Beverly Jones Williams
Director of Outreach & Education

Location & Hours
1 Holladay Hall
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Monday - Friday

Mailing Address
Campus Box 7530
Raleigh, NC
27695-7530

Phone Numbers
919-513-3836
Fax: 919-513-1428
TTY: 919-515-9617

Email
beverly_williams@
ncsu.edu

BASIC Race Awareness Seminar

Designed by Civil Rights Activist C.T. Vivian

Introduction

The BASIC (Black Action Strategies & Information Center) Race Awareness Seminar has a long history at NC State. Our university first sponsored this two-day seminar in 1975 and has since graduated over 1,000 participants. Designed and often facilitated by renowned civil rights activist C. T. Vivian, this seminar requires participants to engage in an intense, honest appraisal of their individual and collective racial attitudes.

This seminar provides NC State community members with a rare opportunity to openly explore their feelings and beliefs about the "black-white" issue and come to a better understanding of a complex issue through honest communication. The success of this program is measured, on one level, by how much change is affected in areas of the NC State community as a whole, and on another level by how much interpersonal change is affected by this intense interaction.

The BASIC Race Awareness Seminar is just one of many efforts on campus to educate students and employees about issues of discrimination, harassment, prejudice, and diversity. Other programs include NCBI, Study Circles, and the Equal Opportunity Institute, as well as programs offered by the Office of Diversity and African American Affairs. 

Format

In the 2-day seminar, participants are confronted individually and collectively on their stereotypes and beliefs based on race. Because of the sensitive topic, participants are given some basic rules. Rule one is to keep the focus on "black-white," with acknowledgment that there are also other issues of diversity in the world that need addressing, but the focus of the seminar is solely "black-white." A second rule is to "be honest, be honest, to simply be honest." This challenges participants to suspend the barriers that usually keep people from engaging in such conversations in a truthful manner.

Through a series of confrontations on the first day, the facilitator breaks down the components of each person's stereotypes and prejudices. In subsequent parts of the seminar, participants are educated through sharing ideas and facts that show the fallacies in such stereotypes, helping everyone to walk away more informed and enlightened on many issues. Participants also return to their work and personal environments with an action plan of what they will do and how they will act in their everyday contexts, now that they have stretched their minds to new dimensions of interracial understanding.

Dates

The next Seminar will be held on May 22-23, 2006. If you are interested in attending, please ask your college or division to submit your name for consideration.

How to Participate

A list of suggested participants is forwarded to the Office for Equal Opportunity each year by Deans and Vice Chancellors. The final participant group is selected to ensure that there is a representative group of faculty, staff and administrators, and also to ensure a racial mix that will forward the program's intent of discussing racial issues.

Cost

The cost for the BASIC Race Awareness Seminar is $450 per participant, to be paid by the participant's college or division through Interdepartmental Transfer (IDT). This fee includes meals and accommodations.

Location

The location for the BASIC Race Awareness Seminar is the Aqueduct Conference Center, just south of Chapel Hill. Directions and other logistical information will be forwarded to those selected to participate.