The Community Conversations on Race and Reconciliation will talk about equity and inclusion in area education.
The current series of the conversation is titled “Listening to Local Voices,” with Monday’s conversation titled MHK Equity and Inclusion in Education.
Manhattan Nonviolence Initiative Director Susanne Glymour says the focus on the talk will be about people’s perceptions of those two words.
Glymour says everyone in the community is somehow tied to these institutions, so this conversation is for everyone.
Manhattan MLK Memorial Committee Co-Chair Kevin Bryant says he hopes this conversation will help eliminate the national fervor and highlight what is being done locally.
This topic has also been discussed over the summer in relation to Critical Race Theory, or CRT. Glymour says the hope of this conversation is to turn away from bait about theory, and more about personal experiences.
Glymour says if the discussion focuses too much on theory, then it will be harder to hear how the people who are experiencing it are doing. Bryant says from past conversations, there are those who are still afraid to speak up.
Glymour says the feedback from previous conversations is that people are always hungry for conversations.
Glymour says this will allow them to take some to reflect and think about what is the most powerful way to move forward. One of the outcomes of these conversations is over 100 trained and skilled facilitators .
Since this and some previous conversations have been held virtually, Glymour says the attendance has still been pretty steady.
A link can be found on the Manhattan KS Conversations page here, or scan the QR Code below.