Thoughts on a Conversational Approach to Race Relations

In this response to the initial question of "The Forum: Talking about Race" the commentators question the idea of a consensus about the essential components of an effective antiracism program to discuss their observation of a growing trend that students already know the "right answers" & roles in the antiracist scenario that does not translate into bridging the vast cultural divide that they meet and perpetuate day-to-day. The campus wide initiative of the Race Relations Project (RRP) is explained in terms of mission, lack of agenda, neutral stance towards conversation topics, avoidance of correcting "misinformation," focus on personal stories & feelings resulting in an avoidance of seeking out "the racist." The research for the unacknowledged undercurrent in conventional antiracism program is a prevailing assumption that inspires unspoken fear & anger in participants, & has the effect of shifting the potential for a genuine conversation into a superficial realm. The RRP gives students the chance to freely explore how their lives are positioned in relation to one another as they uncover for themselves their own limited views, & is concluded to be the first step in discovering what can happen when programs address what is behind their sociocultural roles, break from the worn antiracism script, & reach for the core of each individual in order to disentangle fact from fiction. J. Harwell