Page 79 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

All individuals participating in public engagement and dialogue contribute to the tapestry of public

conversation made-up of people coming from various positions and perspectives in a local society.

When structural impediments preclude or disadvantage some member’s full participation, the

resulting tension and disagreement may contribute to the topic or the valuing of a “narrow

deliberative style that ignores the important role other forms of communication play in furthering

inclusive democratic outcomes” (Young, 2002, p. 7).

Dialogues on Implicit Bias

The following section provides background information about 4 community-based

dialogues on implicit bias, race and policing that I attended in Albany, New York and incorporated

into my written notes while participating in 2016 and has been compiled as my main case-study

and constitutes much the data work for the dissertation research I will be presenting.

The topic of policing, implicit bias, current news stories affecting communities and race

relations continues to be a difficult topic of discussion for African Americans and Whites. The

pain evoked by the recounting personal stories about racism and events sparked by race involves

a multitude of strong emotions and feelings. Such feelings were experienced by participants who

gathered to explore together during each of the Albany Community Conversations. While the need

for Community Conversation focusing on the topic of race is appreciated, it is admittedly a difficult

dialogue to have within and across racial lines particularly after a bad police encounter or incident.

There is a strange ambivalence that prompts discomfort for the activity, yet some seize the

opportunity (Walsh, 2007). Civic engagement and public forums allow stories from eras past

between multi-generational groups of people. Those groups might include persons who lived

during that time in history, people like me who were small children during the early 1960s, and

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