Welcome to the online hub for
Dr. Richard C. Harris,
speaker, professor, pastor, author, and racial justice activist.
Here you can find resources and writings from
Dr. Harris, learn about Conversity,
and contact Dr. Harris to speak at your conference or event.
His mission is to help people RELATE, COMMUNICATE,
and
RESONATE across racial lines.
From Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon
to Associate Pastor of an historic African-American church,
Dr. Harris lets his long journey “From Racist to Gracist”
become your shortcut to better race relations.
Award-winning author of "One Nation Under Curse"
and recognized nationally as a thought leader when it comes to racial harmony.
Dr. Harris speaks and teaches on practical ways to build bridges between differing racial groups in the United States.
His mission is to help people RELATE, COMMUNICATE,
and RESONATE across racial lines.
Check out his blog and other resources and be sure to let him know if you have found them helpful in your journey to better relationships!
Transcript from opening video message
Do you know what really Ticks me off?
That we are 50 years into school desegregation, workplace desegregation, restaurant desegregation, and yet people still don't know how to communicate with people of other races. They don't have real friends of other races. And even when they do, they stick their foot in their mouths because they lack racial literacy.
Smart people make fools of themselves by what they say without even realizing it.
It ticks me off that across the United States, people are still, for all practical purposes, self-segregating. All because we don't know how to relate to each other, we don't know how to communicate with each other, we don't know how to resonate with each other. And it doesn't have to be that way.
It breaks my heart that we are more divided along racial lines than we have been in decades and no one seems to really know what to do about it.
It breaks my heart that people are self-segregating and withdrawing into their own racial groups after all of the decades of diversity training and desegregation efforts.
It breaks my heart that yet another generation of our young people are being radicalized into white supremacy organizations just like I was when I was young.
I spent 4 years as a leader in the White Supremacist Movement – that’s a fancy way of saying I was a Domestic Terrorist. I’ve spent the last 40 years trying to undo the harm I did during those 4 years. Young people are being radicalized at an alarming rate – they are using the same tactics they used on me and I used on others.
Because I believe we can and must do better when it comes to bridging the gap between the races, and because I believe our diversity efforts have, by and large failed, across the board, I speak around the country on replacing the concept of diversity with what I call conversity. And if you can't get to where I am speaking live, that’s why I've created this website – so you can pick up tools you can use to improve your relationships with those who do not look like you.
We need to understand each other and we need to stand with each other.
Some of these materials come from a course I designed and teach at the university where I am a Communication Professor. These materials have helped my students learn to build harmonious relationships across racial lines and the most common comment I hear is, “Why hasn’t anyone ever taught this to us before now?”
These materials are great for parents, for church leaders, for teachers, for business owners and for you, if you are part of the majority of US Americans who think race relations are bad and are getting worse and want to do something about it.
But a disclaimer: the materials on this website are NOT for you if, #1 you are convinced that race relations are just fine in the United States; or #2 you are a sold-out racist, it’s not for Klan members, Neo-Nazis. If you’re that racially blind or racially biased, then don’t waste your time. This site is just going to make you mad.
No, my message is for people who care about others, care about the future, and want to bring an end to the racial tensions that divide our nation.
My message is for people who want to improve their cross-racial relationships and increase their understanding of people who don’t look like them.
My message is for people who want to improve their cross-racial relationships and increase their understanding of people who don’t look like them.
If that’s you, then, “Welcome!”
To get started, download the free lesson at the bottom of this page, "10 Sayings Guaranteed to Cause Racial Conflict”, and may God bless you as we begin our journey together towards better race relations!
