ABOUT DECATUR DINNERS
On Sunday, August 25th, 2019, the city of Decatur, a suburb of 25,000+ in metro Atlanta, held the nation’s first multiple location, equity-focused community dinner event: “Decatur Dinners”—100 dinners on one night to talk about race and equity.
1200 people wound up sharing a meal and dialogue in one epic evening at 120 different venues! These courageous conversations took place in homes, community centers, restaurants and places of worship across the city. Anyone who “lives, works, plays or worships” in Decatur was invited to sign up as a guest, host, facilitator, or actor. Parents, kids (middle school-aged and older), community members, and leaders were invited to share a meal and talk with neighbors about what divides us and what brings us together.
“A dinner party provides a unique opportunity for people to share their personal stories over a meal … a place where guests aren’t being talked at, but actually talk with each other about race and equity,” said Dr. Dietra Hawkins of One Small Change, one of the organizers of the dinner project.
Each dinner opened with an original live performance piece created by Minka Wiltz of Out of Hand Theater especially for the Decatur Dinners. The one person play performed by an African American actor was designed to spark discussion and give a starting point for the conversation.
Every dinner had a host, an actor, and a designated facilitator to help create a safe space to be brave. Hosts were asked to open their home for a potluck dinner with 8-12 people. Hosts could invite guests, but were requested to leave room for others from the city who were placed at their table by the organizers. The “Decatur Dinner Design Team,” a group consisting of partners from the city, school system, housing authority, and community, distributed people to assure diverse perspectives were present at each dinner.
Racial inequity in the City Schools of Decatur was the issue that moved community members to come up with the Decatur Dinners idea. The school system had acknowledged racial disparities related to academic achievement and disciplinary outcomes. To work to resolve those issues, the city schools hired an equity director and coordinator, came up with an equity plan, and provided in-depth diversity trainings for faculty and staff. “The dinners are a way to bring the city community into the discussion on the problems we face, and we hope they can be just the first step in finding ideas to create change,” said Hawkins.
The dinners were an amazing success and had a deep impact on the participants:
"My Decatur Dinners experience was humbling and encouraging and spirit-rattling … I believe we are a city that is willing to listen while also accepting we have a ways to go before we understand each other," said Syreeta Campbell, a Decatur parent.
The Decatur Dinner's vision for building community was developed over 8 months by a group of community stakeholders who dubbed themselves the “Decatur Dinners Design Team.” This group was committed to bringing the important conversation on race and equity to the forefront in a unique way. Design Team partners included representatives from every part of the city: City Schools of Decatur, Decatur Housing Authority, the Better Together Advisory Board, Decatur Education Foundation, Out of Hand Theater, Both And Partners, and One Small Change Inc.
Like the rest of the nation, the City of Decatur struggles with issues of race and equity, discrimination, gentrification, poverty and political division. The Design Team believed Decatur could lead the country in finding a way to truly talk to each other and bridge our divides. The Decatur Dinners proved to be a big first step in training the entire community on how to see things from a different perspective and how to better support each other.
“We recognize that we’re seeing racial disparities in our school systems when it comes to discipline and achievement. These issues reach beyond the school district into our city and community,” said Clare Schexnyder, a Decatur resident and Design team member. “We felt a series of dinners and courageous conversations -- focused on our town and race and equity -- would help to get everyone on the same page to work on ideas for change in our community.”
“The Decatur Dinners were thought provoking and provided a great opportunity to hear perspectives from people who were different from me.”
Decatur High School Students had their own dinner on April 28th
Decatur Dinners are modeled after the highly successful Chicago Dinners™ Dialogue Project which brings diverse groups of people together to foster community discussions about critical social issues. We’ve added something to the Chicago model – a one-person short play.
WHY WE USE THE “CHICAGO DINNER™” MODEL
Dr. Dietra Hawkins shares the history of the Chicago Dinners and why we use this model to create a safe space for people to have difficult conversations.
Our dinners will focus on race and equity – topics which are timely and important for our schools and our community at large. Together we’ll create stronger community by getting to know one another over a meal and facilitated discussion.