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Introduction
How to Use this Guide
The purpose of this guide is to be the conduit for the documentary series into Minnesota communities to foster dialogue on how to eliminate race, class, and place disparities.
It provides questions and activities that help to better understand these disparities and their causes, as well as to work to overcome them. This guide can be used by Human Rights Commissioners, non-profit organizations, and other individuals and agencies interested in exploring these issues in a group setting.
This guide and the documentaries can be used in the variety of ways. One way to use them is to organize Community Film Series, a series of screenings and community dialogues that would gradually take the audience through the five documentaries and, in the process, engage them in learning about the disparities and motivate them to take action. Each of the five documentaries can also be used separately to match the needs of your particular community or organization.
If you are interested in working with youth or assisting Minnesota teachers in bringing these documentaries into Minnesota classrooms, you can also use the Educator Guide on Race, Class, and Place Disparities in the Twin Cities. That guide contains interactive classroom exercises and action ideas for each story.
This Community Guide follows the structure of the series and provides discussion questions, activities, resources, tips for facilitators, and ideas for action.
Part I, Making the Case, provides background information about the Itasca project and the Brookings Institution's research. It engages participants in learning about race, class, and place disparities by discussing and comparing these disparities.
Parts II, III, and IV - Race, Class, and Place Disparities respectively are a collection of questions and activities. They each include the following headings to help plan a meaningful discussion:
- Overview of the Part (Race, Class, and Place) summarizes major points about this section and provides a brief overview of stories covered in this part.
- Story describes an episode in the documentary to help the facilitator decide on which story to choose.
- Key Terms define vocabulary that participants should learn to better understand the film. What participants already know will vary from audience to audience, and among individuals. It is important to define and discuss these terms, so that all participants can contribute to and benefit from the discussion. Do not limit key terms to provided definitions. You should substitute or add others based on your participants' needs. You may refer to the Glossary provided with this guide or use additional sources.
- True or False & Agree or Disagree Surveys are both designed as attention getters. They will allow the facilitator to access participants' knowledge and perceptions about a particular issue to identify the direction of discussion after viewing.
The True and False Surveys provide 5-10 questions related to data on disparities in the Twin Cities. They are designed to find out what the participants already know or what their perceptions are about disparities. The questions are often based on the Brookings Institution' Mind the Gap research released in 2005.
Twin Cities Compass (www.tccompass.org) is an all-new site full of information and resources to help businesses, government, nonprofit or educational organizations, and individuals interested to learn about how the region is doing and how to get involved in making it better. The site is a source for the most current data and statistics in many of the areas discussed in this curriculum.
It is important for the facilitator to discuss how statistics work and in which ways they translate into real life applications. Statistics and data change frequently, thus it is also important to engage participants in looking for the most up-to-date information.
You can have the participants take the surveys individually, and then display the answers on the screen or a flipchart sheet, and discuss them as a group. Alternatively, you can collect and tally participants' responses to share the results with the group after the screening.
The Agree or Disagree Surveys are designed to gain insight into participants' perceptions and experiences. Unlike, the True or False Surveys, these surveys do not have right or wrong answers. They are a barometer of the group's attitudes and feelings about important societal issues.
You can have the participants fill out these surveys anonymously as they come in, tally the responses during the screening, and bring the collective results back to the group for the post-viewing discussion.
- Before Viewing section contains discussion questions which, along with the key terms, are designed to prepare the audience for viewing, as well as assist the facilitators in assessing what the participants already know and in planning the post-viewing activities.
- After Viewing section contains questions for discussion after seeing the documentary. These are based on the story and elaborate on the concepts and ideas discussed in the documentary. You can use these questions or create your own based on your groups' needs. Please note that the last two questions are almost always: What can you do? and Who should be involved? It is important to engage participants in thinking about what they, individually and in their communities and organizations, can do to help resolve these issues.
- Suggested Activities and Resources section contains information on post-viewing activities and resources that the facilitator can use or recommend to his or her audiences.
Part V, Making Change, provides a short description of stories, discussion questions and activities, and ideas for action. The goal of this section is to get participants inspired by local successful stories, and think about ways they can contribute to positive change in their communities.
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