A brave space for honest dialogue about race and equity in our communities.
Leader
Ricardo Reinoso
Location
Virtually Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
Have you ever wanted a safe space for an honest conversation about the state of race and equity in Cleveland? The Cleveland Dinners gives you that safe space around the table, in both virtual and live settings. With our model, we aim for diverse groups of people to share a meal with facilitated dialogue on race and equity, helping bridge the gap that separates many of us.
We are working to unite Cleveland now more than ever through our virtual dinners. We are responding to the long term impacts of social isolation due to COVID-19, since neighbors are social-distancing and many are staying mostly at home.
Why: For years in Cleveland, we have confronted the issues of discrimination, poverty, gentrification, racial disparities, as well as religious and political divisions, among others. With the Cleveland Dinners, we believe that building a strong foundation for open and honest dialogue on these difficult issues starts with providing a safe space. For us, that safe space is the dinner table (virtual and live) where we break bread together. We believe by sharing a meal with people of diverse backgrounds, we open ourselves to seeing issues from vastly different angles, simultaneously feeding our human need for meaningful connection. This opens a whole new world of opportunities to bridge the divide we may have with others, at the same time helping us support one another in our neighborhoods as we powerfully and collectively tackle and resolve the shared critical issues of the day.
How:
When: To start, our virtual dinners will be every other month. Once the community support and structure are in place to handle it, our dinners will be monthly.
Where: Currently, dinners are virtual from anywhere you would like. Once it is safe again and social distancing measures are lifted, dinners will be live in homes, places of worship, and community spaces across Cleveland.
1) Send an invitation to engage to the following: all community groups, non-profits, foundations, and places of worship; all local elected officials and heads of municipal agencies (includes the Chief of Police and the Chief of Fire); the CMSD CEO and all CMSD principals; All private school principals; Presidents of all local colleges; Presidents of all local hospital systems.
2) Pay for the rights of performance for our first few monthly dinners;
3) Recruit neighborhood hosts, facilitators, and actors;
4) Recruit local theater companies to develop short plays and secure actors;
5) Pay for Video-conferencing services (e.g., Zoom).
For years in Cleveland, we have confronted the issues of discrimination, poverty, gentrification, racial disparities, as well as religious and political divisions, among others. We believe that building a strong foundation for open and honest dialogue on these difficult issues starts with providing a safe space. For us, that safe space is the dinner table (virtual and live) where we break bread together. We believe by sharing a meal with people of diverse backgrounds, we open ourselves to seeing issues from vastly different angles, simultaneously feeding our human need for meaningful connection. This opens a whole new world of opportunities to bridge the divide we may have with others, at the same time helping us support one another in our neighborhoods as we powerfully and collectively tackle and resolve the shared critical issues of the day. Ultimately, the more dialogue we have with one another, the closer and stronger Cleveland neighborhoods will be.