The Conversation Workshops are a safe space in the community, providing insights and resources to improve empathy for engaging difficult friend to friend conversations about race and its effects on our social, economic, and political contexts. We aim to foster conversation focused on listening, understanding, and education, so that as a society we might work from the grassroots level up with the ultimate goal of ending racial inequity by starting locally.

The Conversation Workshops are for those who want to hone their skills in practicing listening, patience, accountability, and confident leadership while communicating truth and fostering an attitude of justice. The methods presented and practiced in The CW are intended for use within pre-existing relationships built on trust and respect in hopes that this spirit of change will emanate throughout communities. The workshops are for a son reaching out to his parents; a woman dialoguing with her partner; the friend having honest discussion with another friend; the congregant exploring truth with a faith leader; among others.

This training will require self-examination, which should cause latent biases and feelings of embarrassment or fear to surface. Your discomfort is a natural and healthy part of the process, and close attention to these experiences may lead to personal growth and may improve your ability to empathize with those with whom you engage.  

We recognize there are pre-existing communities in our state, and we seek to reach those audiences in their physical and ideological spaces, in order to best equip workshop participants with conversational strategies that are relevant and familiar within their immediate communities. We acknowledge that the ideologies and spaces that participants occupy will influence the tone and strategies that emerge from each workshop. Though we do not represent or claim affiliation with any one community, we are committed to entering these existing spaces as a means of best executing our mission.