Creating a safe space to have a meaningful conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion can be challenging and requires some strategic design in setting up the conversation but also a tactical logistics plan to support the conversation while it’s occurring to ensure you are able to maintain that safe space, creating room for all voices to be heard.

 

Never was this more evident than in the expert speakers’ series that was part of the work of the District 7820 Systemic Racism Task Force. Part of the work of this group included both the tool kit, launched in January of 2021, and the expert speaker series that happened over the course of five months. There were three virtual sessions, all well attended with 30-40 participants including Rotarians and community members coming together to discuss issues related to systemic racism. Together, we made a social contract to move the needle on this issue.

 

We were very deliberate in our design of the space to hold these conversations, both allowing for room to explore the topic together through the expertise of the speakers and also latitude for dialogue. There were stress tests to our design, particularly in the decision to hold participant questions to the chat function and insistent participants that were not satisfied with that option and repeatedly had a raised hand to engage in real time.

 

While this appears overly vigilant, it was an intentional choice to foster a safe space to receive the wisdom of the experts, but also to create equity in access to the speakers and the broader discussion space. It is important to note that all questions were addressed and while we invited questions post session, via email, if anything sparked for participants after the session – we received none.

 

We are still planning on a fourth in the fall and will continue with our design with a few minor tweaks. One of our key lessons learned from this experience is not to wait until you have it perfect, just do it, learn, refine and do it again. This is not a one and done exercise. We knew that creating meaningful change around systemic racism was going to take many conversations and we wanted to be the spark. We also learned that it was okay to manage the conversation space as long as we were clear with participants how they could engage. We wanted to make sure that there wasn’t any one voice that dominated the stage and we succeeded in creating both equal access but also space enough for all voices to be heard.

 

Could we do better next time? Of course, and we are open to our own evolution; that is where true meaningful change occurs. Our group is all about progress, not perfection Honestly, I believe this mindset is a critical foundational piece of moving the needle and seeing meaningful change related to creating a true culture of diversity, equity and inclusion in Rotary.

 

Doing get things related to DEI in your area? Reach out and let us know! Email Lori Anne at latjones@outlook.com and share your story.