The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) hosted a prejudice reduction workshop Friday, Feb. 14, 2011, in the Tate Student Reception Hall at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. The workshop lasted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There were 60 people in attendance from the University of Georgia, including students, faculty and staff. Following is my own personal experience at the workshop. Names of participants are withheld to protect the integrity of the workshop experience.
According to the University of Georgia’s NCBI Team Overview handout, NCBI “is guided by three core principles: every issue counts, personal stories matter, and eliminating mistreatment means ending ‘leadership oppression.’” The handout also says, “Through our workshops participants are able to learn more about themselves and those with whom they interact.”
The first person I saw at the workshop was a large black man. He was incredibly tall and broad. I was immediately intimidated.
“We all have a record playing internally,” Shay Davis Little, Director of Administrative Services and Communication for the Department of University Housing, said. “It is a natural response to what we hear and see.”
Little also said that our internal records come from the people who raised us and the communities and environments in which we grew up. Because of our internal records, we hold prejudices not only against others, but also against ourselves.
During the workshop, we identified how we perpetuate stereotypes about our own identity groups. I discovered that it was easier to feel an opinion than to actually voice it. One participant talked about her struggle for balance in her identity.
“I’m constantly balancing being black enough and not too black,” said the female black student. “I feel like I’m either splitting a fence or on the fence between being black and too black.”
Listening and talking with others put an entirely different perspective on my ideas about prejudice. Not only did I talk to participants one-on-one, but I also had the opportunity to talk to the entire group.
NCBI hosts two different workshops: half-days and full days. The one I attended was the half-day, which lasts four hours. Its purpose was to open ourselves up to our identities and the identities of those around us.
The full day workshop lasts eight hours. The first four hours are the same as the half-day workshop. The last four hours allow participants to share stories.
“The second half of the full day workshop is for learning stories,” Danny Glassman, a facilitator for the NCBI workshop, said. “It’s important to share stories because one of NCBI’s sayings is, ‘To shift attitudes, hear stories.’”
The first person I saw at the workshop was a large black man. At first I only saw some parts of his identity. By the end of the workshop, I knew his name, ethnicity and sexuality. I saw someone completely different, but only because I made a change in the way I saw him.
We talked about adding another source or two from the program directors for more background information. When I was reading it, I thought the topic was so interesting that I wanted to know more about the participants, their backgrounds, what other kinds of exercises it entailed, and what about UGA's student body that motivated the directors to hold this workshop. Devin had said that the directors didn't want her to talk to the other attendees to protect their privacy which I understand, but my favorite part of this story is how her view of the black man changed. I'm hoping the program directors can provide more insight on that and the reactions of the other attendees.
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