Necessary Conversations: Talking Frankly About Race
In reframing our history, Hannah-Jones opens the door to action. “What I find useful is a sense of rage over the choices we make every day that some people are valuable, and some people aren’t,” she says. “I don’t want us to feel hopeful that we will change it one day. I want us to do something about it right now.”
“Having a conversation about race is not about blaming all White people for slavery and its consequences, but rather about acknowledging the existence of slavery and its consequences.” —Beneta Burt
Sharing authentic stories about racism is vital to help White people recognize their own privilege and for people of color to feel they are being heard and respected. At the Mississippi Urban League, Beneta Burt facilitates dialogue in safe spaces “that allow people in the room to be uncomfortable,” and then to work through their discomfort together. And at the University of South Carolina, the Welcome Table uses storytelling to enable intimate conversations that build trust, uncover hidden biases, and encourage honest, personal exchanges about race.
“To move forward, this nation must heal the wounds of our past and learn to work together with civility, and indeed, with love… We must build the capacity to see ourselves in the face of the other.” —Gail Christopher
Gail Christopher believes that empathy and compassion are skills that can be taught—and that hearts and minds must be changed before it is possible to change institutions. Her Rx Racial Healing Circles™ bring together small groups to foster appreciation, belonging, and consciousness change, assets that she believes are necessary to move past “otherness” and enable people to recognize their shared humanity.
The health harms of racial injustice are reflected in maternal mortality, the incarceration experience, immigrant health, climate change, and so much else.
Stories and data about specific populations reveal the harsh results of racial disparities. In her shocking New York Times cover story, “Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis,” Linda Villarosa tracks the tragedy of Black maternal and infant mortality across class lines. She lays much of the blame on the structural racism that is embedded “in the lived experience of being a Black woman in America,” coupled with the often-unconscious but pervasive racial bias of a medical system that is still dominated by White physicians.
Likewise, the impact of serving jail or prison time hits Blacks hardest. In Mississippi, 75 percent of those serving prison sentences of 20 years or more are Black men. Alesha Judkins describes barbaric conditions at Parchman, the notorious state penitentiary, including black mold, food infested with rat feces, and bed shortages that force imprisoned people to sleep on the floor. More hopefully, she also talks about the efforts of her advocacy organization, FWD.us, to end cash bail, reduce extreme sentences, restore family connections, and redirect investments from criminal justice to community development.
The power to retool societal structures so that they elevate equity, rather than undermine it, rests with all of us.
Informed by historical and contemporary realities, Necessary Conversations concludes hopefully, emphasizing the power to end structural racism through narrative change, innovative approaches to knowledge-building, inclusive decision-making, and coalition-building.
Our contributors remind us that centering actionable research on equity allows us to think more broadly about how we measure what works, gives pride of place to community engagement, and respects complexity in study designs. By acknowledging that our beliefs, assumptions, and values influence what data we collect, and how we use it, we can move beyond what Jara Dean-Coffey calls the traditional “Western-centric, White-dominant frame.” Dean-Coffey offers the Equitable Evaluation Framework as an alternative tool for reimagining the purpose and practice of evaluation.
“The stakes are too high for evaluation not to be an instrument of change and in service of equity and liberation.” —Jara Dean-Coffey
Read my book, Necessary Conversations and listen to my book discussion where I share ideas and strategies to make real change to create health equity. Together, we can dislodge structural racism at its roots and work toward equity.