Those of us lucky enough to attend the Beyond The Racial Stalemate session literally came from across the globe. Some, whose families were refugees from their native land, bore testimony to the value new citizens bring to our country, and our libraries. For ninety minutes, we learned the difference between hearing and listening. As difficult as it was to be the talker in some exercises, being a sensitive, active listener was much harder. One thing that resonated with me was a declaration about ‘Listening Deeply’.

Listen to what is said, and to the feelings beneath the words. Listen to yourself, also. Sometimes in this age of social media, we forget those ideas, especially about listening to the feelings beneath the words. Hearing is something our ears do automatically, listening requires intent. Participants performed exercises talking about things that made us laugh, recalling people who made us who we are today, and when/how we first realized our color, ethnicity or gender put us outside the mainstream. For many of us, the last exercise was the most compelling, spending five minutes talking about a time when we felt seen, heard and understood just as we were. That exercise truly helped us feel bound together.

We learned that part of breaking the racial stalemate was listening with the purpose of feeling empathy for the speaker. That sharing was beautiful, and just listening to connect was awesome. We learned the need to pay attention in order to find empathy. And that is a step in healing our racial divide.

Barbara Binns
Children’s author & library volunteer
http://www.babinns.com/