Our group Bridges to Peace began by stating its intention to work on peace locally. We began with the obvious question of why our entire committee is

(hopefully--was) made up of only white participants.  Why is it that after so many years, we did not have black friends that visited our homes?  Why did so few of us have friends of other races, religions or ethnic groups?

We came to feel that one of the things that we could actually accomplish was to LISTEN to others who have experiences very different from our own.  We came up with a format of bringing diverse people togther for a couple hours of honest, open conversation.  Questions were put in a basket and each person was encouraged to "draw one" and give his/her thoughts; then others were asked to  share their opinions and concerns. This is not about changing anyone's mind.  It certainly is NOT about having a debate.  This is about the humanity of hearing one another and listening---deeply listening.

The first meeting was held in early February 2009 with 11 participants.  The evaluation of the evening showed that people were clamoring for more conversations like this.  Another evening was scheduled for March, and at this time the group has grown to about 20 participants.  Yes, more meetings will be scheduled.

Dianne, creator and chief promoter of this project says, "What I am learning from this:  One of the things that came out in our first dialogue was a sense of grief over the loss of caring community. This was a concern voiced by both blacks and whites.  We wondered what happened to our neighborhoods where every child on the block was known by every neighbor who lived there.  People left that meeting feeling like we were building something.  Somebody was listening and somebody made eye contact, yes.....Somebody knows MY name....and a little bit of who I am.

Do we know what will come of this?  Not really.  There could be many objectives reached through this kind of open conversation.  And perhaps it is sufficient that we simply sit down and talk to each other".

See photos and summary:

email Dianne