Event #2

The Race Card: Observations on Race, Identity, and Inclusion 11/12 – Michele Norris 

  I really enjoyed getting to see and learn from Mrs. Norris (Peabody Award-winning Journalist, Founder of The Race Card Project, and Author of The Grace of Silence). I first learned about Mrs. Norris in the Sharp Viewpoint Speaker Series in a WCGA meeting weeks prior. How to have constructive, meaningful conversations about race is a skill that I have developed much deeper at my time at UR and am still developing. 

I really liked Mrs. Norris’s talk as it brought to light new perspectives and suggested productive ways to approach conversations about race with people who have opposing views to oneself in a productive way. She explains that it is never beneficial to tell someone you feel that their viewpoints and understandings are WRONG and then attempt to educate them on what you believe is right- that is not productive because people get defensive or become more close-minded to what you are trying to say for the simple reason that YOU were just closed-minded to what they were saying. She explained that you must recognize that their truth is real and logical to them and the only way to have a mature conversation is to first hear them out; she says to listen, you do not have to agree- but acknowledge how they feel because dismissing their truth is not productive. She addresses that she is aware this can be challenging when someone’s truth is hurtful to you but having the tools necessary to have a productive conversation about it is the only chance for change.

 

A main point of hers was that looking at everyone is the only way to look at race. Dismissing opposing mindsets is almost counterproductive in the long run. She uses the metaphor that bridges are held together and able to remain standing and functional only when there is tension form to forces holding it up.