Dinner & Dialogue
Share a meal, get to know each other, and bridge the divide in our community. This simple idea brought us together to create Dinner & Dialogue. Some of us started talking about this at the 2018 Reconciliation Dinner. We loved the stories and relationships we formed, but we felt we could not understand what racial justice might be like here unless we got to know the people of Shreveport better. We can spend years working with someone, living next to someone, and never take the time to learn how they experience the world. Since daily conversations often avoid the subject of race, we knew something would need to be done. This group brings together equally curious people who would like to get to know each other better and have the uncomfortable conversations Shreveport needs.
Vision Statement: We aim to overcome systemic racism and heal the racial divide in our community. We will engage with each other’s stories, develop connections, and explore how different people experience race and discrimination. The bonds forged during these dinners will extend into the rest of our lives as we work together to create a better future for our region.
Purpose Statement:We will create comfortable spaces for uncomfortable conversations about the role race plays in our lives.
How It Works
We will meet three times per year in each other’s homes. Six to eight people will sit down to a pot-luck meal to have a guided conversation about race in our city. We will focus on listening to each other, not debating or disagreeing. We want to learn about how each person experiences our community.
The fourth meeting will be an end-of-year mixer for participants of this program and the YWCA Dialogue on Race at a local restaurant.
We will invite individuals or couples to participate. They will be matched with others to achieve diversity across racial, ethnic, generational, and regional divisions.
Register to Participate
If you are interested in participating in a future Dinner & Dialogue group, please fill out the registration form found here.
Contact
For more information or to get involved with planning Dinner & Dialogue, please contact Chris Ciocchetti at cciocchetti@centenary.edu.