Turning the Tide on Poverty
Handout #4
Scenarios
Racial dynamics to watch for
Organizing & Recruitment
1. The organizing committee recruits one person of color to represent the African
American, Latino, or Asian “community.”
2. The chairperson selects a large, prosperous white church—or another venue
that is frequented by whites—as a regular meeting site for the organizing team.
3. The leadership of the organizing team is all white. Whites dominate the
conversation and make most of the decisions.
4. The organizers speak only English in groups where there are people who have
limited English skills. And they use academic language or insider “jargon” to
recruit working class people or immigrants.
5. The organizers schedule meetings in the middle of the day, assuming that
everyone can take an hour-long lunch break.
6. Leaders run meetings without considering cultural differences around time, or
the importance of connecting socially before a meeting starts.
Facilitation
7. During dialogue, people make racially charged statements; the facilitators are
uncomfortable, so they shut down the discussion.
Action Phase
8. During action task force meetings, privilege dynamics play out; old behaviors
continue, and whites stay in the lead. Even though many new “actors” are
speaking up and trying to make change, they are gradually closed out of the
process, and things revert to “business as usual.”
Instructions:
1. Read the scenario.
2. Where in your community have you seen this dynamic playing out? What did
it look like? Tell the story!
3. What can you do to prevent this type of dynamic in your community project?
4. Describe the scenarios that are happening in your community? How would you
handle them?
5. What will be the barriers to addressing them?
Everyday Democracy – www.everyday-democracy.org