HOW DO YOU DISCUSS RACE IN MIXED COMPANY
Ok, so you’ve taken a significant step in establishing a connection with another congregation that is of a predominantly different racial background than your congregation. Perhaps you’ve had a couple of joint congregational suppers, some choir and pulpit exchanges, but how do you add more depth to your relationship. You want to get beyond being polite to each other and have a deeper conversation, but how?
JESUS USE OF PARABLES
I want to call your attention to how Jesus used parables. If you want examples of artful flash fiction, review some of Jesus’ parables. Jesus’ parables were short fictional stories that built on familiar settings but often had some unique twists that caused people to stop and think about fresh perspectives. In less than 320 words (an English version), Jesus engaged his listeners in probing our response to violence, bigotry, and hypocrisy in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In approximately 200 words, Jesus probed the destructive impact of materialism in the parable of the Rich Fool. In just a little over 100 words, Jesus paints a picture of the effort God will go to in recovering those who have lost their way in this world. (Luke 12:3-7.) While we may not be as good a storyteller as Jesus, I want to propose that we follow the same practice.
People are nervous when they; talk about race, particularly in mixed company (double entendre intended.) By writing fiction, particularly under the duress of time pressures, we can safely explore subjects in fresh ways.
THE PROCESS
The process is that you will provide participants with several scenarios which involve racial challenges. You will also provide brief sketches of two characters who will engage in conversation within the context of the scene provided, with particular emphasis on the ways that racial understandings infuse the conversation. Emphasize that the characters have both positive and negative attitudes that affect their conversation.
Once the scenarios are distributed, people are to begin with the sentence provided and create a dialogue that might take place between the characters. In some cases, they may express tension of interpersonal understanding, but in other cases, they may be allying against some societal situation. They will have only twenty minutes to write and will not be able to complete their parable.
SHARED NERVOUSNESS
At the end of the writing period, people will gather in small interracial groups and share and discuss their stories. The discomfort of speaking about race may well eased by the shared discomfort of being pushed to write so quickly. The pressure to write without stopping to think can result in some new ideas surfacing. The responsibility for those thoughts belong to the characters and not the author.
BIG TENT
I will be leading a workshop on how to write parables about racism at the Big Tent in St. Louis, Mo July 6-8. I’m still working on this and would love to have both feed back now and your presence then.
