In my work at Equal Measure, and in my personal life, I have witnessed how important it can be to participate in difficult conversations about race and equity. Especially in our work with clients and partners, as well as within our organization, difficult discussions about race and equity are a step toward recognizing the systemic barriers that exist in our society. Yet, facilitating these difficult conversations can become challenges often fraught with resistance or discomfort.
How can we facilitate these conversations?
I think it is useful to experience how successful conversations about race and equity are conducted, and to become involved in those discussions as an active participant. I recently had an opportunity to participate in a productive dialogue about racial equity at the Princeton Prize in Race Relations Symposium on Race, which is one of the culminating activities for high school winners of the Princeton Prize in Race Relations. I believe the structure of this conversation—with clearly framed goals, space for sharing various perspectives, and an acceptance of discomfort—inspired the participants to engage in a vibrant, thoughtful discussion about racial equity.
At the Symposium, Princeton alumni and community members were invited to join the students in an inter-generational conversation about race. During this session, the facilitator divided attendees into groups of four, with each group constructed to be diverse in terms of race, age, gender, and hometown. The groups began the session with an ice breaker to find commonalities despite vast differences in their lived experiences, which helped group members become comfortable talking with each other. After this activity, the facilitator reviewed ground rules to set the stage for the discussion on race, and presented the questions we would answer within our group, which included questions related to our awareness of race as a general concept, our individual race, and actions we could take to avoid acting on biases and keep others accountable.
There were a few key ideas that arose from my group’s conversation that I believe led to a successful and inspiring conversation:
Establish clear expectations at the outset.
The facilitator set the expectations of the conversation by encouraging people to push outside their comfort zone by having “safe, but brave” conversations, and starting with a guideline to “speak your truth.” I think this helped everyone open up and share more to develop a deeper connection and sense of understanding.
Acknowledge discomfort as part of the process.
The facilitator asked participants to “experience discomfort” and “expect and accept non-closure” of the discussion. It was noted by other attendees that when we enter into these conversations, we may expect them to produce a resolution. But resolution does not need to be the point of these conversations. By recognizing that discomfort might be unavoidable, and that the conversation might be left open-ended, our group felt prepared for these situations, and worked through them together.
Establish a commitment to the conversation and the work in race/equity.
As we sometimes hear in our project work, it can be challenging to build commitment among partners to conduct an authentic conversation about race and equity. Everyone at the Symposium volunteered to be there and agreed to engage in an open discussion. But the facilitator strengthened that commitment by frequently reminding us of our willingness to dive into the conversation, which allowed us to dig deeper into the issues even when feeling uncomfortable. This level of commitment to the conversation was clearly an important factor in its success.
Incorporate the thoughtful voices of the younger generation.
The high school Prize winners were incredibly inspiring, bringing much energy to the conversation. Hearing their well thought out opinions and honest experiences from a variety of communities helped expand the conversation and provide hope to everyone in attendance. I think this feeling of hope stemmed from the fact that these students were well-spoken on the issues, open to sharing their experiences, and continuing with their work or even seeing an impact on race relations in their community despite resistance. This bravery and persistence from young leaders can do much to build bridges across the numerous divisions experienced in communities throughout the country.
At the end of the Symposium, we each shared what we would take away from the day with someone sitting near us and in a larger group. The overwhelming theme from the alumni and community members was their hope in seeing a younger generation take on so much responsibility and devote enormous amounts of energy to make a difference in their communities, even when they were met with much resistance. Students echoed these sentiments, saying they felt inspired by the peer, alumni, and community members they met and felt energized to continue this difficult work.
While I am lucky to have participated in this conversation at Princeton, I realize that successful dialogues about race and equity cannot be a one-time occurrence. In a recent toolkit, The Facilitator’s Guide for Continuous Improvement Conversations with a Racial Equity Lens, produced by Living Cities, the authors propose that continually having conversations and tracking progress are necessary to keep moving forward on these issues. I agree with the call from the Facilitator’s Guide to “build the muscle for continuous reflection on racial equity” and that this needs to be a personal commitment and daily practice. I hope to use this tool, along with the motivation from the inter-generational conversation about race, to engage in these difficult conversations with my colleagues and clients. I encourage others to do the same.