This Thursday the Citizen Lawyer Program will be featuring a special workshop Lawyers and Leaders. “Fierce Conversations” intends to work with students on constructive ways to talk about sensitive issues such as race and ethnicity. These are skills at which all lawyers should demonstrate competencies.
Law students and lawyers are often skilled debaters. Yet as we continue to study and practice, engaging in a true dialogue, especially about charged issues, may become more and more difficult. This workshop offers an opportunity to engage in a dialogue about awareness of racial and ethnic diversity, with a goal of seeking mutual understanding, rather than trying to convince one another, come to agreement, or reach a solution. There are few spaces in contemporary U.S. culture to dialogue about controversial issues in this manner, yet it is a critical skill for law practice and for building community in an increasingly multi-cultural and diverse society. The workshop is a component of the Diversity Dialogue Services program of the Women’s Resource & Action Center (WRAC) at The University of Iowa. This program will be co-sponsored by: MELSA, AALSA, LLASA, BALSA, NALSA, ISBA, and the Diversity Committee.
