A word of thanks to all the facilitators and summary of last night's post dialog meeting

Hi all,

Thanks to those of you who were able to come to the meeting last night. I really appreciated the stories you (Margo, Liz, Heather)told of difficult moments and situations that(I believe) made you wonder if this process was worthwhile for students of color who are highlighted in uncomfortable ways and potentially exploited in mostly white groups. We discussed moments when this may or may not be happening, and the power that observation (and silence) may have for, for instance, the African American man in a group of white students. Raphael, Lauren and Molly discussed ways that we might ask questions to include (invite--as we call our dialogue "an invitation") white students to express themselves in terms of their experiences. We might not agree with their interpretation of those experiences, and that could be a time for more questions. Claudio discussed the power of the personal story, and the invitation to others to join in with stories of their own.

Margo brought up the important point/question about intervention and our role as facilitators in these dialogues. When/how do we intervene when participants are telling angry stories, or stories that further marginalize or exoticize students of color--whether or not those students are part of the group? Other shared similar concerns about finding "teachable" moments when perhaps we should not be teaching. Brittni responded that what we are doing is not dialogue, since dialogue usually happens in conditions of mutual trust and respect for the process. Indeed, this is an important distinction, and I do not consider it a reason either to discount "true" dialogue, or the project we are doing as "psuedo-dialogue" (not does Brittni, I think). Her point was, I believe, that we might just need to teach under these circumstances, but in a way that invites (that word again) others to think about what they are saying about their own experiences and in a structural sense, about the ways race extends beyond "who does what to whom".

Dijana, reflecting on the conversation, commented that is seemed as though the real breakthroughs in the dialogues happened when facilitators asked questions. This is also teaching, but not in a manner that you presume what it is the participants need to know.

As we wrapped up the meeting last night Claudio mentioned that we (facilitators) need to remind each other of the good work we're doing, along with being cognizant of where we might improve. As I looked around the room, I was so happy to see the great group that we have or really dedicated and caring people. After all, you've put up with all my frantic pleas for help and scheduling difficulties etc, and still have done an incredible job.

So, again, my thanks. We will have a pre-second dialogue session on Tuesday November 17 at 4:00.

best,

Leda