Note: I realize that individuals have different levels of comfort around the length of reading material. At the same time, I would encourage everyone who wants to participate in the group to read the information below, so that we can have a shared sense of mutuality. (The sign-up link is at the end.)
My name is Scott Clemente, and I have been fortunate enough to have been able to spend time with a lot of diverse types of people in my life. People from different races/ethnicities, different economic circumstances, and different religions, and I have been around different social and cultural movements.
This experience, along with my formal training in sociology, have afforded me the opportunity and ability to reflect on the different experiences people have based on their social and cultural backgrounds. And because of my experience, combined with my training in the field of conflict and Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and experience as a facilitator over the past decade, I have developed a certain degree of comfort discussing these differences.
Race and Social Change
NVC has a vision of social change: a world where people are not judged and treated as "more than/less than, worthy/unworthy" by labels. You have no further to look than at the current state of the world, current events, and headlines to see that race is still one of the primary labels which people are judged by and through which we experience disconnect from one another.
Aim of the Group: Create A "Safe Space" for a Dialogue on Race
I have never understood NVC to encourage us to pretend like labels do not exist. Instead it encourages us to "unpack" labels through dialogue, in an effort to create a more empathetic understanding. Therefore, this is a "edition," once a month, NVC practice group, where we spend time unpacking labels related to race and other social identities, to get a better empathetic understanding of how these effect equality and opportunity in the world.
Deciding Whether to Participate: What to Expect
This is a group where you will be encouraged to share and discuss your personal experiences around race and how your social background and related labels (such as, gender, religion, and economics) have influenced those experiences.
Creating a "Safe Space" to Facilitate A Personal and Empathetic Understanding of Race and Equality
I would like to note that by "safe," I mean a place where people have an increased sense, they can openly discuss their personal experiences.
At the same time, even the "mildest" dialogues about race often bring up discomfort for participants.
People fear being judged, fear not being heard or understood, fear not being believed or trusted about their experiences. As facilitator, while I will do everything I can to create trust in the group to share and discuss, I also fully expect there will be times where participants have the sense they are out of their "comfort zone."
Framing the Space to Foster a Sense of "Safety"
There are six ways we frame the group that help to make it a "safer" space to speak.
1. Starting with a Shared Premise: People Have Different Experiences in the World Based on Race. While this is supported by countless studies in the social sciences, I also realize that not everyone has been exposed to this knowledge.
Participating in this group would be a "fit" for you:
- If you accept that premise.
- If you are unsure about that premise, but at the same time have an "open " curiosity about the idea.
Participating in this group would NOT be a "fit" for you:
- If you have already decided to reject that premise.
- You accept the premise, but you would be extremely unsettled or overwhelmed by people still learning about and exploring that premise.
2. Focusing on Dialogue Rather Than Debate. Another way we create a "safer" space is that we focus on dialogue, rather than debate. Debate is focused on convincing other people through facts and logical arguments. Dialogue is focused on developing a personal connection with other members of the group and seeking to understand other people’s experiences from their perspective.
3. Focusing on Dialogue Rather Than Education. A dialogue is not a debate and it also is not a monologue. Dialogue literally means to "speak with" people not "at" them. While everyone will have time to speak about their experiences, the main purpose of speaking in the group is to share things personal about your experiences on the topic. Occasionally, the group does have knowledge-based questions, and when necessary for clarity, as facilitator I offer support in that capacity.
4. Focusing on Engaging the Empathetic Imagination. Once again, creating a "safer" space means having a dialogue that is focused on trying to understand other people’s experiences from their perspectives.
The group focuses on broadly encouraging people to use their imagination to engage with people’s experiences "empathetically."
People can engage with others empathetically in different ways:
- Cognitively. Understanding how people generally conceive of their experiences from their perspective.
- Emotionally (Affective). Trying to understand how people feel about their experiences.
- Needs (Conative). Trying to understand the needs behind people’s actions.
- Socially. Understanding how people’s social background and social context or environment affect experiences/actions.
- Historically. Understanding the broader historical and societal circumstances that contextualize people’s experience and actions.
5. Personal Experiences Over Just Facts/Statistics. While as a group we occasionally get into facts and statistics, the emphasis is on personal meaning and experience. Therefore, even when discussed, we will explore what they personally mean to people. Why do certain statistics get brought up? What is personally meaningful about the statistics to the person who brought them up.
6. Creating Opportunities for Awareness vs. Educating. Building on the previous idea, the goal of the group is to create opportunities for awareness and connection, rather than attempting to "educate" people. The dynamics of the group are "power with vs. power over."
My Values in the Role as a Facilitator in this Dialogue
To offer further clarity about the group and how it is conducted, I will describe five values I hold as a facilitator when conducting this group.
1. Transparent About My Values and Knowledge, Rather Than Neutral (Multipartial vs Neutral/Impartial). I am not neutral in regard to my values or what I know. As previously stated, I start with the basic premise that people have different experiences based on race and have been involved in social contexts (formal and informal) that reinforce and confirm that for me. My training in symbolic interactionist Sociology and NVC has also influenced my views on empathy, dialogue, and communication.
2. Openness to Hearing People’s Experiences. The same training and experience that has led me to the basic premise of the group has also led me to having an "open" curiosity about how other people describe their experience, and what led them to their description/perception.
3. Facilitating Over Teaching. My main role in this group is to facilitate communication and dialogue between participants. I help to foster communication that strives to meet goals in the group. While I occasionally offer knowledge for clarity, my primary role is not to deliver knowledge to the group.
4. Holding Equal Space: Balancing Communication in the Process. As a facilitator, I strive to balance communication in the group so that all members have space to talk and share experiences.
5. I am a Facilitator, but Also a "Person in the Room." While I am facilitator, I am also a member of the group. My focus will be on facilitation, but I will also share information about my own personal experiences, without making myself the "center of attention."
Joining Us?
If you read this and would like to join, the event is free, and you can sign up here:
https://securedatavip.com/EQR/QReg?cuid=DallasNVC-PG
H. Scott Clemente, MA, MPsy
Consulting Sociologist, Founder
 Socio -Logic , Ideas connecting people.
A sociological consulting company. |
www.Socio-Logic.net
www.nvc-dfw.org
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