Following Up On October's Community Conversation
Below is a post from programming librarian Meg Malone, reflecting on the structure and themes from the community conversation we held in October — and how we will look to use what we heard in making future library collection and programming decisions.
On Thursday, Oct. 21, we held a (virtual) community conversation as part of CCL’s participation in Libraries Transforming Communities, an American Library Association initiative. After attending a required facilitation course from ALA, we partnered with the Peace & Justice Center of Vermont to develop the framework for this community conversation.
We used the middle-grade anthology The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth as a jumping off point for participants to reflect on conversations they’ve had with young people about race and racism. Initially, the thought was to host a multigenerational conversation — between kids and their adults — using this same text; however as we got into the planning and had thoughtful discussions with various individuals, we realized this may not be the best starting point but rather a format to be working toward. Instead, we wanted to create a space with more balanced power dynamics, which led us to make our Oct. 21 community conversation one open only to adults.
The first part of our conversation was focused on the anthology, edited by husband-and-wife team Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson. The 17 essays in this collection all center on conversations adults have had with young people about race, and we asked participants to read the text ahead of time. When we came together, we asked participants to share which ones particularly resonated with them as well as their overall thoughts on this particular book as a resource for talking directly with young people about these themes. It turned out that a range of essays stuck with participants, who also provided insight as to how they might share these same stories with young people.
The second part of the conversation involved reflecting on discussions with kids about race and racism more broadly. We began by placing participants into breakout room pairs, to both reflect on the discussions they had with adults as kids about racism (if at all), and then what conversations they’ve now had as adults with kids. We then came back together as a larger group to share what came up in those small groups.
A theme that came up was how to have conversations with young people about race in a proactive, rather than a reactive way — being able to feel prepared and intentional, and not shutting down when it comes up unexpectedly. Participants contemplated this in a few ways. First was discussing how it’s an option to be transparent with kids about saying you need time to think about what to say, or simply returning to a conversation that in retrospect you feel could have gone differently; basically taking advantage of opportunities for improvement rather than shutting down in fear of not being perfectly articulate.
There was also reflection on the importance of the tone in which conversations about race take place — how kids may not even necessarily remember exact phrasing but the feelings associated with the discussion may be there. And finally, the group emphasized that even small conversational moments can “plant a seed” in a child’s mind which may not fully begin to resonate with them until later but might provide that initial foundation.
To that point, one thing to note is that this was a community conversation for adults with kids in their life, though that did not exclusively mean “parents” — and as someone who finds myself as part of that group, the community conversation proved to be an important reminder of how many adults can influence a child’s life and that adults who interact with kids in a number of capacities are in positions to foster important conversations about race. As such, this community conversation did reinforce that we should be considering how as a community to be best supporting kids in antiracist practice.
Finally, we took a few minutes at the end to think about ways the library can continue to be a place where these community conversations are encouraged. We heard suggestions about other local groups and organizations we could be working with, including offering relevant workshops from the Peace & Justice Center through the library. Other ideas included possible library programs that would allow these conversations to continue: a middle-grade book club or movie nights followed by conversation, community field trips, as well as programs that aren’t necessarily centered on reading but around other modes of expression, like art or writing, to explore race. We are grateful to have had many great ideas to consider in our future planning.
Part of the grant funds we received related to this community conversation project allowed us to expand our collection with youth materials that we hope will help spark conversations between kids and their adults, and we encourage them to be read, watched or listened to together. Here is a list of items we have added so far; it includes the set of The Talk we centered our discussion on, and we added other works by authors and illustrators included in that anthology as well as other books that encourage antiracist reflection across different ages.
As we look ahead to 2022, we’ll continue to focus on ways the library can prioritize having conversations about race and racism. In addition to the suggestions we heard, one idea may be to offer this same conversation again — especially for adults who didn’t have a chance to attend in October but may be interested in participating in this format. In addition, we have goals that hearken back to our initial proposal; we want to allow a space for middle-grade kids to have these discussions among themselves, and then hopefully build up to a multi-generational forum between kids and their adults. We feel that sort of interaction would be valuable, but want to be really mindful of making a space that doesn’t further harm or perpetuate inequality.
I appreciate everyone who was able to join in this particular community discussion, as well as those giving thought to having similar conversations in their own lives. Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday season, and please reach out if you wish to discuss any of this further.
Meg Malone
Programming Librarian