Planning a Let's Talk Race Conversation

Every conversation has a "theme" - the overarching subject that participants will be discussing. Some example themes that we have explored in the past are:

• Systemic racism

• Talking to children about race

• Multiracial relationships and families

To choose your theme, think about what subjects are currently relevant to your participants. You can also review the list of ready-to-use conversation guides (see Step 2 below), each of which focuses on a theme we've covered in the past.

A conversation guide is a document that outlines the conversation and includes: how to facilitate each part of the conversation, specific directions and questions to ask, links to conversation starters or visuals to show, tips or things to remember.

We've created five ready-to-use conversation guides based on themes we've facilitated in the past. Access the guides for the following themes below:

Ready-to-use conversation guides:

Let's talk about race A great initial conversation for those who are new to talking about or facilitating conversations about race.

Talking to kids about race For adult participants who want to explore and prepare for discussion with young people about race and racism.

Systemic racism Explore the concept of systemic racism and how it manifests in our lives, society, and institutions.

Black Lives Matter A discussion about what the Black Lives Matter movement is and the impact it has had in our lives, community, and nation.

Multiracial relationships Explore of the unique dynamics within interracial relationships and how those dynamics impact our lives.

Make sure that you have everything you will need to facilitate the conversation.

This might include:

• Slides or links to "conversation starter" videos, articles, images, etc.

• Handouts or materials for participants

• Feedback survey for participants to complete when done

If you're using one of our conversation guides (see Step 2 above), we've already linked to any materials you'll need. If you are adapting a guide or building your own, then you may need to develop additional resources.

Internalize your conversation guide and coordinate with co-facilitators.

Read and annotate the conversation guide, noting places where participants might be confused, clarifications you may need to provide, questions that you want to be sure to ask, or places where you would prefer to have a co-facilitator lead the discussion.

Plan with your colleagues, ensuring that for each moment, the each member of the facilitation team knows what their role is. Set up a method to communicate with one another while the conversation is taking place (e.g., text message, Slack, GChat, Zoom Chat, etc.).