Creating Democratic Spaces for Addressing Racism on College Campuses: The Example of Dialogue to Change at Oklahoma State University

Abstract

Polarizing rhetoric, racist violence, and racial inequality continue to cast a dark shadow over U.S. democracy, threatening to further divide the nation’s communities. Practitioners, scholars, and everyday people alike are giving deep consideration to how the country can move forward during this time. This article describes the dialogue-to-change approach that Everyday Democracy has developed to expand opportunities for people to grapple with racism together, across racial backgrounds, and then work with each other and public officials to create positive, equitable change at the local, state, and national levels. The article examines the research and analysis of the dialogue-to change efforts supported by the Center for Public Life at Oklahoma State University, highlighting the ways they build on and advance lessons about creating and sustaining democratic discourse on racism. While campuses-as-communities are not democracies in and of themselves, they play an essential role in U.S. democracy.