“I sense there’s a lot of anger…despair,” Dr. William Howe said.
It was standing room only at the Carriage House Theater, where the audience at this Salons at Stowe workshop had yet to really speak or show any emotion beyond curiosity.
He was talking big picture, of course.
Howe, a multicultural educator, is also the Chair of the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission. His experience helped him to create a useful experience for those attending the workshop: “What Can You Do To Fight Intolerance?”.
Asking participants to move around the room and work with strangers, Howe mainly taught an exercise in active listening. One person spoke for a minute about her culture. The partner remained silent until that time was up. Rather than formulate responses or attempts to relate to the speaker, the listener had to be immersed in the other’s words — a challenge under any circumstance, but more so in a packed room where background noise provided easy distraction.
Howe posed scenarios, mainly dealing with race and ethnicity, and had these listening sessions continue. Are positive stereotypes harmful? Are all forms of discrimination equal? How do people feel about mandatory sensitivity trainings? Partners would share with each other, then optionally, with the larger group.
Still, the tone had not reached despair or anger. Most of the scenarios had an angle that was laughable. For instance, to get to that conversation about positive stereotypes, participants first read that the situation emerged from a man telling his coworker that she resembled his ex-girlfriend. Obviously, that individual lacks tact on a few fronts, not just that of race or ethnicity.
This semi-lighthearted tone all changed when Howe posted a slide that was simply a photo: Trayvon Martin.
Sighs. Gasps. This is what struck a nerve and why some of the workshop’s participants felt compelled to attend last Thursday.
This was no attempt to solve a problem, no gathering to rally for action. Just listening.
From there, Howe moved into a segment on cultural competency and social skills. This actually seemed substantial enough to be its own workshop.
These cultural competency and social skills, Howe said, are particularly important to teach young people, especially those not part of the current dominant culture. Skills like making small-talk and eye contact are expected and valued in the workforce, but if one’s culture emphasizes other skills, she might struggle to become part of that workforce. Howe was not suggesting that a person ditch all of her own values and practices. Shake hands in the business world, he said, but at home, keep doing what you were doing.
The next Salons at Stowe is scheduled for the end of September.