Organizers Have Teamed Up To Bring Important Discussions To The Dinner Table
Day of Dinners seeks to spark conversation, combat hate, and bring people together over a delicious meal.
The resistance against racism, xenophobia, and other forms of hate that have escalated around the globe comes in all forms. This Sunday, it could come with a home cooked meal.
Organizers behind several groups– including the Dream Defenders, the Women’s March, and Color of Change– are aligning Avengers-style to encourage community building and constructive political discussion in a unique way.
The organizers have coordinated potluck dinners that will all take place this Sunday, June 25 as a tool to discuss political issues that are often off-limits in our workspaces, where we often spend most of our time.
According to Dream Defenders co-director Umi Selah, “[t]here are so many reasons why every-day folks don’t go to protests. Some people can’t get out of work, some could get fired for being at them, some people are just scared to get out there. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t political, that they are ok with what’s going on in Washington or Tallahassee or City Hall. Day of Dinners will allow those people to get engaged and make new movement family.”
People interested in either hosting or attending a dinner can visit DayofDinners.org and sign up to be matched with other participants nearby. Upon registration, participants can message hosts, specify dietary needs, add a guest, and see who else will be joining their dinner.
While attendees probably won’t need any help thinking about subjects to discuss, given our hyperactive political climate, Day of Dinners has it covered just in case.
Hosts will be sent conversation guides that include topics they can touch on, tips on how to facilitate meaningful conversation and pointers on how to handle conflict, should the need arise.
“We’re going to have people from all over the place coming together to have real, meaningful conversations and share their cultures with new people,” said Rachel Gilmer, co-director of Dream Defenders. “We hope that this is a step forward in combating the hate we see and experience in the news and in our lives. Everyone deserves respect, dignity and a full stomach, so we’re going to give that to each other.”
So far, 10,000 people have come together to participate. Other groups joining Dream Defenders–a Florida-based youth group that organized around the killing of Trayvon Martin and originated the Day of Dinners idea- are the Movement for Black Lives, United We Dream, Planned Parenthood, I am an Immigrant, Take on Hate, Million Hoodies, The People’s Supper, Ben and Jerry’s and more.