I first learned about RACE: Are We So Different? in advance of my April 2010 work with the Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The exhibit was about to visit the Kalamazoo Valley Museum that year. My visit was to help spark community-wide conversations around race that folks in Kalamazoo are so committed to. Sharon and I look forward to returning to Kalamazoo in November to participate further in this continuing community conversation.

For my friends in Portland, Oregon (my state) and Baltimore, Maryland (the state where our son, daughter-in-law, and youngest grandchild live), you now have the opportunity to take in this wonderful exhibit. Sharon and I took in this exhibit as part of our research for Gather at the Table. From the website description:

People are different. Throughout history, these differences have been a source of community strength and personal identity. They have also been the basis for discrimination and oppression. Contemporary scientific understanding of human variation now challenges the idea of racial differences, and even questions the very concept of race. RACE: Are We So Different? is the first national exhibition to tell the story of race from biological, cultural, and historical points of view. Introducing the idea of race as a primarily social construct, as opposed to a physical reality, the exhibit invites visitors to challenge how they perceive their differences and similarities.

This exhibit will challenge how you think about our differences and our similarities. Don’t miss it!