Page 335 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

think that is an “ah hah” for folks because it challenges the way that they look at the

community and the way that they look and experience the community, it gives them a

diverse perspective. And then you know dialoguing…the dialogues were long enough to

create what I would call the “ah hah.” You have to have direct exchange long enough for

people to have that moment, like a drilled down experience. And I think that people started

to shift like, “Wow I really need to pay attention,” or “I really need to do some things

differently.” And so it gave them more insight into their own perspective but it also gave

them more insight into the perspective of others. And I think that is the healthy part because

there are some decisions and choices that are made in that process.” (F05FAA)

“The community is very clear that they don’t want African American adolescents in the

public eye at these jobs. So that was something that really stood out for me and it really

caught my attention. That was during the second dialogue and we kind of talked about that

and what that impact was for the community. Many of the White participants in the room

had no idea, didn’t really think about it until it was brought to their awareness to think

about “oh yes when I think about this, then yes that makes sense when I think about the

businesses that I go into.” (F02FW)

A third perspective representing the shared dialogue experience of participants and

facilitators lends further depth of understanding to the interactions and insights resulting from the

effort to create the Albany Community Conversation series. The dimensions that described a

perspective inclusive of the participants and facilitators include promoting candid conversation

(conditions), fostering inclusive interaction (process), and experiencing healing (consequence).

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