Callie Crossley was on Boston Public Radio Friday, discussing a recent article in The Guardian about a program called “Race to Dinner,” designed to facilitate difficult conversations about racism with wealthy, white, liberal women.
“What the two facilitators knew was that the politeness of women would not allow them to leave the table,” Crossley explained. "So the point was, if you could sit at a table and go through some tough conversation, you’d actually get some place."
The Under the Radar host said the program reminded her of a similar effort that a pastor friend of hers ran at his church in Florida.
“The pastor said, ‘Let’s have a real, serious conversation about race.’ The only requirement was that once you signed up … you may not leave. I don’t care how ugly the conversation gets, we’re going to keep it right here,” Crossley said.
“Of course, conversations got heated, got confusing. … But the benefit at the end was, because you stayed, because you had to stay, you got past your initial … whatever it was, and got to something else," she said. "And [in] this article … that’s essentially what happens.”
