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Facilitating conversations about race can be tough. This toolkit is a collection of the tools and materials we used to conduct four very successful town halls that centered on race. We have found that talking about race is a pivotal point on the road to racial equality. Whether you’re hosting a small group or a convention hall full of stakeholders, we believe this toolkit will aid in helping launch successful conversations about race.
What’s In The Toolkit?
- Details about how to organize and promote an event
- Ideas to engage participants
- Checklists to organize a town hall event or a small group discussion
- Tips for one-on-one conversations
- A sample letter template to invite event participants
- Sample videos to use as discussion starters (watch videos below)
Sample Videos:
We used these videos to start the conversation in our town hall events.
The Flag is Down, Now What?
A montage of events including the shooting of nine black parishioners by a white gunman at a South Carolina church and all of the events surrounding that including the removal of the confederate flag from capitol grounds.
Power Privilege and Difference or “White Privilege”
We used a story produced by NPR’s codeswitch team titled “Traffic Stop.” This video tells the story of Alex Landau, a black male, who was raised by adoptive white parents. Alex was raised to believe that skin color didn’t matter. This animated video shows what he endured and how his perspective changed after being stopped by police in 2009.
Race and Politics
We launched the conversation with a video we created titled: “We the People? The Important Role of Race in Politics.” We used the preamble to the Constitution and inserted statements from political candidates, many in direct contradiction to that famous first few words of the Constitution.
Race and Religion
For this town hall we used a segment from the John Quinones series “What would you do?” A Muslim woman wearing a hijab is ignored while trying to change a flat tire. When she takes it off, she gets plenty of help in a hurry.
