Community Dialogues on Race & Ethnicity

YW Boston

Today we will cover…

Brief history of the Dialogue SeriesIntroductionsSample exercisesCrash course of the seriesOutcomesQuestions/AnswersNext Steps-How can you bring a series to

your organization

It began with the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Benefits to your participation

Participants in the Dialogues gain: Communication skills necessary to connect and collaborate

effectively across race specifically and difference in general. Valuable self-knowledge about personal strengths and areas for

development concerning responding to race. Deeper and stronger interpersonal relationships with the

people living and working in their communities.

Organizations & companies that engage the Dialogues gain: A collective action plan created by the group that addresses race-

based inequity concerns present in the organization or community.   Shared understanding about diversity and inclusion values of

the organization and raised organizational consciousness about the role and impact of race.

More effective and productive work environments where colleagues communicate and collaborate effectively.

Who Are You? In 5 Descriptors

Name

AdjectiveVerbs

Noun

Race Ethnicity

Breakout Activity 1

Think about a time in a personal or professional circumstance when race became a topic of

conversation and you either actively changed the subject or avoided the conversation altogether.

◦ What feelings do you recall came up when you disengaged?

◦ How did the other person/people in the conversation react to your avoidance?

◦ Have you observed others disengage in a similar way? If so, how did you feel about their avoidance?

At the end of Session 1

◦Establishing a foundation for having a dialogue on race Participants have gotten to known a little bit more

about one another Established an agreed upon set of guidelines for

the conversation Shared their personal/collective goals for the

dialogue Reflected/shared on their past experiences around

interacting across race/ethnicity

How has/does our racial identities impact our trajectory as it relates to education, health outcomes, relationship with the justice system, psychological well-being, even where we live?

Breakout Activity 2

Take a few moments to complete the Opportunity Checklist.

Once you have completed the list tally up your “score”

At the end of Session 2

Gain a clearer understanding of how racism operates.◦Participants gain a greater understanding of the

cumulative impact of inequities as it relates to race.

◦Deeper understanding of how own racial/ethnic identities has shaped our trajectories.

◦Leave with a common understanding of the definition of racism.

◦Continue to build relationships across the group.

Breakout Activity 3- Racial Caucuses

At the end of Session 3

Building an understanding of our collective racial identities◦Explored ways in which racial identities are

privileged and disadvantaged

Between two Mountains

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.“

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

At the end of Session 4

Understanding how race plays out in their organization/community◦Identified areas of inequity or areas for further

investigation◦Collective vision for what our community would

look like if divisions based on race began to breakdown

◦Identify concrete steps to closing the gap

It will take many hands & many steps

At the end of Session 5

A collective action plan that addresses ways to:◦Strengthen working and community

relationships across race/ethnicity◦Further cross racial team building opportunities◦Participants are empowered to take action to

address racial inequities in their organizations/communities.