Turning "We and They" into "Us"

Posted by Julia Rappaport on November 19, 2013

In this new video, psychologist Deborah Plummer describes what she calls a "transracial society": "All of us inhabiting the earth [together]." Do we live in a transracial society today? Plummer says no, but offers ideas on how we can get there:

"It's not going to happen with a breakthrough improvement strategy," she says. "It's all of us that have this opportunity to be in this process of continuous improvement." We can do this individually, and we can do this collectively. Where do we start? "By taking the relationship between the individual and society, having 'we and they' become 'us,' seeing how choices shape history, looking at how we remember the past that shapes the future, then looking at how we’re all responsible for creating that better world, then we stay connected to other innovators, imaginers, dreamers, and creators of a post-racial society," Plummer says. "Then we have the confidence…where we can create the kind of world that we all believe in."

What action can you take at home or in your classroom to help create the kind of world you believe in? Comment below!

This video is part of Facing History’s ongoing digital revision of our Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior resource.

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Topics: Safe Schools, Holocaust and Human Behavior, School Culture, Media Skills, Critical Thinking

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