South African Truth and ReconciliationCommissionhttp://www.truth.org.za