Page 422 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

These codifications (photos, stories, drama, videos, etc) present interruptions in the

everyday ‘taken-for-grantedness of our lives’. Putting critical pedagogy into action. Each leaderful

civic action represents a progression of interaction among the participants on the path of engaging

dialogues on race and is linked to one of the four theoretical propositions (shown in parentheses)

introduced in Chapter V. The LE displayed by the dialogue participants included risking and

engaging (creating Metasphere to move from tension to healing), standing up to tension and

conflict (heart stories, hurt stories; hearing and understanding differently), and moving forward

and project identification (sustaining the conversation, bridging the divide) and next action steps.

Each of the four engagements are instructive and lends understanding to the value of group

dialogue as a tool for cultivating local civic leadership (by example) practiced and sustained by

diverse members of the community in conversation. With a topic as significant as race and racism

in a community that remains largely segregated, some participants encountered the potential for

personal backlash in order to attend and participate in the dialogues; they risked to engage. A

contributing factor that motivated repeat participants of all races was a safe dialogue Metasphere—

having safety was a consistent condition during each dialogue and supported by caring and skillful

facilitators. Each Albany NY Community Conversation session contained acknowledgement of

tension and disagreement as a useful approach for issue exploration as it was respectful, yet candid.

Standing up to tension allowed the participants to engage in authentic expressions that could

prompt dialogue attendees to hear and understand each other differently. As the dialogues on race

progressed, the content of the discussions among dialogue participants transitioned from the pain

of recounting heart stories hurt stories to a focus on projects that could benefit area youth.

The premise of living in a democratic society is the ability to engage in ways that allow

individuals within diverse groups to speak truth to across the political divide in a non-threatening

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