Gathering at UCCS aimed at differences

Talking about discrimination raises some of the most sensitive issues around, such as interracial marriage, religion and illegal immigration.

The payoff makes uncomfortable talks worthwhile, said Harold Fields, who has run a discussion group in Denver since 1997.

“I guess I’m used to dealing with third rails and tough topics,” Fields said Saturday during a conference in Colorado Springs.

The Denver group’s 35 to 50 monthly participants have built more respect for different experiences, Fields said. They’ve learned to listen to other viewpoints and become less afraid of differences among people.

Fields spoke to college students, scholars and others Saturday at the White Privilege Conference, which examines discrimination. The idea behind the conference is that race, ethnicity, religious affiliation and gender carry privileges denied to people who aren’t members. Participants came from across the country.

As the four-day conference wound down Saturday, some participants talked about how to carry on the conversations in their hometowns. Fields warned that maintaining a discussion group can be challenging. Organizers need to decide whom to invite to a group and what the racial balance of members should be, he said.

Maintaining participation from people who are members of minority groups can be tough, Fields said, because some get “burned out” from constantly explaining their positions to white people, he said.

One conference participant said she has a hard time getting white people to take part. Vanessa Roberts, a Colorado College student, said she helps organize events on campus but the same group shows up each time, and few participants are white.

“It’s easy to get people together who care about it because this affects us directly and this is the life we live,” she said.

The White Privilege Conference has been held since 2000 at universities in the Midwest. This was the first year it’s been held in Colorado Springs. Sponsors at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs hope the conference will be held here every two years.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0187 or perry.swanson@gazette.com