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The Way It Is and the Way It Could Be: Fear, Lessness and the Quest for Fearless Dialogues™

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Abstract

“Fearless Dialogues™ is the Civil Rights Movement of the 21st century,” says Dr. Bernard Lafayette, an original Freedom Rider and internationally renowned human rights activist. This article examines the history and philosophy of a burgeoning movement called Fearless Dialogues™, which seeks to alter the perspective of how we see and hear those who are perceived to be marginal. Drawing wisdom from a hard, heartfelt conversation documented in Ralph Ellison’s essay, “The Way It Is,” this interdisciplinary article utilizes resources from 20th and 21st century mystics to examine four primary fears that stifle dialogue and introduces an attitude of “lessness” that is necessary to create perspectival change.

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Notes

  1. These tinges of hope are highlighted in the subsection on fear of oppressive systems.

  2. For more information see www.fearlessdialogues.com.

  3. The “trap” is an urban slang term for a place where narcotics are illegally sold.

  4. This definition was adapted from an article written on thought leadership by Michael Brenner on forbes.com. The article is entitled, “What is Thought Leadership? 5 Steps to Get it Right.” (2013)

  5. According to Brian Blount, “pockets of resistance” unfold when human action and divine interaction align and “the future kingdom forcibly and miraculously pierces into the present moment to overturn oppressions of the present age.” For a summarized version of this concept see, Ellison’s Cut Dead But Still Alive, pages 66–70.

  6. Throughout this article, I occasionally use the collective pronoun “we” instead of the singular “I” because many of the innovative ideas around creating spaces for hard, heartfelt conversations emerged organically through trial-and-error practices, on-the-ground research, and thoughtful exchanges with community leaders and Fearless Dialogues staff members.

  7. Instead of the words “moderator” or “facilitator,” animators guide Fearless Dialogues™. While facilitators and moderators manage conversations, animators are trained to ask probing open-ended questions that bring conversations among disparate groups to life.

References

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Acknowledgments

In the past twelve months, hundreds of people have pointed me to the way, but the following fellow sojourners have kept me on the path: Antoinette Ellison, Gregory Ellison III, Anaya Ellison, Darren Ellison, Rodney Shamery, Andrea Hampton, Quentin Samuels, Alisha “Radio” Gordon, Mekhael “MC” Francois, De Amon Harges, Mari Evans, Floyd Wood, Shaundra Smith, Lynn Miller, Michael Jones, Don Richter, Carmen and Michael Thompson, Parker and Sharon Palmer, and Ed and Barbara Brown Taylor. For the wise teachings of the named and the unnamed, I am most grateful.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Candler School of Theology at Emory University, 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Gregory C. Ellison II

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  1. Gregory C. Ellison II
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Correspondence to Gregory C. Ellison II.

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Ellison, G.C. The Way It Is and the Way It Could Be: Fear, Lessness and the Quest for Fearless Dialogues™. Pastoral Psychol 63, 625–639 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-014-0610-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-014-0610-8

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