This document summarizes John Powell's keynote presentation on effectively talking about race at the YWCA Leadership Forum on Equity and Inclusion in Cleveland, Ohio. Powell discussed three main areas for transformative change in the racial paradigm: how we talk about race through language and messaging; how framing and implicit biases impact thinking; and linking understandings of race to institutional arrangements and policies. He emphasized that the question is not whether we should talk about race, but how to do so constructively by considering effective messaging strategies and moving beyond false dichotomies.

1. john a. powell
Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity
Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law
YWCA Leadership Forum on Equity & Inclusion
September 21, 2009
Cleveland, OH

2.  Thinking, Talking, and Acting on Race Transformatively
 Framing
 Implicit bias
 Colorblindness / Color-Consciousness
 Effective messaging
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3.  The question is not should we talk about race; the question is how
to talk about race constructively.
 Conversations about race and diversity must be honed to insure
that messages are effective.
 Themes such as linked fate can help people understand that
institutional arrangements affect all people.
 Our values and structures impact each other. It’s not enough to
have the right values. We need the right structures.
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4. Carter’s
Racism
Charge
Sparks
War of
Words
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5. Racial attitudes in the U.S. have improved significantly over time.
We have moved from segregation into a period of racial egalitarianism.
Interracial relationships are becoming more accepted.
We elected a biracial President.
The United States continues to be strongly divided by race.
Nationally, the black unemployment rate tends to be about twice as
high as the white rate.
A black male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of spending time in prison
at some point in his life, a Hispanic male has a 17% chance, and a white
male has a 6% chance.
http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_reducingracialdisparity.pdf 5

6.  Both these perspectives are true – how we frame issues of race
matters.
 Consider the false dichotomies we often use when we think and talk
about race. These binaries are actually frames.
▪ Black / White
▪ Post-racialism / Civil Rights
▪ Race is not important / Race matters
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7. How
messages are
framed
affects how
they are
perceived.
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8. From which top hat will the magician pull a bunny?
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9. Neither one. When a question is framed as a dichotomy, it is difficult
to think outside of the “either – or” mindset.
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10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ZL3O2NNus
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11. 
http://www.publicagenda.org/red-flags/affirmative-action-preferences-special-efforts 11

12. http://www.publicagenda.org/red-flags/affirmative-action-preferences-special-efforts 12

13.  People have multiple networks that may be activated without
our awareness.
 Depending on the situation, one network becomes dominant
over the others
 Even though we may fight them, implicit biases reside within
us…
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14.  What colors are the following lines of text?
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15.  What colors are the following lines of text?
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16.  What colors are the following lines of text?
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17.  What colors are the following lines of text?
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18. 18

19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrqrkihlw-s
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20.  Repeatedly exposing people to admired African Americans can
may help counteract pro-white / anti-black IAT results…
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21.  BUT, a more productive strategy is to show both admired African
Americans and infamous whites.
Joy-Gaba, J . A., & Nosek, B. A. (in press). The Surprisingly Limited Malleability of Implicit Racial Evaluations. Social Psychology. 21

22. http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=cH1S9DgLXQU&feature=cha
nnel_page
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23. Effective Messaging
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24.  The question is not if we should talk about race, but how we
should talk about race.
 Race-neutral tactics may appear to have appeal, but in reality,
we’re not seeking race-neutrality – we’re seeking racial fairness.
Are we colorblind or color-conscious?
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25.  Colorblindness
 The logic: Since we know race is socially constructed, we should
eliminate racial categories
 This perspective assumes “that the major race problem in our
society is race itself, rather than racism.”
 Attempting to ignore race is not the same as creating equality
Is colorblindness an appropriate shift in how we perceive race?
NO. Colorblindness will not end racism.
john a. powell. “The Colorblind Multiracial Dilemma: Racial Categories Reconsidered.” (1997) 25

26. Click here to connect to
video on colorblindness
from RaceWire / ARC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Fo9Cl4vX0 26

27.  Color-Consciousness
 Policies and interventions need to address race; otherwise they will
only provide partial solutions to problems that are grounded in race
 Acknowledging race through a multicultural frame can reduce
prejudice
 Color-consciousness fosters an appreciation of each group’s
contributions to society
Philip Mazzocco. “The Dangers of Not Speaking About Race.” 2006 27

