Indiana University (IU) Northwest’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs has strived to make the community a more inclusive place. On Wednesday, March 22, IU Northwest continued this work in a big way by inviting Debby Irving, author of “Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race,” to campus to hold a Transformational Conversations workshop. Community members, faculty, and students of all backgrounds gathered to learn more about effective communication and connection.
The world has changed a lot over the past few years, and many people have found themselves struggling to connect with others. IU Northwest wants to ensure its community members have the right tools to communicate with a variety of people so they can resolve their differences and find common ground.
“Over the last couple of years, people haven’t been engaging and using skills to effectively interact with people who are different from them. We really wanted to provide an opportunity for the community to come to learn some new skills and refresh their existing skills to help them communicate more effectively,” said James Wallace Jr., director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs.
When Wallace met Irving at a conference, he knew her book would be a wonderful selection for IU Northwest’s One Book, One Campus, One Community reading program, an initiative implemented across campus to help facilitate dialogue about diversity issues.
Throughout the current academic year, many faculty members have integrated “Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race” into their curriculum. Inviting Irving to campus to hold a workshop was a great way to dive even deeper into one of the book’s main themes: why white people struggle to talk about racism.
Throughout the workshop, Irving encouraged audience members to think deeply about the ways they react during difficult conversations and invited them to pinpoint where these reactions may come from. She then asked everyone to break into groups to practice using transformational communication skills.
Walking around the room, there were all kinds of meaningful conversations being held. There was nothing more meaningful, though, than the students’ passionate involvement. Students from Whiting High School, Merrillville High School, and Bishop Noll Institute all came to take part in the workshop. No one was more invested – a few students even took to the stage to act out a challenging conversation for everyone.
“The students absolutely made this event. They brought so much energy, so much knowledge, and so many good questions,” said Irving.
Irving hopes that the workshop helped the students not only see how important meaningful conversation is but how thrilling it can be to make a difference in their communities.
“I always hope that I help people get a taste of how exciting it is to make our communities more inclusive and humane for everybody. I hope they all left feeling excited about this work,” said Irving.
The event was ultimately a great way to unite the community. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the meaningful discussions started during the workshop will lead to even more productive, inclusive conversations in the future. IU Northwest is already looking for new ways to facilitate even more dialogue in the coming academic years.
“This is what the Office of Diversity is all about. We want to initiate more conversations. We want to provide spaces for the community to have these discussions in a way that’s productive. We already have a great book selected for the next academic year—we’re going to be discussing Luis Alberto Urrea’s nonfiction book ‘The Devil’s Highway.’ We’re just really excited,” said Wallace.
IU Northwest is grateful to everyone who took part in the workshop and to everyone who made it possible. Making the world a better place is a team effort, and IU Northwest and its supportive community are on the right track.
“I want to thank the One Book Committee and the Interfaith Action Network for holding book clubs throughout this academic year to discuss this book. I want to thank the Lake County Public Library for partnering with us on this initiative. I also certainly want to thank Indiana Humanities who provided us with the grant to make all this possible,” said Wallace.
To learn more about Indiana University Northwest and its mission to advance diversity and inclusion, visit iun.edu.
