Our mission is to engage every segment of our community in an open, honest, on-going discussion of race, racism and diversity and to identify problems and propose concrete solutions and paths to action that promote racial reconciliation, economic justice and equity. - Dialogue on Race Steering Committee

During their retreat in September of 2008 the Charlottesville City Council identified seven priority areas for the City government to address including the issue of race relations.  After months of research the Council approved a new initiative, the Dialogue on Race.

This community wide endeavor will engage our residents in an on-going discussion to better understand each other, our backgrounds, our history, our perceptions and how past actions continue to affect life in Charlottesville today.

There have been attempts to address the issue of race in our community in the past but they have either been short lived or very specific in scope. There are two important keys to ensuring long term success with this effort – engaging every segment of our community, and developing a sustainable dialogue. Engagement should include representatives from every walk of life – residents, businesses, churches, schools, non-profit groups, the University of Virginia, Albemarle County, etc. If we fail to attract a wide range of people with different perspectives we risk simply “preaching to the choir”.

Sustainability should also be considered when deciding the best ways to engage in this type of dialogue. Our community’s issues with race and the attitudes and experiences of those who reside here did not develop overnight and they will not be solved or changed overnight. It will take many months and possibly years for some of us to better understand the plight of our neighbors and then ultimately, to find solutions to address long festering concerns and issues.

Many of the residents and community leaders we have spoken with believe Charlottesville is overdue for an honest, open and sustained discussion on the issue of race. Despite our well earned rankings as a top City to live, work, learn, play and visit, there are many in our community who either still carry the wounds of past injustices or continue to be affected by discrimination or the perception of discrimination today.

What are Study Circles? 

The City is employing the Study Circle model of dialogue. A study circle is a small group of people who meet multiple times to discuss an issue.  Study circles may be formed to discuss anything from politics to religion to sports. 

In our case the discussions will focus on race, racism and diversity in Charlottesville. Each study circle will have between 10-12 people from different backgrounds.  Each session would be moderated by a trained neutral facilitator. The discussion session will last from one to two hours and each study circle would take an agreed upon number of visits to complete their discussion assignment usually 5 to 6 sessions.  The group of facilitators will be comprised of local volunteers, trained by internationally recruited facilitator, Gwendolyn Whiting.  Ms. Whiting has years of experience teaching the study circle model.

The study circles will spend time getting to know each other and our history, identifying issues of race that persist today and developing solutions to those issues.  Each group will present their findings back to the Dialogue on Race Steering Committee.  The Committee will prioritize the findings, present back to the Community and begin the action phase of the initiative.

Dialogue on Race Timeline

September 2008            City Council Establishes Priorities for the Year

January 2009                Formal Presentation to City Council

May 2009                     Steering Committee Formed

August 2009                 Facilitation Training Team Awarded

September 2009            Registration for Dialogue Participants and Facilitators Begins

November 14, 2009        Facilitation Training

December 5, 2009          Kick-Off Event, 10:00 a.m. to noon, Dr. Martin Luther King 

     Performing Arts Center

January 2009                Study Circles Begin