Angela Dion
Angela Dion of Dion Communications, LLC posted guidelines for facilitating race discussions on her blog Let’s Talk about Race. The criteria assist anyone who wants to lead an open dialogue about personal experiences, perceptions and thoughts involving race.
Race relations in the United States have always been a difficult issue to discuss because of the nation’s history of racial inequality and violence against others of another skin color. Today, though we have laws against such injustices and relationships between people of different races have improved, many are reluctant or simply too angry to converse about this issue.
Dion writes on her blog, “You can’t come to race discussions with an agenda or a platform. Be ready to share thoughts and listen to some different opinions. The goal is not to get everyone to agree or to make them feel guilty if they don’t. That approach only shuts down the conversation. The goal is to increase communication and better understand and accept the diversity of people God has created.”
She also encourages facilitators to select a diverse group of people, begin with people you know, share hesitancies and expectations and to not expect the discussion to be fun.
She expounds on these ideas and more in her new book Let’s Talk about Race: Without Offending, Feeling Guilty or Compromising.
