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All of these activities led up to the Big Conversation VI on

                         Dismantling Racism and Privilege (BC-DRaP), January 2018






































                      Big Conversation VI:  “I Didn’t Know: Exploring Racism and Privilege in Southern
                      Maryland”.   The steering committee arrived at this title after the Catherine Meeks book
                                                          th
                      study and the viewing of the film “13 ”. Many of the participants voiced concern and
                      surprise that they were unaware of so many things regarding the unequal treatment of Black
                      people in America.  Many White participants had no idea of the history and the role White
                      privilege continues to play today in the U.S. They had never examined the myths,
                      misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding race.

                      Partners of BC-DRaP included Middleham/St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Calvert Library
                      Prince Frederick, NAACP of Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties, Concerned Black Women of
                      Calvert, Community Mediation Centers of Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties and the College
                      of Southern Maryland.

                      The Big Conversation took place in January 2018 in the Great Hall of Middleham and St.
                      Peter’s.  It was advertised as “A Communitywide Civil Conversation on Dismantling
                      Racism: “I Didn’t know…Exploring Racism and Privilege in Our Community.” Six local
                      presenters (Mike Shisler, a school principle; Dr. Carmen Phelps, the Director of the
                      Institutional Equity and Diversity Office at the College of Southern MD; Michael Kent and


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