Morris, like many rural parts of Minnesota, is seeing growth of its still small, non-white population. In addition, the community’s attitude toward various protected demographic groups is emerging and forming as residents awaken to the cultural diversity and rights of these minority populations. The Community Dialogue Series will address these emerging community attitudes.
The goal of this outreach element is to expose the general public to issues of cultural diversity through public meetings and symposia. This will be accomplished in two ways. First, a series of symposia will be planned and hosted by the Community Dialogue Task Force. Second, the task force will prepare and carry out ‘diversity moments’ at every committee, commission and/or community meeting planned during the Adapting to Change The MCAC anticipates this will provide dozens of opportunities where an already-gathered audience can engage in dialogue about the various aspects of cultural diversity. These diversity moments can cover material about past housing discrimination based on race, women-owned businesses, age bias, etc. It is hoped that groups working on various elements of the project will take small steps toward increasing their own understanding and in creating a culture of support regarding issues of gender, age, and racial and cultural differences. This outreach activity will also reflect a common theme across all the activities of the Adapting to Change project: greater consideration of the variety of people and viewpoints along with commonalities in broad vision and values.