A Frank Conversation on Race with the Community

The Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation and TIED (Talent, Inclusion, Engagement & Diversity) Roundtable hosted their fifth collaborative Virtual Voices on Thursday, May 20 in a highly interactive session that brought back past speakers and provided space to reflect and have a frank conversation on race. This session saw both audience members and past speakers sharing what they’ve learned, engaging in open dialogue and exchanging resources for further learning.

Elizabeth Prutch (Leadership Denver ’15) of the American Red Cross, led the discussion, posing questions to fellow attendees Dr. Michael Benitez of MSU Denver, Dr. Roberto Montoya of Race Forward, Dr. Tom Romero of University of Denver and Monica Williams of The Equity Project & TIED.

Check out our key takeaways and the video of the webinar below.

There are many reasons why we continue to show up and do the work. From honoring our ancestors who fought for equality and justice in their lives to thinking about the future we would like to leave for our children, there are many reasons why we continue to do the work. For some, there is no option of sitting on the sidelines. We must recognize the humanity in us all.

Resistance to this work should be our expectation. The key to meeting resistance is to really understand where it’s coming from. Oftentimes, that resistance can be rooted in a lack of knowledge or experiences that crystalize the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion work. Everyone will bring with them their own reasons for engaging, lived experiences and outlook to the world. When we better understand someone’s resistance, we can continue the work. Learn more about addressing resistance here.

Most mainstream criticisms of critical race theory miss the mark. Recently, there has been pushback on increased discourse and conversations around race, and specifically criticize critical race theory. In reality, critical race theory is a particular response to legal jurisprudence in the United States that were exclusionary and founded with white supremacist standards. Take, for example, redlining policies and systemic segregation in public schools, which were both codified as United States law. What critical race theory does is ask us not to use whiteness as the standard for interrogation and instead engage the same conversation to see how it looks from a different perspective.

Critiquing America and its history of racism does not make you unpatriotic. As James Baldwin said: “I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” The ability to reflect critically on our nation’s shortcomings, particularly around race, demonstrates a desire for improvement. When you wrestle with the tension and contradiction that exists in America and our inability to bring to life the ideals that our nation was founded on, you’re demonstrating that you’re willing to make the changes needed to make those ideals a reality.

White people need to engage in this work but also live in this work. Don’t just look into resources or have discussions in a vacuum. Make the effort to expand your horizons, leave your neighborhood and connect with those who are different from you – not so you can ask them how to assuage white guilt, but so you can get to know them. You shouldn’t reach out to individuals of color simply for a one time conversation, you should actually make the effort to connect and form a relationship.

Our speakers and audience members provided resources for further learning. You can also view a list of resources compiled from all Virtual Voices webinars here. We have started a list of definitions to help frame this and future discussions at Virtual Voices. You can read and download that list here.

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