Due to the COVID-19 shelter in place, our most recent Dialogue was February 22nd, 2020. It was our 77th Dialogue. It was attended by 38 people and was extremely successful. In a rare, delightful meeting Raymond Nat Turner and Zigi Lowenberg former moderators—43 Dialogues—were able to confer with Karl Debro and Deborah Hailu—present moderators—34 Dialogues. Raymond and Zigi now live on the East Coast. Raymond will be on a Panel tonight, Friday, June 5th “Calling Our Mother’s Names” from 7-8:30 p.m. Pacific Time. We are still committed to the Dialogue concept. We have not yet decided where or when the next Dialogue will be, but afterwards we’ll report what exciting things happened at it.
The Race Dialogues were started 22 years ago so that people could have a place to come and discuss the deeper aspects of racism with a group of people from all over the world and from different ethnicities. We have built a community. No money was involved and each person brought food to share. After the potluck, the Dialogue began, and each time there was a topic we focused on. No one in this group favors police brutality. We would also like to highlight the number of people of color who have died in the pandemic thus far.
Those of us who attend Dialogues do not claim that they will solve the world’s problems. But I have attended every Dialogue for 22 years, and I have learned a tremendous amount—mostly from African Americans, Filipinos, Latinos and Africans. What I have learned has enabled me to think of new projects and even to start some. Not to mention that I’ve met one of the most amazing and wonderful groups of people that I have ever met in my life. The death of George Floyd is a tragedy which is echoing around the world and people all over our small globe are marching about it. Change is coming.
More power to the Living Room Revolution: The Race Dialogues.
Mary Webb