Discussing Racism in Higher Education

Abstract

Students and educators alike continue to find discussing race and racism challenging. Intergroup dialogue (IGD) offers a framework for addressing this challenge, yet much of the research on IGD is done on participants rather than with participants. Utilizing a qualitative cooperative inquiry approach, this article examines outcomes of an IGD among Black and White faculty concerning Robin DiAngelo’s (2018) book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. Aligning the phases of cooperative inquiry with IGD stages, participants explore differences and commonalities, relationship building, difficulties and conflicts in the dialogue process, and steps toward action. Reflections provide insight into how IGDs on race create effective opportunities for faculty growth and for fostering anti-racist praxis.