In the wake of the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and the social outcry that followed, the need for many to determine how to discuss and address racism in various settings was brought to light. This series allowed participants to learn the local history of race and culture, ask questions without fear of contributing to racial battle fatigue of BIPOC friends and listen to the personal experiences of BIPOC participants.

Staff involved in planning this program series brainstormed a variety of solutions to offer the community the opportunity to discuss and address racism. Library staff partnered with the San Antonio organization Developing Cultural Dialogue formed by University of Texas-San Antonio professor Dr. Miriam Sobre to develop this program series. Each session involved pre-recorded content on the session’s theme as well as interactive, engaging discussion on that topic.

As part of this program series, three sessions were hosted with roughly 15-20 people attending each session. The pre-recorded content also has been viewed a total of 200 times. Participants were engaged in the discussion on the topics of Latinx experience and whiteness, addressing racism with friends and family through social media and race in the workplace. Participants gave positive feedback about the importance of providing the opportunity to have community conversations about racism.