Page 333 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

“I think that the dialogues and the film series allowed people to dig in and feel

uncomfortable. But it is positive, because we can’t dismantle structures of oppression if we

don’t know how they were structured, how they were mantled.” (F05FAA)

“In the very first session I thought there was some tension. I thought some of the African

Americans in the room were really kind of uptight with the fact that the one White person

that was in the room, didn’t quite get it. From the comments, I would say it seemed like

they felt like he didn’t quite get why they were upset and yet I don’t know if that changed

anything for him.” (F07FAA)

“I think the one that was really upsetting was the one about “White people see Black people

as complaining and as victims, rather than looking at the fact that, just work hard and do

it, rather than seeing themselves as victims and always complaining.” Some of the African

Americans kind of indicated that they appreciated that comment, because it helped them to

see what White people really feel and what they are thinking, whereas others wanted to

jump right on that person and explain the reason for the complaints.” (F07FAA)

“I think, we, I tended to attend to folks, in terms of body language and conversation to see

if they were, showing [signs of] discomfort and [we were careful to] give voice, or give

attention to folks who were voicing and expressing signs of discomfort.” (F01MAA)

“As described by the facilitators, the various tensions and disagreements arising from the

dialogue and participant interactions allowed confrontation, challenging, and questioning

in a way that permitted an authentic delving into some of the issues that keeps structures

of racial discrimination and stereotypes alive.”

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