Johnson 1

Loreal Johnson
Jean Coco
English 1001
November 24, 2015
Audience: adults 18+
For you, for me, and the Future
1.

So many things are difficult to talk about. You can name religion maybe politics but for

me the topic that has always stood out the most was race. Growing up as a black girl raised by a
white man with a mixed sister, the conversations were often avoided. Granted I didnt even know
they were being avoided but they were. I dont need to know why, because I know why but the
better question is; why is difficult dialogue among different races about race important?
2.

I never thought about how my race would affect my life when I was younger. I really

didnt know how people identified peoples races and treated them as such so easily. According
to one researcher from Harvard, The meanings, messages, results, and consequences of race are
developed and constructed by human beings, not by some predetermined set of scientific laws or
genetics (Milner 29). So, in other words race is what people make it. More often than not I
have heard my family say race is just a way for people to have acceptance Our nation was
founded on the principle that we are all created equal, but We haven't always lived up to that
ideal, as history shows us (one America). Talking about these issues can not only help student,
and adults but even businesses and America as a whole.
3.

As young kid in school I really didnt know the whole history race has played in America.

I just knew I was different and no one really said much about it. When the topic was brought up
it was often stopped. Because race is such an important aspect of their identities

Johnson 2
students of color may find the avoidant behaviors of whites offensive and interpret them as racial
micro aggressions, which is often the same feelings I would experience when these
conversations were stopped (Sue 665). Researchers say When schools collectively decide to
engage race to understand its intricacies in relation to their students, growth among both the
faculty and students becomes more viable and visible (Milner 31). The little race talk I did
experience as a child, may not have been the best but it did help me see other point of views. It
wasnt until I got older did I see the full potential dialogue about race could have for people.
The examination of race and racism has been largely absent from much of social studies
research and theory. Despite the growing racial and ethnic diversity in the nation's schools, is
only hurting those students who feel underrepresented in the class room (Howard). Not only do
minority students barely see people who look like them having jobs and being successful or even
teaching them; they also never really have a chance to talk about and find out why or at least
express how it makes them feel.
4.

It still amazes me how years later those kids who were once scared to talk about race are

now adults who are still scared to talk about race. While race talk is important for education
when we are younger as we grow the reasons why race talk is important begin to expand. There
was once institutionalized and sometimes legalized racism in our country, is only one reason
why (Hobson). Some fear confronting white privilege, taking responsibility for ending racism,
realizing their own racism, hurting relationships with those they care about, causing issues with
those they work with; the list goes on and on (sue 665-669). Thats why this talk is between the
races, it is meant to be a conversation not a monologue. Through repeated conversations we as
adults should not only discover our own selves in our racial standing but also be able to let others

Johnson 3
express their own racial standings. In adult hood these skills can help our communication skills,
but also in the bigger picture help us with different experiences in life. It certainly has helped me
with understanding some people Ive known my whole life on whole new levels.
5.

Some people argue we should promote difficult dialogue between the races, not because

its the right thing to do but because its the smart thing to do (Hobson). Its difficult for me to
look at it from this view but it perhaps is best if businesses looked at it from this point of view.
One of the best examples of a great business benefitting from its diversity is ESPN (Hobson). I
would argue well maybe ESPN is only diverse because minorities on sports teams is not weird it
is often expected. That thought alone proves what Hobson was trying to say though. Maybe
businesses other than ESPN would be benefitting from diversity as well if different races were as
easily given jobs as different races are given positions on sports teams. The first step would be to
open up those doing the hiring to this mindset. What better way to open up these people to it then
through difficult dialogue? One study found, For whites, to acknowledge or see race is to risk
the possibility of being perceived as racist, so great effort is expanded to avoid talking about race
in order to appear fair and unprejudiced. For the opposite race this can be seen just as
oppressive as the institutionalized racism that once plagued this country. Understanding these
complex sometimes foreign ways of thinking is awakened when talking about issues like
diversity in the work place, race talk in education etc... And can be beneficial in the end. They
can help those hiring understand that person of a different race who really wants this job more.
They can also help that person of color who really wants the job understand who could
potentially hire them more, thus getting the ball rolling. Diversity in hiring would not only attract
more potential better workers but also a broader pool of consumers.

Johnson 4
6.

I know, everyone knows America is a country with a long hard past when talking about

race. It has not always been the greatest. Its sad to say but, Bill Clinton recognizing this issued
an initiative on promoting racial dialogue. He said, One of the greatest challenges we still face
is learning how we can come together as One America (One America). He listed a few places
that started weekly dialogues and the results were all positive. One result was getting people who
otherwise never would have talked, sitting down having dinner together. Another was starting the
crucial talks about race in the lower levels of education that had been lacking in the area. Others
included an increased number of people willing to express their feelings about race by the
hundreds, better community-business communication, and even city-wide plans for hiring
different races promoting diversity. Because, racial discrimination threatens to rob another
generation of all the opportunities that all of us want for all of our children, no matter what color
or where they come from, dialogues like these can help the economy, unemployment rates
especially in minorities, and so much more (Hobson).
7.

I recently attended a dialogue on race concerning the current events at the Mizzou. We

were encouraged to not sit with the people we came with or knew, at least one person of a
different race, and at least one person of the opposite gender. I really enjoyed the experience and
liked hearing everyones point of view. Aside from liking the experience, I felt it really helped
me understand some things I did not before. It gave me a lot of the benefits Ive listed in this
paper including, helping me become comfortable with being uncomfortable. I cant wait to attend
more like this and it relieves me to know the school I attend cares enough to even have these
types of discussions. I guess you can say comfort is another reason why dialogue can be
important. I think the comfort comes from being able to relate to express your own experiences.

Johnson 5
Everything we talked about can be related to something Hobson said in her lecture, If I were to
walk you into a room, and it was of a major corporation like Exxon Mobile and every single
person around the board room were black you would think that were weird. But if I walked you
into a fortune five hundred company and everyone around the table was a white male when will
it be that we think thats weird too (Hobson).

Johnson 6
Works Cited
Crump, Maxine. Personal Interview. (date).
Hobson, Mellody. Color Blind or Color Brave. TED. May. 2014. Lecture.
Howard, Tyrone C. "'Does Race Really Matter?' Secondary Students' Constructions of Racial
Dialogue in the Social Studies." Theory and Research in Social Education 32.4 (2004):
484-502. PsycINFO. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Milner, Richard. Getting Real About Race. Teaching Tolerance. Fall 2015: 29-31
One America Dialogue Guide. Race Matters-.N.p., nd web. 17 Nov. 2015.
Sue, Derald wing. "Race Talk: The Psychology of Racial Dialogues. American Psychologist
(2013): 663-672 10p. CINAHL Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.