28. Understand the structure of the story
Who’s the hero? Who’s the goat?

28

29. Senator Barack
Obama’s speech
on race in
Philadelphia on
March 18, 2008
‘My Brother’s
Keeper’
Click on maroon square to play the video clip.
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30.  Unity: Focus on terms that bring people together rather than those
that are divisive
 “Us/them” mindset  a “we” perspective
 “We, the people…” recognizes “All the people”
 Linked fate: The fates of all people are linked
 We need to understand the effect that institutional arrangements
have on all individuals.
Annie E. Casey “Race Matters” Toolkit – How to Talk About Race. http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/howtotalkaboutrace.pdf 30

31.  Build connections through personal narratives
“I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from
Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived
a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white
grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort
Leavenworth while he was overseas… I am married to a black American
who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an
inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers,
sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every
hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will
never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even
possible.”
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32. Unity Security Opportunity
Community Mobility Redemption
Fairness Liberty
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33. Framing Our
Values
Our values and
structures
impact each
other.
Values Structures
It’s not enough
to have the
right values. We
need the right
structures.
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34.  Cleveland has moved from being highly fragmented to adopting a
more regional approach.
 Formed the Cuyahoga County nonprofit land bank
 Opened a regional public STEM high school - “MC2 STEM”
 Created a position of Chief of Regional Development for the
City of Cleveland
 Resource sharing, such as police
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35.  Transformative change in the racial paradigm in the U.S. requires
substantive efforts in three areas:
 Talking: Understanding how language and messages shape
reality and the perception of reality.
 Thinking: Understanding how framing and priming impact
information processing in both the explicit and the implicit
mind.
 Acting: Linking these understandings to the way that we act on
race and how we arrange our institutions and policies.
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36. 36

37. More on Talking About Race
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38.  Present disparities only
 Frame action as ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’
 Separate out people in need from “everybody else”
 Glide over real fears, shared suffering, or the fact that people are
often internally divided
 Dismiss the importance of individual efforts
Photo source: Lester, Julius. Let’s Talk About Race 38

39.  Anchor the discussion to narratives that resonate with your audience
 Make sure everyone can see themselves in the story
 It’s about “us,” not just “those people”
 Acknowledge that individualism is important – but
that the healthiest individual is nurtured by a
community invested in everyone’s success
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40.  Everyone needs help now and then; we all want to do better
 We share deep values, concerns, and hopes
 Addressing the problems that have a racial footprint has implications
and benefits for all members of society, not just marginalized groups
 Linked fate – everyone benefits
http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/2008/12/talking-about-race-in-the-obama-era/ 40

41.  Provide potential solutions: articulate what we support - not just
what we oppose.
▪ Martin Luther King, Jr. did not give a speech about “I have a
complaint…”
 Acknowledge racial progress
 Recognize our racial history and connect it to our future
 Explain how past injustices still matter today
http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/2008/12/talking-about-race-in-the-obama-era/ 41

42. 1) Minimize the existence of disparities
 “The racial ‘playing field’ is level.”
*************
2) Blame culture for racial inequality rather than societal structures or
white privilege
 “They are lazy and lack motivation. They just need to work
harder.”
Source: Bonilla-Silva (2003) Racism Without Racists & Mazzocco (May 2006) “The Dangers of Not Talking About Race.” 42

43. 3) Racial phenomena is “natural”
 “They’d rather be with their ‘own kind’ anyway.”
*************
4) Focusing on individuals and their traits, assuming that we all start
from the same “position” in society
 “We should all be judged as individuals based on our personal
merits. No one should receive special privileges. It’s not fair.”
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44. Not constructive Constructive
Don’t frame issues around “what’s Reinforce the belief of opportunity
fair” for all
Assert that system flaws hurt
everyone
Don’t focus on who or what is Steer the conversation toward the
responsible for present inequities results being sought (i.e., a quality
education for everyone)
Don’t focus on exceptional Talk about where systems we all rely
individuals upon break down and how we can fix
those systems
Frameworks Institute Message Brief: Framing Race 44