Niwot resident organizes a Zoom conversation to discuss race

Dawn Walton sensed that something was going on. She noticed that some of her neighbors in Niwot and Boulder County were averting their eyes when they saw her. She figured it had something to do with the protests that were dominating the news. People spilling into the streets to express outrage over the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

So she spoke up on the social media site, Nextdoor. "I walk around Niwot often, with or without my husband and children, who are also Black, and in the past week or so, it has felt to me like some of our White neighbors want to strike up a current events conversation with me, but don't know if they should. I'm here to say, you definitely should," she wrote.

Her instincts were right. So many people responded, that Walton organized a Zoom gathering, "Time to Talk." Eight-eight people joined in a virtual community to listen and express their thoughts.

Walton began with photos and graphics of past and present events over centuries of racial injustice in the United States. She asked whether this moment is different. There have certainly been flash points before, followed by faded headlines.

A former high school history teacher, she has a long lens and deep knowledge. As "a Black woman negotiating very White spaces," she has a personal perspective. People wanted to hear it and she wanted to provide a way for others to share what was on their mind, noting that this would be one step in a long journey.

"I'm sure everyone on the call knows we will not solve interpersonal and systemic racism in the next hour. But we can start with some honest conversation," she said.

Many of the comments flowed out of her question about whether this moment is different. Walton noted that she has never before gotten emails from her utilities, credit card companies and even Amazon CEO Jeff Bazos that say black lives matter and we stand with you. "This is when things really started to change for me," she said.

A number of people expressed hope that this is the beginning of serious change. "I'm sensing one thing that's different this time is finally White people are looking around and saying, 'Wow, I may not be a racist, but I really don't get it. I better start listening and getting it.' I'm seeing more and more of that," said Zoom participant, Michael.

Several people considered whether the pandemic is influencing the reaction. "We're not as overscheduled now, we're not as distracted as we were. We have time to dig into our community, our family. We have time to really pay attention. And have time to really process it," Todd said.

Others commented on the power of seeing the incident on video. "I felt different because I witnessed a death and saw the expression on that man's face," Laura said.

Walton said people are asking her what they can do, but she warned against a mindset of wanting a quick solution. "The idea of, 'If we could just fix it, we could get over it and stop talking about it.' That level of avoidance is simply not healthy. My hope is that we see that there is no way around it, you gotta go through. You have to be honest and tell the truth. That is where healing always begins. Anytime you neglect or skip over that part, you find yourself faced with the same troubles again. When we tell the truth, we'll heal. We are strong enough for looking truth in the eye and stare it down for what it is."

Acknowledging the problem is the first step, Walton said, making the analogy to AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. "One step at a time," she said, "but then you realize the rest of the healing process is not as scary as you thought that it was."

People are protesting for societal change, but Walton said it starts with the individual. "Before you do that, you've got to really process your own development first," she said.

The Zoom meeting was a step in that direction by inviting "a deeper level of dialog and greater deal of reflection," Walton said. "I think for a lot of people it accomplished that or at least it opened the door at least as a possibility."

The virtual format didn't lend itself to discussion. Walton said she would have preferred to hold the meeting in person. She's hopeful that can happen down the road. "Whenever you're talking about tough conversations about or approaching a sensitive subject, I always prefer to be in the room. You have to be in somebody's heart bubble sometimes to really feel their intention. This was a necessary second to that," she said.

Walton may continue to hold monthly meetings if people want that. She plans to ramp up her business doing anti-racism workshops, which she's done within the education field and in other capacities. Walton recently launched a website, ParticularAndPowerful.com.

"Few things bring me greater joy than to listen, learn, grow and ultimately heal through honest dialogue," she said in her Nextdoor post. "I'm also a native New Yorker, and we don't scare that easily, well maybe from mountain lions, but not from conversations about race."

Walton has those discussions within her own family. She and her husband are raising their two girls in Niwot. They initially moved to Colorado to be closer to her 21-year-old son who came out for school at the University of Colorado.

Walton is originally from Brooklyn and her husband is from Miami. "There is no shortage of diversity in those places. So even if you feel insignificant being Black in America, you never feel insignificant in Brooklyn because you see yourself in every corner, in every space. You see yourself in the doctors, teachers, activists," she said.

Walton and her husband think a lot about what's best for their 10 and 11-year-old daughters who are growing up in a much less diverse environment than they did. "It's so beautiful here. It's selfish, we are perfectly happy here, but will it be OK for our children? It's really important for me that they feel just as empowered as I did as a kid."

That empowered girl is now a grown woman doing what she can to make sure this is truly a historic moment that leads to lasting change.