Appendix B.
Additional Questions for the Four Dialogue Phases

The following questions may be used to guide participants through each phase of a dialogue. Whether meeting for one session or a series of sessions, participants should progress through all four dialogue phases. The questions are organized under each phase according to how many sessions are planned. For each dialogue phase, select the question set(s) to fit your format.

Phase I -Who Are We?

For 1 Session:

• What are your first memories of learning that there was something called race?
• Have you ever felt different because of your race. If so, what was your first experience of feeling different?
• How much contact do you have now with people from other races? What type of contact is that?

For 2-3 Sessions (consider these):

• What was your first exposure to messages that concern racial stereotypes? Who told you about them?
• When did you first discover that some people thought about race very differently than you?
• What experiences have shaped your feelings and attitudes about race and ethnicity?

For 4 or More Sessions (consider these):

• What did you believe about race relations in your community growing up?
• What is your family history concerning race? Did racial issues affect your parents and grandparents?
• What early experiences have shaped your feelings and attitudes about race?

Phase II-Where Are We?

For 1 Session:

• What experience have you had in the past year that made you feel differently about race relations?
• If you had such an experience, what am the conditions that made that experience possible? If you did not have an experience, what makes such experiences rare? What do we make of our answers?
• Is race something you think about daily?
• How much contact do you have now with people from other races? What type of contact is that?
• What are the underlying conditions that influence the quality and quantity of our contact with people from other races?

For 2-3 Sessions (consider these):

• Can you think of a recent experience when you benefited or suffered from people having a stereotype about you?
• What are the underlying conditions that create the various ways we answer that question?
• Can you think of a recent time when someone's understanding of race made your action or statement have a different impact than you intended?
• Can you think of a time when you wondered whether your behavior towards others was affected by a racial stereotype, or by other racial issues?

For 4 or More Sessions (consider these):

• How would you describe the overall state of race relations in our community?
• What do you tell young people about the racial situation in our community?
• Is it important to sham our perspective, or let them find out for themselves?
• What are the underlying conditions or barriers that hinder better race relations?
• In what ways do we agree or disagree about the nature of racial problems, what caused them, and how serious they are?
• What are the underlying conditions that might make us have different approaches to talking to youth about race?
• Which is the bigger problem in people understanding today's community challenges: people overemphasizing race or under-emphasizing race?
• Is it a little easier to relate to people from your same race than to relate to people from other races? Why?
• What are the barriers (in you, others, or in society) that sometimes make it difficult to relate to people of other races and cultures?

Phase III-Where Do We WantTo Go?

For 1 Session:

• What needs to happen for people to have more positive experiences with race relations?
• What would have to happen so that people were not made to feel different because of race?
• What would have to happen for people to have more frequent and more meaningful contact with people from other races?

For 2-3 Sessions (consider these):

• What would have to happen for our society to have fewer racial stereotypes?
• What would have to happen so that people from different backgrounds could more easily work through their understandings of how race affects day-to-day situations?
• What are we, either independently or with others, willing to do so that we have more interactions that contribute to better race relations?

For 4 or More Sessions (consider these):

• In what specific ways do you wish race relations were different in our community? What would have to happen so that race relations would improve?
• What would have to happen so that youth had an informed and optimistic understanding of race relations?
• What can we agree needs to happen to improve race relations, even if we have different ways of understanding history?

Phase IV-What Will We Do, AsIndividuals and With Others, ToMake A Difference?

For 1 Session:

• What are we, either independently or with others, willing to do so that we have more interactions that contribute to better race relations?
• What are we, either independently or with others, willing to do so that people have more frequent and meaningful contact with people from other races?
• What are some actions we might encourage community, business, or government organizations to take?

For 2-3 Sessions (consider these):

• What are we, either independently or with others, willing to do to reduce the affect of racial stereotypes in our lives and community?
• What are we, either independently or with others, willing to do to lessen misunderstandings about race?