This project uses radio documentaries and audio history to prompt community and classroom discussions about the history of race relations and racial violence in the United States, as well as current issues such as race reparations and reconciliation.

Public forums and community dialogue are now widely embraced as a way to address a variety of social conflicts and as a path toward reconciliation within and between communities.  We believe that audio and video programs based on first-person accounts are particularly powerful discussion-starters.

For an example of community forums based on the Race With History material, please go to http://www.listeningbetweenthelines.org/html/forums.html.

The audio material from the Race With History^© project can help move discussion forward in the following ways:  

It can stimulate individuals to

Our latest production, Media and Myths, is a special program about the press and race throughout the entire period between the Civil War and the civil rights movement. It's especially formatted for use in Race and Reconciliation dialogues  in classroom and community settings alike.

think critically and exchange ideas about a part of our history that is often ignored or avoided. With expert facilitation, these discussions can help participants come to new understandings about how race has operated in U.S. history, and about the social construction of cultural identities. Given that race is one of the most difficult topics to discuss in the U.S., focusing on the past is often less threatening to audiences because the events are more removed from their daily lives.  This emotional and intellectual distance may serve as a bridge or safety net, to help people move more comfortably and voluntarily to discussions of contemporary issues of race.

Public discussions can help participants learn how to begin the process of racial reconciliation in their communities, and foster an understanding of the concepts of restitution and reparations. The use of a balanced range of authentic oral history enables listeners to have their own perceptions and beliefs acknowledged while experiencing contrasting views in a credible but non-threatening context. Ideally this is supported by expert facilitation and open debate.

We're Here to Help You Use These Discussion Guides Race With History: Between Civil War and Civil Rights welcomes feedback and questions related to your use of our Discussion Guide and CDs. Please contact Sharon Carson, Professor of English, Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota, if you have any comments or questions as you work with the Race With History materials: sharon.carson@und.nodak.edu or 701.777.2764.

Radio is a valuable channel for this material. Creative Change Productions is developing new ways to facilitate on-air discussion, and works with local radio stations that broadcast these and related programs in formats that stimulate community participation.  One format invites listeners to call in after broadcasts to discuss the programs with guest scholars, the program producer, and a radio station host/facilitator.  A second format includes an "in-studio" panel that listens to excerpts or "conversation-starters" and then engages in a live dialogue on related themes.  A third format utilizes the "Study Circles" approach, using audio segments from the documentaries as the basis for small-group discussions in churches and other community settings.