Friday, September 28, 2007

Holding Difficult Dialogues:
Five Easy Steps to Advance Conversations On Race

By Linda S. Wallace

It does not require much talent to have a painful conversation about race. It’s easy for dialogues to go awry when participants seek to broadcast their own opinions rather than consider new perspectives or facts.

Having a productive dialogue, one that provokes thoughtful analysis and understanding, requires skill and a lot of disciplined patience. Participants must resolve to keep their personal cultural filters from zeroing in on their pet peeves and blocking alternate views.

The dialogues on the Jena 6 have brought out the worst in us. Most of us hear what we want to hear, and see what we want to see. The Jena 6 are African American students who stand accused of beating a white classmate. Tensions have arisen because many Americans – and I should add many journalists overseas – feel that the charges first filed against the students were so super-sized that they no longer fit the alleged crime. In addition, many protestors feel that the judicial system gave the white students better protection than it did the African American students.

According to early news reports, tensions arose after African American students dared to test their civil rights by sitting under a tree that had been identified as being for “whites only.” Later, as problems escalated, those students contend they were unfairly, and inappropriately, singled out for punishment following fights.

I am not going to debate the merits of the Jena 6 in this column. What I hope to do is offer some guidelines for exploring difficult issues and having conversations that build understanding, rather than divisions.

Before I offer these rules, let me gently remind you to collect the facts before jumping to any conclusion. If we are relying solely on one newspaper or TV station to give you the facts, chances are you will lack huge pieces in this puzzle. If you want the full picture, you must actively seek out conservative and liberal views.

The other night I heard a national news reporter say that African Americans were protesting the arrest of African American students in Jena, La., who were charged with beating a white student. If a viewer knew little about the Jena 6, he or she might reasonably conclude that these protests are race theatre not marches for justice. Not all media reported that white students were involved in fights as well and that none of them faced felony charges.

Step One: Separate Facts from Fiction: Much of the trouble in race-related dialogues occurs as we try to make sense of the information we have. As you launch a dialogue, separate out known facts. Now is the time to consider what information you don’t have. Who was involved? What actions did they take? Why? How did they respond to actions taken by others? How did other people respond when placed in a similar situation? Make a list examining the actions for every key player: school officials, white students, African American students, district attorney, etc.

Step Two: Analyze the Facts: What Do They Really Mean! Look at the issue through the lens of every major community involved in this dispute: African American students, white students, legal system and the school board. What actions did they take? Why did they take that action? What was the outcome? What could each have done differently? Who are their stakeholders? How did their actions affect their stakeholders?

Step Three: Take Turns Playing Cultural Coach: Sift through the cultural issues so tightly woven into this issue: Judicial fairness (equal treatment under the law); Law and order (crimes should be punished); Bias (our tendency to focus on the faults of other cultural groups, and overlook the faults of those who look like us); Interpretation (What constitutes a threat?); Must educators create an environment that removes barriers to learning?

Step Four: Talk With Those Who Disagree With You: This is the step we most often forget. Once we develop conclusions, we wed ourselves to them. We don’t take the time to share our ideas with those with opposing views. People with opposing views help us strengthen the weaknesses in our argument.

Step Five: Create Communitywide Solutions: It is never enough to focus on identifying wrongdoers. We must find ways to put troubled communities back together again. We must create systems and processes for managing biases and negating their effects. Hidden biases often remain undetected until one day they are exposed and become public relations nightmares.

Communities must provide citizens with a chance to detect their biases and manage them - without lawyers, lawsuits and courts.

Dear Linda: We have discussed the overuse of “African Americans” where simply “black” could be used. In this article, as in many others, I see it used here seven times - again. Frankly, you really belabor its use and in my opinion that comes across as biased! As fairness in reporting, you should use “Caucasian Americans” instead of “white”. Are not we Caucasian Americans deserving of equal and accurate reporting? Just as you are proud of your heritage, so am I. From your point of view, we are segregated into either “African Americans” or “others”. If you can't see the injustice in this, you should!

Fred Trascher, Jr.