Without using the commentary

One group member can read a vignette aloud to the rest of the group. Members are then given specific questions to guide their reflection and discussion.  If there are a number of small groups, each small group can do a report back to the large group at the end of the session.

          Using the commentary

After group members have read and discussed the vignette, they read the related commentary.  Participants may agree or disagree with the commentary.  Or perhaps reading it might set off a whole new train of thought.  A second discussion then follows based on what is sparked by the commentary.

     2. Dramatic presentations

Many of the vignettes lend themselves to being acted out in the form of skits. Group members can play the various parts.  The dramatic presentation lends itself to several possibilities:

A group discussion can follow which includes the feelings and reactions of the audience as well as those of the “actors” as they played their roles.

Another possibility is loosely based on an approach called Forum Theater from Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed.  The vignette is acted out a second time except this time participants are told, “If you think of a way the white person could more skillfully handle the situation, stand up and call ‘stop’.”

The participant who yells ‘stop’ then steps into the scene to demonstrate how she or he would do it.  Once the scene is ended, the facilitator can invite other people who have suggestions or interventions to step in and try them out. The scene can be replayed numerous times with different interventions.

At the end, the entire group examines the pros and cons of the various alternatives.  This process provides people opportunities to actually practice skillful ways of being a white ally to people of color. (You will find that some vignettes lend themselves more to this process than others.)

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