Behind the Curtain is a online resource to help give you the historic context for much of the work Dialogues on Diversity has created.  It is designed to tell the deeper story that will help you better understand the “how we got here” of the theatrical moments that are represented in much of the work we have created.

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We have broken down our performance pieces into educational monologue segments.  Additionally we have created stand along monologue segments.  The purpose of these blocks of instruction are to give you, the viewer/participant a much deeper insight into Dialogues on Diversity’s perspective on engaging diversity, social issues and social justice. 

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These three areas intersect in an incredibly unique way in our American story but are scarcely well told together. 

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WHAT WE TEND TO MISS 

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We hear about the certain struggles of our national inception or rights given or won.  These things make up many of the big bricks of our learning about who we are. What is often left out are the regular people struggles that eventually lead to big national changes.  Worse still we do not well focus on the regular people struggles that lead to the shames of a nation.  We do not well focus on the rift that exist between our best self and our real selves.

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Our national mandates and our national behavior are often defined by the great divide that exist between them.  It is usually best played out on how that divide impacts people who do not have the means to make the change that would profoundly elevate their dignity and station.

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Topics touched upon:

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• Military Service and Benefits

• Housing Access and Quality

• Educational Access and Opportunity

• Law Enforcement Practices and Policies

• Acquisition of Wealth

• Voting Restrictions

 

These are just a few of the areas that we speak to through our character monologues or plays.

These blocks of instruction are built to give participants better understand what the systemic and institutional problems looks like.  From there, we hope to help people understand that social change has always been a slow process.  The reason that we do not keep the traction that the flashpoint moments offer has to do with organization, long term planning and sacrifice.

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The character vignettes are designed to give you insight into the thoughts of regular people in remarkable moments that are not well expressed in traditional telling of history. 

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The questions and information  in the session are to help give you the insight that supports the character perspective.  We hope it will give you some personal insight as well.

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History are not just the pleasant stories of how we became or the terrible stories of what was done to us. History is a complicated mix of both that we live on both side of all the time.  The only way we grow as a people; and a country and more importantly, a humanity is honestly face how we have treated one another.  Where and how we fell short. Most of all turn dialogue into action.

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These lesson is usually best defined by power.  How much we have or do not have.

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What we believe are the most important things to think about from these vignettes are:

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        1. The way power is exercised by people and systems

        2. The way those systems play out on the one with the least power to stop them

        3. The role we all need to play in creating a more human society

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WHAT THIS WORK IS ABOUT:

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“...morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”

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-Abraham Heschel

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We do not do this work to shame or blame anyone.  That does not speak to our best self.  History does not blame people. People do.  At the same time, if we are to grow to be people worthy of history's favor, we must learn for it.  Only with honesty and humility can we accept that there are parts that we are culturally responsible for.