Engaging in Authentic Conversation about Race and Racism Requires Listening Not Rebuttal

The Art of Conversation. Active/Intentional Listening. What Do You Trust, Statistics, Lived Experiences, or Both? At InflexionPoint Podcast we are dedicated to the art of listening in authentic conversation. We challenge our audience to listen actively and intentionally for the purpose of learning, understanding, and taking action. Moreover we strive towards increasing historical and racial literacy by harmonizing historical truth with lived experiences. Everything rises up out of the 4 tenets of Antiracism Activation: courage, conversation, relationship, and accountability. Join Anita, Mavis, and Gail for yet another thought-provoking episode of InflexionPoint Podcast. Why is conversation critical to building racial equity? Robert Livingston says, "Very early on in my career I thought you could change people s minds if not hearts by just providing them with accurate information. With greater wisdom that I ve garnered over the 20 years I ve been doing this work, I ve found that social relationships provide a portal for facts to be received and digested by people. And without that, people often build walls to insulate what they currently believe to be true. And I think relationships provide an opening within that wall for maybe a different perspective to enter." The Benefit of Active/Intentional ListeningJulia Korn says... "For white people in America, it is up to each of us to first listen. Then, we must seek greater knowledge about our country s deeply rooted racism. It is an undue burden on our colleagues and friends of color to teach us about racism and do the mental work for us." Why are lived experiences so relevant? Ibram X. Kendi says, Americans have long been trained to see the deficiencies of people rather than policy. It s a pretty easy mistake to make: People are in our faces. Policies are distant. We are particularly poor at seeing the policies lurking behind the struggles of people.