Planning a
Let's Talk Race Conversation 

If you've....

✓ Reviewed the Getting Started materials,

✓ Completed the Facilitator Learning modules,

✓ And know that the timing is right for you to have a courageous conversation about race...

...then this is the place to go. The resources in this section are here to help you plan and have conversations about race in your community. 

Every conversation has a theme — the overarching subject that participants will discuss. Some examples that we have explored in the past are: 

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 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: 

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.

Don't see a conversation guide that you want to use?
Are you ready to create your own conversation guide? 

You can create your own guide. Each conversation above is composed of topics— smaller conversations and activities. Once you are comfortable facilitating a Let's Talk Race conversation and have facilitated some of the conversation guides above, you are ready to build your own!

You can build your own conversation guide using our topics or by developing an entirely new one of your own. Find resources to support you on the Build Your Own page. 

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

This might include: 

If you're using one of our conversation guides (see 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, 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.). 

Want to revisit how to plan a conversation? 

We have a facilitator module all about the four steps to planning your own LTR conversation. 

Check out our additional tools and resources

See our list of recommended reading, videos and more