Welcome to your virtual book club.

Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 7-9pm ET

p. 337

“In order for there to be meaningful dialogue, fear, whether of anger or isolation, must eventually give way to risk and trust. A leap of faith must be made. Wrote one student, ‘At times it feels to risky… but I think if people remain equally committed, it can get easier. It’s a very stressful process, but I think the consequences of not exploring racial issues are ultimately far more damaging.’”

Meeting Norms

Ground rules for how we will collaborate.

Process Norms:

• We will respect everyone’s time by starting and ending on time.
• Only one conversation at one time. Refrain from side-talk.
• Be present with the people you are meeting with. Put away phones and other devices during the meeting.
• Take bio breaks as needed. (Good for long meetings.)
• Everyone is responsible for helping to stay on topic. Speak up if you feel like we’re getting off track.
• Address conflict head on.
• Everyone is responsible for upholding the norms. Acknowledge if you notice we are not doing so.

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Communication Norms:

• Ask questions for clarification to help avoid making assumptions.
• Make sure everyone's voice is heard.
• Balance your participation - speak and listen.
• Listen actively to teammates without interrupting others.
• Clarify when you are advocating vs offering an idea.
• Say it now, in the room. Avoid waiting till later to raise an issue.
• All voices count. All opinions are valid, but offer reasoning behind your thinking.

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Virtual Meeting Norms:

• Do not multitask (do other work) during the meeting.
• Use the mute button at your site to prevent the transmission of background noise.
• Speak up to get attention if you have something to say.
• Turn on your video whenever possible.
• Follow an organized line up to ensure each person has a chance to respond.

Agenda

If we were meeting in-person, I'd have a table of cookies and coffee. Grab a snack, a beverage of your choice and get comfortable.

6:45pm: Waiting Room Opens

7:00pm: Meeting begins, Brief Introduction

7:05pm: Small Group Breakout Rooms (Prologue, Introduction & Part I)

7:30pm: 5 minute break (remaining in small group)

7:35pm: Small Group Breakout Rooms (Part II & III)

8:00pm: 10 minute break (returning to large group)

8:10pm: Small Group Breakout Rooms (Part IV, V & Epilogue)

8:30pm: 5 minute break

8:35pm: Large Group Discussion

8:55pm: Wrap-up

9:00pm: Meeting close

How does the breakout room work?

• Following the brief introduction, you will be assigned a breakout room/small group.
• This is your group for the small group discussions during the event.
• You will stay in your small group discussion until our intermission, 8:00pm 10 minute break
• At 8:10pm you’ll go back to your group until 8:30pm.
• At 8:35pm we will all come back into one large group and for an open discussion.
• We will close as a large group at 9:00pm.

Large Group

Intermission

Large Group

How do we get started?

• Introduce yourselves “I am _________” using as many descriptors as you can think of in sixty seconds. (p. 101)
• Establish a speaking order.
• Use this speaking order to move through your discussion.
• Establish a time keeper.
• I will send broadcast messages to all small groups as we move through our agenda.
• Dig in. We’ve got a lot to cover.

Source: Beverly Daniel Tatum Book Group Discussion Guide, January 2020

The Book Group Discussion Guide was generously provided by the author for our use.

General Guidelines for Productive Discussions

This book is intended to encourage conversations about race and racism in the context of the United States. Readers outside of the United States may also find the ideas useful and relevant, but all should be aware that it has been written with specific reference to racial dynamics in the U.S. As is discussed at length in the book, many people find race-related conversations difficult to have, particularly in racially-mixed settings. Yet whether in same-race or mixed-race groups, gathering with other people to discuss the ideas in this book is a useful way to get started! This discussion guide provides reflection questions for each chapter, including the Prologue, Introduction and Epilogue.

There are lots of topics contained in the book that readers may wish to talk about that are not highlighted in the reflection questions. Don’t let that limit your dialogue. The reflection questions are only meant to be conversation starters!

Source: Beverly Daniel Tatum Book Group Discussion Guide, January 2020

The Book Group Discussion Guide was generously provided by the author for our use.

Here are some discussion guidelines that book group members may find helpful:

• SHARE THE AIR TIME. Everyone's participation should be encouraged. Monitor your own participation level. If you are someone who often speaks up, be sure you are also allowing opportunities for others to participate. If you are someone who is hesitant to speak in groups, use this opportunity to stretch yourself some.
• CONFIDENTIALITY IS IMPORTANT. Share the ideas from the conversations with your friends and acquaintances, but personal statements and experiences should remain confidential. Don’t share someone else’s story without their permission.
• MUTUAL RESPECT IS IMPORTANT. Diverse perspectives are to be expected. When necessary, we can agree to disagree, and do so in a mutually respectful way. We are all "works in progress." No one knows everything. We all need to listen carefully to each other and recognize that each of us has something to learn from others.
• SPEAK FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. When talking about difficult topics, it's easy to slip into a pattern of talking about what "others" think. Try to avoid that. Use "I" statements.
• IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, ASK IT!

