How to Create Greater Understanding across
Race and Ethnicity
Members of the SIS community gathered in the SIS Abramson Family Founders Room on the Tuesday after
Martin Luther King Day for an open and honest conversation about race relations. The event was motivated by
events around the country over the past several months, including Ferguson, New York, and Cincinnati and by
the need to crate space for constructive reflection and conversation among students, staff and faculty.
After a brief introduction by the facilitators, students portrayed four brief vignettes highlighting some of the
themes that had been prevalent in the media but rarely allowed space for the complexity or nuance they
required. Following the vignettes, participants moved into small group conversations that focused on one of
four themes: identifying implicit bias, breaking down stereotypes, understanding perception differences, and
being an ally.
Experienced facilitators from a range of roles within the AU community, including students, faculty, staff, and
friends of the school, facilitated round table conversations with a focus on building skills in these four areas.
Approximately 80 people participated in the dialogue, which closed with a focus on action steps that individuals
could take in the context of their everyday lives to put the skills they discussed into action.
As with previous community dialogues focused on race and ethnicity, the event highlighted a need to engage
more members of the community in the conversation and to continue to openly examine dynamics of inclusion
and exclusion as they occur on an everyday basis in the community.