Sacred Conversations: This Battle Creek book group tackles race and healing through words and action

Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cities in the country. Nationally, a Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans believe “race relations between Blacks and whites to be either "very or somewhat bad." To improve race relations, the YMCA in Milwaukee created a course called, “Unlearning Racism.” Participants ranged in race, occupation, and age. The class covered topics like white privilege and how to address racism. It also required students to engage in discussions about racism.

After an incident where a Latino teen was hurled into the ground by white teenagers, and they put a noose around his neck, Tamara Parson jumped into action. She started by organizing town halls with panels made up of people of color. Then that led to the creation of the Diversity Coalition of Knox County. Later, she teamed up with her pastor and created a six week long course titled Overcoming Racism. "It got people thinking about what experience minorities had here. It brought a spotlight to a lot of the diversity that already existed in our community.”

You can’t force people to make friends across ethnic lines, but you can invite them to at least meet each other. In the split town of Rotherham, the National Citizen Service program brings together 16- and 17-year-olds, some white and some with Pakistani heritage, to meet and discuss their differences openly. Participants say it’s a powerful experience.

The city of Kungälv, Sweden, with only 20,000 residents, developed a successful initiative to prevent the spread of neo-Nazis after the murder of a fourteen year-old anti-racist activist in 1995. Armed with the theory that "hate is always local," a local teacher created the Tolerance Project, held workshops with local teenagers and took them on trips to Holocaust sites. Now the "Kungälv model" is being practiced and adapted to local contexts around Sweden.

St. Louis-based We Stories provides parents with a course curriculum and reading list for the children with the goal of sparking conversations about race, oppression, and cultural awareness. The target audience of the organization is white families, who—through neighborhood demographics or socioeconomic status—may not have to directly engage with these issues unless they choose to do so.

Historically there has been stigma and pushback to bilingual and immigrant programs, but some counties are starting to embrace diversity as key to economic development. Greater diversity spurs innovation, entrepreneurship, and population growth in rural areas, recognition of these benefits has eased the stigma and encouraged more immigrant programs.

Young individuals who have lost loved ones to violence and live in violent areas are likely to perpetuate these trends. 'Becoming a Man' and 'Working on Womanhood' are programs that involve mentorship, behavioral therapy, and other skill development in order to help teenagers find a healthier path.

After the 2016 elections, division, issues of bigotry and racism led to prejudice and resentment. Research studies at different universities around the country have shown that by opening dialogue with people across racial, gender, and class lines, tensions defuse. With conversations, people are more likely to have empathy toward people that are different from them.

There is a racial disparity in science, the black population is extremely underrepresented and due to historically terrible treatment of black individuals by science they are very reluctant to engage in research. Therefore, researchers are now starting to directly target black and other underrepresented groups to try to spur involvement.

In an attempt to bring peace to a region post-genocide, Rwanda has implemented "Reconciliation Villages" where survivors and perpetrators live side-by-side. This state-mandated reconciliation has lead to community service events that bring the two populations even closer together as they work to better the community they all live in.