We (All) Need to Talk About Race: Building Extension's Capacity for Dialogue and Action

October 22, 2020 - Eric Walcott, Brian Raison, Rachel Welborn, Rich Pirog<$authorEmail>, Mary Emery, Mike Stout, Laura Hendrix, Marcia Ostrom

This commentary can be accessed at: https://joe.org/joe/2020october/comm1.php

Abstract

For Extension to remain relevant to the mission of meeting the most critical community needs, we must examine the racial inequities that hold us back as institutions and lead efforts to engage diverse communities in learning about race through dialogue. Responses from participants in 26 states who joined a train-the-trainer initiative suggested that despite previous efforts, there is great need for increased education and capacity building to address racism and prioritize racial equity both within our institutions and in the communities we serve. For Extension professionals to effectively engage in this work, it is critical for administrators to show visible support.

Citation

Walcott, E., Raison, B., Welborn, R., Pirog, R., Emery, M., Stout, M., Hendrix, L., & Ostrom, M. (2020). We (all) need to talk about race: Building extension's capacity for dialogue and action. Journal of Extension, 58(5). https://joe.org/joe/2020october/comm1.php

Corresponding Author

Eric Walcott, walcott3@msu.edu

Keywords

dialogue; diversity; equity; inclusion; racial understanding

Authors

Rich Pirog

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