How do we talk about race relations?

by Michael Caputo, Minnesota Public Radio

Last week, University of Minnesota Duluth students and faculty held a forum that drew hundreds of people after racial Facebook comments caused unease on campus.

At one point during the discussion the director of the university's African-American Learning Resource Center addressed the group (thanks to the UMD Statesman for the video).

"A student told me, 'There is a lot of tension, I want to break the tension,'" Director David Comer said. "No, no. I like the tension. Let's continue this tension ... because it forces people to engage in dialogue."

Minnesota Public Radio has been holding Friday Online Forums for the last few weeks on topics of diversity. We have looked at first steps in engaging immigrant communities and whether we can teach young people to appreciate different cultures.

This Friday at 11 a.m., we are going to talk about how we talk about race relations. What does it take for conversations to begin on race? How do we keep perspective as we engage in such discussions?

Your voice is invited and welcomed as we invite Mr. Comer and others to share how we in Minnesota discuss the topic of race.

We'll gather around our computer screens just before 11 a.m. this Friday and talk for about an hour using the megaphone that is the MPR website. Just come to this webpage and let us know that you are there with a note to me in the comment section. We'll make sure to bring you into the discussion.