Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Tiffnie Jackson, center, Director of Racial Justice at the Youth Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), coordinates a forum on race in New Ulm Monday.

NEW ULM — There are few discussions more sensitive and emotionally charged than those regarding race, but often these discussions are necessary.

In this spirt New Ulm Middle School hosted the forum titled “It’s Time to Talk.”

The Time to Talk Forum is a Youth Women Christian Association (YWCA) trademarked racial dialogue facilitation process that uses trained facilitators to lead small-group discussions in the circle dialogue model.

Each member of the group is given a chance to share their feelings and experiences of race.

The Region Nine Development Commission sponsored the event. Jessica O’Brien with Region Nine said this was a new program being introduced to area communities to generate community reflection and share ideas. O’Brien said open and honest racial discussions were necessary, with continually shifting demographics. These forums were designed to prepare a community for change.

Superintendent Jeff Bertrang said these discussions were important for the school district, to open the students up to different cultures and to get the blinders off.

“Kids need the experience because this is the world they live in,” he said.

The coordinator for the event was Tiffnie Jackson. Jackson was recently named the Director of Racial Justice at the YWCA. The YWCA has started a goal to eliminate racism.

Each of the small groups was given a list of questions for discussion. Questions included “When was the first time you became aware of race?,” “When was the first time you became aware of your race?,” “What does it mean to be white or non-white in a community?,” “Describe New Ulm’s community identity,” “What challenges might non-whites face in the community?” and “What would a racially inclusive community look like and how would it thrive?”

Several of the small groups discussed the idea of the “ausländer,” which is the German word for foreigner. New Ulm has a deep German heritage and the term is widely used to describe anyone new to the community.

One man remembered being called an ausländer upon first moving to New Ulm. Decades later he still lives in New Ulm, but is still uncertain if he is viewed as a foreigner because he has no German heritage.

Another person commented that she was a New Ulm native, but still felt like an outsider because her parents were from a different city did not have the deep historic connection to the town.

In another group, a woman who could speak German commented that “ausländer” was often the only German word New Ulm residents understood and it was shocking.

Most of the groups cited a community desire to change this attitude. The school-age youth were much less likely to self-segregate, but obstacles remained.

New Ulm is currently struggling with a housing crisis and some questioned whether the resistance to low-income housing was an intentional effort to keep the community white.

Others argued lack of affordable housing was not as big of an obstacle because much of the diversity coming into to New Ulm was through the New Ulm Medical Center, which offered well-paying jobs. The problem was non-white families were opting to live outside of New Ulm and send their children to other more diverse communities.

One small group asked whether New Ulm would lose its identity as a German community if it were to accept greater diversity. The response was that New Ulm was likely to lose this identity regardless, as many of the festivals in town were being organized by the same few volunteers. The youth are not adopting the same interests.

Jackson was pleased with the small-group work. She commented that many were familiar with the circle dialogue model and were willing to listen and learn.

“That’s powerful and that’s good for the community,” she said.

As a racial justice director Jackson believes her biggest obstacle is overcoming the fear and aversion people have towards racial discussion. Often people are afraid to participate out of fear of being labeled racist for saying the wrong thing. The purpose of the forums is to give everyone a comfortable place to speak and create solidarity.

Jackson ended the program with a quote from Blank Panter Party co-founder Bobby Seale. “You don’t fight racism with racism, the best way to fight is with solidarity.”