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Changing the World: One Dinner at a Time - March 19, 2008
On March 18, 2008, Illinois senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama made what will likely be a well-remembered speech in Philadelphia, “A More Perfect Union.” In that speech, Sen. Obama addressed the concerns others have had about his relationship with his controversial pastor. But that was only a part of the speech. The rest was an exhortation:
“[R]ace is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now . . . .if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care or education or the need to find good jobs for every American.”
In his speech, Sen. Obama called for dialogue, for talking, listening, and understanding. How fitting was it, then, that during the next evening, March 19, extraordinary events occurred all over the Dallas area. At tables at universities, community centers, homes and churches, people from different races, generations and cultural backgrounds met to share dinner and open, respectful conversation about race and the community. If the world was not changed over the course of the three-hour dinners, lives and attitudes undoubtedly were. Goals were set, and small steps toward change were planned. In other words, something real happened.
The Dallas Dinner Table (DTT) is an annual event that just finished its ninth year. It began in 1999 through the efforts of the Leadership Dallas Alumni Association (LDAA) (leadershipdallas.com). At that time, LDAA was focused on racial communication due to the unrest within the Dallas school board and the hate-murder of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas, the year before. Dialogue between races about race was essential, and the idea of having such dialogue over the dinner table, breaking bread as friends, was agreed upon.
As an outreach to the community, the Church & Society committee, as in years past, were hosts for this year's dinner, which took place on Wednesday, March 19. While the diversity of age, race, and culture was a wonderful sight to see in the Fireplace Room, the real mark that something special was happening was the noise. From 6 p.m. until after 9 p.m., the room buzzed and laughed and cried with conversation. Dinner guests began the evening with an ice-breaker activity that set the tone for the night. Each of us had the stem of a sentence about race that we were to ask others to complete. These sentences later formed the basis for our initial table discussions. They also were the first object lesson on how people of different races, generation, and background can be so variously affected.
After serving ourselves of the delicious stew and vegetables (and being served Rev. Jack’s delicious buttermilk pie), the facilitators initiated the true purpose and highlight of the evening: the dialogue on race and the community. Each table discussed such topics as the relationship between race and community government, public schools, personal perception, success, economy, and so on. At my table, we were fortunate to have voices diverse in sex, race, profession, and generation. Some individuals were comfortable discussing issues of race, some were shy but thoughtful, and all were open to hearing different ideas and viewpoints.
While the discussion topics were given out by the facilitator, the dialogue was driven by the participants. And while people often began quietly, with the desire not to offend anyone close at hand, as our stomachs were filled, our minds and voices opened out. Trepidation was replaced with passion; temerity was replaced with courage.
The evening closed with hope and optimism and plans for the little steps each of us could take toward achieving a racially harmonious community.  Perhaps we cannot immediately repair the educational inequalities that exist between North Dallas and South Dallas schools, but we can mentor a student, giving him or her a better chance to succeed. Though we cannot change every parent’s mind about his or her child’s future, we can read to children at community centers. We might not be able to end racial profiling by store clerks, but we can treat each person we encounter with love. Above all, we can listen and try to understand the angers, fears, and needs of all the races in our community.
And as we left that extraordinary experience, we could hear the echo of Sen. Obama’s words: “[Y]our dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams . . . investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.”
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