Prologue to Introduction

• Who is in your social network? At home? At school? At work? How has your social network shaped your world view? Do you agree that limited cross-racial contact is a barrier to understanding the experiences of people of color in the U.S.? Why or why not?
• What was the demographic makeup of the neighborhood where you grew up? Where you live now? What was the population of the schools you attended growing up? Is it the same or different from the schools in your community now? What role has the segregation of housing and/or schools played in your life?
• “Are things getting better?” Reflection: Based on your reading of the Prologue section and your life experience, how would you answer that question?"
• What changes in your community have been most important to you in the last 20 years? How has your life been impacted by the changes in our political climate? Based on your own experiences, what would you say is the current state of race relations in your community?

7:05-7:30pm

25 minutes

Part I: A Definition of Terms

• Does the definition of racism as “a system of advantage” make sense to you? Why or why not? If people of color are disadvantaged by racism, how are White people advantaged by it, knowingly or unknowingly?
• The author asks, “Why should Whites who are advantaged by racism want to end that system of advantage? What are the costs of that system to them?” (p.93) Reflection: How would you answer those questions?
• When we think about our multiple identities, most of us will find that we are both dominant and targeted at the same time. But it is the targeted identities that hold our attention and the dominant identities that often go unexamined.” (p. 103). Does this statement ring true for you? Which aspects of your identity have you been actively exploring? Which parts of your identity are relatively unexamined? If you have a “dominant” aspect of your identity, how much do you know about the “subordinates” and how did you learn it? If you have a “subordinate” or targeted aspect of your identity, how much do you know about the “dominants” and how did you learn it?
• What examples of active and passive racism have you observed or experienced? What examples of active anti-racism have you witnessed or participated in?

7:05-7:30pm

25 minutes

Part II: Understanding Blackness in a White Context

• What experiences, if any, have you had talking to young children about race and/or racism? Do you agree that it is important to help young children understand their race-related observations? How do you approach conversations with children about painful racial incidents, not only in US history, but in contemporary life?
• What is it about the curriculum and the culture of academic opportunity within the school that reinforces the notion that academic excellence is a largely White domain? What curricular interventions might we use to encourage the development of what the author calls an “empowered emissary identity”?
• Think of your earliest race-related memory. How old were you? What emotion, if any, is attached to the incident you recalled? Did you talk to anyone – a parent, teacher or other caring adult - about what happened? If not, why not?
• Why do Black youths, in particular, think about themselves in terms of race? Have you ever asked (or been asked) why are all the Black kids sitting together? After reading the author’s discussion of racial-ethnic-cultural identity in adolescence, how would you answer that question? What are the potential benefits of gathering together in “affinity groups?”

7:35-8:00pm

25 minutes

Part III: Understanding Whiteness in a White Context

• "I thought white was the raceless race – just plain, normal, the one against which all others were measured.” (p.186) Have you ever felt, as Irving did, that being White was “the raceless race – just plain, normal, the one against which all others were measured”? Or experienced an “awakening” that led to an active exploration of what it means to be White in a race-conscious society? Or, have you observed/interacted with someone else who is “waking up White”?
• "Yet recent national surveys indicate that 50% of White Americans believe that discrimination against Whites has become a problem equivalent to that against people of color." (p. 211) Why do you think so many White people hold this belief despite the data on persistent racial gaps on measures of social or economic well-being?If you are White, to what degree have you experienced the identity developmental process that Janet Helms described, and that the author summarizes in Chapter 6? How can White people achieve a healthy sense of White identity?
• Do you agree that color-blind racial ideology is widespread? Why do the social scientists cited in the book agree that being “color-blind” is problematic?"
• What do you know about the history of White allies in America? What might be the benefits to you and others of learning more about that history?

7:35-8:00pm

25 minutes

Part IV: Beyond Black and White

• What can parents, educators, and other caring adults do to foster positive psychological outcomes for children who are at risk from racism?
• Ultimately they need to examine their own identities as White people, going beyond the idea of raising a child of color in a White family to a new understanding of themselves and their children as members of a multiracial family.” (p. 327) Would you agree with this statement? Why or why not? What can friends, teachers and other caring adults do to support the identity development of multiracial children and their families?
• What insights do you gain from reviewing this history? Why has racial classification been so important in the United States? What are some of the factors that influence how today’s children in multiracial families choose to identify themselves?
• What new information have you learned about the experiences of one or more of these communities of color that gives you greater insight into the identity development process for them? What are some of the critical issues that stood out for you in thinking about the experiences of youth from these various groups?

8:10-8:30pm

20 minutes

Part V: Breaking the Silence & Epilogue

• Have you also observed this culture of silence? What are some of the personal and social costs of such silence? Have you felt the fear or anger that the author describes? Have you been able to make “the leap of faith” the author describes? If so, what helped you do so?
• Do you believe change is possible? If so, what is your sphere of influence and how can you use it to bring about positive social change? If you are hesitant, what is holding you back? What support do you need to become a more effective agent of change?
• Where do you find signs of hope? What is happening in your community that is, or could be, a source of encouragement? How might those efforts be amplified?

8:10-8:30pm

20 minutes

Large Group Discussion

• If you are participating with others in a book discussion group, what race- related questions do you have that you hope your group will discuss now, or at a future session?

8:35-8:55pm

25 minutes

Thank you.

Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 7-9pm ET