We often do this exercise at the second meeting of a class or workshop. It begins the discussion of these uncomfortable issues with sharing stories. It also begins to apply the aspect of trust which was built by the respect exercise as well as by the connections made during the ethnicity exercise.
Objectives:
(1) Help individuals explore how they first became concious of prejudice and discrimination and the feelings associated with it.
(2) Make participants aware that everyone has experienced prejudice and discrimination and that it comes in a variety of forms (not just racial).
Activity Description:
Facilitators should divide the class into small groups of no larger than ten members. Each participant then is given the opportunity to relate a story in which (s)he felt discriminated against, or in which (s)he felt (s)he had discriminated against someone else. Be sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to tell his or her story.
Facilitator Notes:
(1) It is vital to continually relate stories back to how they made the person feel. Participants will often not offer this information without being asked by the facilitator.
(2) Remind participants about confidentiality. Also, mention that it is better not to refer to people not in the class by name in their story. It is unfair to indict someone who is not there to offer their perspective.
(3) It is important to acknowledge the fact that we can't change what happened five minutes ago, let alone several years ago. The point is to figure out exactly what we are doing and then decide for ourselves if we want to continue doing the same things.
(4) Participants are often reluctant to volunteer to begin this activity. A good strategy is to, as the facilitator, tell your own story first. This will help with the trust factor as well.
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