By the end of this course participants will have the knowledge, skills, and practical strategies to engage in courageous conversations about race on a daily basis in both personal and professional contexts. Participants will learn a practical and accessible protocol that supports them in challenging their personal beliefs around race. I am very much still figuring this out myself, and your input can help anyone who's struggling.In this course, participants will gain the knowledge and skills to understand and examine the impact of race on student achievement and the role that racism plays in institutionalized racial disparities. I welcome any additional insights about how to have courageous conversations. I stood for the right thing when I had to." This definition of success is much more within your control. Re-define "well" as "I said everything I wanted to say, and the other person heard, even if they didn't agree. The conversation may not go well, if by "well" you mean "the other person understood all my points and agrees with me." In fact, it probably WON'T go well in this sense, and you have to brace yourself for that. That's it! Acknowledge yourself for being willing to do this messy, imperfect work. If possible, end the conversation on a hopeful note without being conciliatory, like "Let's talk more about this soon." (Depending on how the other person responds, this kind of closer may or may not be feasible.) Instead, return to the most important points you already stated. Chances are, they'll say things that push your buttons from time to time, and you may be tempted to lash out. An alternative is to have the conversation over the phone and keep the document in front of you at all times.Ĥ) Once you've laid out your main points, leave room for the other person to respond. I make sure the document window is open on my screen right next to the video window. For me, the document ensures that even if my emotions blot out my logical thinking for a few seconds, I always have a fallback to return to. That way, you'll be able to look at the polished document you've created as you're explaining your points. You'd be right.ģ) Try to schedule your conversation on Skype, FaceTime, or another online platform if at all possible. You might think this sounds a lot like preparing for a speech or presentation. Write your responses to these and either work them into your main framework or list them underneath it. Try to anticipate the other person's possible objections. One option is a problem-solution framework: Here are the problems with what's going on, and here's what I think we need to do to fix it. The key in this step is to get it all down.Ģ) Edit and organize what you have into paragraphs or bullet points that follow a logical sequence. Yes, everything! This will feel like a brain dump at first. So I want to share what I've learned about how to have courageous conversations, based on my own experience and on interviews with experts like Lynne Henderson and Brooke Deterline.ġ) Type or write down exactly what you want to say to this person. This will be one of our best opportunities to change minds.īut the thought of having tough conversations, with principles and relationships on the line, can be so intimidating that we just don't initiate. One of the most important things we need to do, in this moment, is to have difficult conversations with friends and relatives whose views about race and racism may be very different from our own.
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