VITAL S N O I T A S R CONVE Dialogue Days Foster Growth and Change
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years ago, the police-involved deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in New York City put issues of anti-Black racism and state-sanctioned violence in the national spotlight. Looking to process their outrage and grief, a group of St. John’s Law students approached Dean Michael A. Simons and Professors Elaine M. Chiu and Rosa Castello ‘06 with an idea. “They wanted to talk about it, and they wanted the Law School to talk about it,” says Professor Castello, who directs the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights with Professor Chiu. “We got involved because of our roles with the Ron Brown Center, but it was more than just that. We wanted to help the students make this happen, to give them a space to talk and think about change. I wanted to talk, too, but I also wanted to listen to what the students had to say, to hear how they were hurting, and to understand their concerns.” With this support, the first Dialogue Day was held at St. John’s Law in January 2015. After gathering in the Belson Moot Court Room for introductory remarks—which included the recitation of ground rules designed to create a safe space and judgment-free zone—students, faculty, and staff broke into small groups for facilitated conversations. After the breakout sessions, everyone returned to the Mattone Family Atrium for fellowship and refreshments. “It’s hard to talk about something you find uncomfortable, or that makes you feel attacked because you identify with a certain group,” says Leah Winfield ’17, who helped to organize that first Dialogue Day. “We wanted this community-wide conversation to be about perspective shifting. But it’s not just about holding others accountable. It’s also about looking inwards and examining ourselves. Honest self-
assessment is crucial because today’s St. John’s Law students will be the leaders of reform tomorrow.”
relationships between community members become deeper the more time they spend engaging in that way.”
Dialogue Day’s successful launch inspired Winfield and other students to start the Coalition for Social Justice which, together with the Ron Brown Center, has taken the lead in producing Dialogue Days annually across a range of timely topics, including:
Ashlyn Stone ’23 experienced that deep community connection as a 1L participating in her first Dialogue Day in the fall, when the Law School community gathered online to talk about election law and voter suppression. The topic, she says, had personal resonance. “I grew up in the South and always felt like my political beliefs were well within the minority. I had heard about voter suppression, but Dialogue Day opened my eyes to its full scope and impact.”
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Immigration policy and reform Gender in America Free speech and its boundaries #MeToo Movement Climate change Inclusivity and diversity Sex trafficking and sex work
This past June, in the wake of the senseless killing of George Floyd, St. John’s Law students, faculty, and staff came together again, this time for a virtual Dialogue Day program about law, justice, and racism. Pharoah SuttonJackson ’21 was one of the lead facilitators of the event, which called participants to action with the prompt: No More Talking, What Are We Going to Do? That action included commitments from the Law School and many of its student groups to becoming actively and ardently antiracist in form and function. Considering his own Dialogue Day experiences through the years, Sutton-Jackson sees how its unique format sets the event apart. “Dialogue Days aren’t like classrooms or offices, where certain power dynamics control the interaction,” he notes. “Ideally, professors don’t feel the need to teach and can allow themselves to learn. Ideally, administrators can participate and not feel the need to orchestrate. Ideally, students can express themselves without feeling the need to perform or impress. The
It didn’t take Stone long to act on that new awareness. “A friend called me on Election Day when she was denied a provisional ballot in North Carolina, where she attends college,” she explains. “They asked her for documents that no one is required to provide in order to vote. I knew from attending Dialogue Day that the only recourse was to report the issue to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. So, I did. I was happy to play a small role in combating voter suppression and overjoyed that St. John’s gave me such practical experience to lean into.” Reflecting on past Dialogue Days and looking forward to future ones, Professor Chiu says: “The greatest reward for me has been to witness the strength and the values of our students, to learn from their experiences and their voices, and to build a bond of respect and trust with them and among them. And I think the greatest reward for St. John’s Law has been its strong commitment to honest, genuine, inclusive, and respectful dialogue, and to that dialogue’s power to transform, to inspire, to teach, and to bring about positive change. While Dialogue Days don’t lead to instant solutions, participants learn to listen genuinely and to consider seriously other points of view. Many come away with new thoughts and broadened mindsets, and that’s our goal here.” SPRING 2021 l 13
