Facilitated Contact: Building the Container for Interracial Conversations about Race

Abstract

The contact hypothesis purports that intergroup interactions under particular conversational conditions are more likely to lead to positive outcomes, including a decrease in prejudice. Extending the contact hypothesis by conceptualizing conditions as unfolding communicative processes, we held focus group/interviews with 35 facilitators from 14 community organizations that conduct interracial conversations about race. We used thematic analysis to discern the conditions and their enactment (i.e., dynamics) and employed grounded theory to assess any relationships across these conditions and their dynamics. We found six conversational conditions (interracial co-facilitation, using community agreements, adapting to participants’ readiness, equalizing communication, creating welcoming spaces, and promoting critical consciousness), each of which involved particular conversational dynamics that elaborated on what occurs when the conditions are implemented. Our overarching analysis reflected that the facilitators were involved in building a container for dialogue that has the potential to be transformative within the communities they facilitated and beyond.