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

The Registration period for Dialogue on Race Study Circles has ended.  Over 600 people have signed on to participate in this important initiative.  Study Circles will begin meeting during the week of February 1st!  

The Dialogue on Race Kick-Off Event was a rousing success, attracting over 300 people to the Dr. King Performing Arts Center on a snowy Saturday morning!!!  The December 5th event featured information about the study circle model of dialogue, the opportunity for attendees to participate in a circle and wonderful performances from a quartet from the Charlottesville High School Band and Step it Up, a step performance group from the University of Virginia. 

The Dialogue on Race Steering Committee would like to express a heartfelt thanks to everyone who organized this event, and weathered the snow to participate.  There is still plenty of work to do as we lead up to the official launch of the study circles during the last week of January.  Step one - recruit, recruit, recruit!!!  We need as many people as possible from all walks of life in the Charlottesville area to participate.   If you have questions about the Dialogue feel free to call 434-970-3101 or email at dialogue@charlottesville.org.

Background

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 Race Relations as a Priority 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
November 14, 2009	Facilitation Training
December 5th, 2009	Kick-Off Event, 10:00am to Noon, Dr. Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center
December 15th, 2009	Steering Committee Meeting, 5:30pm 2nd Floor City Hall
January 9th, 2010	Facilitation Training
Week of January 25th and February 1st, 2010	Study Circles Begin