04__Ready, set... race! (conference)

It's an annual event featuring lectures and workshops, and might be one of the only places where such a discussion of awful stereotypes and perceptions is confronted so openly.

So much excitement filled the air the night before the race conference. This could have been the group that was together rather than a city-wide feeling (hmm? A dozen Americorp folks who work everyday to promote equality.) For this group, it may draw comparisons to something like the Superbowl. There's the keynote speaker/QB, whose performance everyone has been awing all season. You'll find discussion panels resembling offensive lines and workshop coordinators giving halftime speeches to rally the team for the second half (in this case: the future).

The only problem in this analogy is that everyone involved is playing for the same team. That everyone who would attend the race conference already supports equality among all groups and those who would benefit from such a candid conversation about race in a PC world would never show up, unless forced to attend as part of a job training exercise - more about this later.

One of the workshops asked us to rank as a percentage "how far we've come in promoting equal rights in the US?" We listed basic rights, then the groups who could exercise those freedoms and when they were granted. Obviously the last 40 years have rapidly improved, "but are we there yet?" was the follow-up question. A diverse group in a progressive city (such as Seattle) came to a consensus that we're 20% of the way there. The rights exist, but mostly on paper rather than in practice... and the list of examples where these are still restricted is abundant.

Now shift the conference to a city deeply rooted in the South. Change the dynamic of the audience to a work training session and one without any minorities in attendance. Their answer to the same question most often is 90 to 100%. How can we confront the problem when those who practice racism most think we've solved it?

Obviously it's a tough issue to deal with, but one where awareness is the first way to help. And for those of you who couldn't care one bit about sports analogies, here's your halftime show:



This is what happens when your conference is set in the tourist mecca of the city... you can see one of the blue legs of the space needle in the background of the photo. So this guy can juggle fire - big deal - what else can he do?



He can balance a unicycle on his chin! Now, I'm impressed. Follow this up with a Disneyworld monorail experience (which I did ride part of the way home) and Seattle Center really does have it all. If it all is a trashy theme park.