Building Community Through Cross-Cultural Conversations

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The Main Perspective

Personal Development Workshop - ME 2.0

Our GMAD mentees are in for another great year. We’ve hosted mixer events to help mentors and mentees get acquainted, and we supplemented this year’s program with a four-part Personal Development workshop series called  “ME 2.0”,  that kicked off February 21^st at Garinger High School.  ME 2.0 was tailored for our girls by one of our mentors, life coach and author, Deidra Parrish Williams of Hollisder House. Once a month through May, the girls will participate in an interactive experience designed to provide them tools and perspectives for planning and decision-making in all areas of their lives.

“As most of us grown-ups know, life requires life skills. The earlier we can help you develop those skills and put them in your toolbox, the more prepared you’ll be to build the kind of life you’ll be proud of,” Ms. Parrish Williams said to the group in the first module, “The Story of You.”  

WIE members, Dorothy Counts Scoggins, Donna Parker Tate, Brittenay Caussieestko-Lee and Lashanda Millner Murphy were on hand for the workshop. Ms Parker Tate remarked; “One of the girls hugged me when the workshop was over. I can see that this is going to help us get to know the girls better and build stronger relationships with them.”

The girls were encouraged to share highlights of the day with their mentors so feel free to ask prompt them. You can ask questions like: What are the two kinds of “perspective”? What is the prefrontal cortex and what role does it play? What are your long- and short-term goals, and what choices will help you attain them?

The workshop ended with a closing thought from Ms. Parrish Williams that brought the discussion a perfect close: “Every moment of every day, you’re the lead character in a scene within a chapter of a book that is The Story of You.  What happens next is up to you. You’re not just the lead character, you’re the author too.”

Cross Cultural Conversations

Cross-Cultural Conversations are small, intentionally selected groups of 8-12 individuals from varying backgrounds (e.g., race, culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status, age, religion and/or neighborhood) that are convened to tackle issues of race and inclusion, dismantle stereotypes and bridge differences through facilitated conversation.  

CCCs are held in the home of a host and begin with a central and vital feature of the program: sharing a meal together.

“Across cultures and time, food sharing is an almost universal medium for expressing fellowship; it embodies values of hospitality, duty, gratitude, sacrifice and compassion. The shared meal is an opportunity not only to eat, but also to talk, to create and strengthen bonds of attachment and friendship, to teach and learn. 

The goal of the program is to create a safe environment to bridge differences and open a pathway to see and treat one another as human beings and not as "other."  The group meets four times over a 4-month period and, through their conversations and sharing of experiences, the participants delve deep into the ways in which race and other differences have manifested in one another's lives and how they have created barriers to genuine trust and authentic relationship...one conversation at a time.

If you would like more information, contact the CCC Committee Chairs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  If you are ready to sign up today to join a CCC group, please fill out and submit the CCC Interest Form here.   READ MORE...

Why Women Working Across Race Together Is a Compelling Necessity

I have been observing for a long time that our shared gender does not assume we share perspectives or similar life experiences. And I spent time studying this to understand the nuances of how our respective races experience different realities. But now I see this is much less an academic interest and a compelling need for action. The recent analysis of the voting patterns for Roy Moore told me we are not there yet. Our political order is in peril now, and history warns us that the expansion of global trade produces expectations of progress but also the apparent helplessness of democracies to address inequalities and fascism. It is time for us to learn from our experiences, act together, and preserve the ideals of our democratic society.

Here are some ways White women can work to create a unified political force with women of Color. There is more complete coverage in an article I co-wrote with a colleague of Color (Geiger & Jordan, 2014). As a White woman I am imperfectly working on everything written here, and have chosen to only focus on those of us who live in “the bubble of privilege” because I think we have the most work to do. I hope this stimulates cross-race conversations including reactions and challenges for you.

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