Youth Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity

Background

In the nation's most segregated metropolitan area, young people are open to discussion of race and ethnicity, but have few opportunities to communicate with people who are different from themselves. Youth Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity in Metropolitan Detroit brings together high school age youth from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and from different neighborhoods and suburbs for intergroup dialogues during the summer.

This program is made possible by collaboration between the Skillman Foundation and the University of Michigan.

Program Goals

Increase youth dialogues on race and ethnicity
Reduce racial segregation and social isolation
Plan action projects that challenge discrimination, build relationships, and create change
Build organizational and community capacity
Prepare young people for new roles as group facilitators and change agents
Promote youth participation in public policy
Involve supportive adults in working with young people

Program Components

Summer Intergroup Dialogues
Community Action Projects
Retreat at the University of Michigan
Metropolitan Summit
Youth Public Policy Forums

Who Is Involved

National Center for Institutional Diversity
The National Center for Institutional Diversity aims to prepare people for active engagement in a diverse society and works toward building productive inclusive communities at the University of Michigan and beyond.

Program on Intergroup Relations
The Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR) is a social justice education program on the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus. As a joint venture of the College of Literature, Science, and Arts and the Division of Student Affairs, IGR works proactively to promote understanding of intergroup relations inside and outside of the classroom.

Skillman Foundation
Created in 1960, the Skillman Foundation is a private philanthropy committed to helping children in metropolitan Detroit by improving their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

Speak for Yourself! Young Detroiters Talk About Race

We commissioned Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, one of our closest community collaborators, to write Speak For Yourself based on the stories and experiences of youth in the dialogues program.

In this new interactive performance, Mosaic Youth Theatre ensemble members depict teenagers of diverse ancestries and confront the stereotypes they face growing up in metropolitan Detroit. This charged performance offers hope that our future might be more enlightened.

For more information, please contact us!