This guide describes the characteristics of and logistics for establishing a "community dialogue" on race, which involves drawing participants from as many parts of the community as possible to exchange information face-to-face, share personal stories and experiences, express perspectives, clarify viewpoints, and develop solutions to community concerns.
The intent of the dialogue process is to motivate people to work toward constructive change in race relations in a community. It can unite divided communities through a respectful, informed sharing of local racial history and its consequences for various people in today's society. Dialogues go beyond the sharing of feelings and ideas to the transforming of participants into persons committed to solutions to problems. Although the process begins with individuals interacting with one another, when it involves diverse people throughout the community, it eventually affects groups and institutions. This guide poses a series of questions intended to help organizers of a dialogue develop a process appropriate for their community. The questions help organizers determine issues of race in the community that a dialogue could address, the goals of a dialogue, who should be included, and the type of discussion. Specific organizing issues addressed in the guide are the number of dialogues that should occur and for how long, how the dialogue should be conducted, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of the dialogue. The guide then presents the four phases of a racial dialogue. The first phase sets the tone and explores the question, "Who are we?" This is done through the sharing of personal stories. The second phase helps participants understand "Where are we?" This involves a deeper exploration of personal and shared racial history in the community. During the third phase, participants develop a vision for the community that answers the question, "Where do we want to be?" In the fourth phase, participants answer the question, "What will we do as individuals and with others to make a difference?" This involves the identification of shared interests and working together on specific projects. The concluding section of the guide focuses on the role of the dialogue leader. Appended additional resources, additional questions for the four phases of dialogue, and a directory of resource organizations