We Really Need to Talk – Encouraging and Empowering Interracial Dialogue

Events over the past several years have revived public debate surrounding the continuing problem of racial bias in the United States.  However, with a particular focus on Black and White Americans, growing awareness is accompanied by a growing divide between Black and Whites concerning the nature of the problem and potential solutions.   Interracial contact and dialogue is generally accepted as a necessary method to combat racial bias, in part through the exchange of ideas and perspectives that lead to productive solutions.  However, these opportunities are often avoided because people anticipate negative affective and interpersonal consequences.  In this talk I discuss three experiments across two programs of research exploring these challenges and describe empirically-based strategies to encourage and empower interracial contact and dialogue to combat the expression of racial bias and its negative impact.