Watch the episode of “THE Conversation” featuring Jen HERE.By Asad JungCape Cod Times
Racism is something you ordinarily don’t talk about at the dinner table, said Onjalé Scott Price, a Falmouth Select Board member who works on diversity and inclusion in STEM.
“Talking about race is often seen as taboo…. I want to change that, I want people to have open conversations, because that’s the only way that we’re going to make any progress on these issues,” Scott Price said.
To that end, Scott Price and the Rev. Will Mebane, rector of St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church in Falmouth, co-host a public access television show on FCTV called “THE Conversation,” which explores the impacts of racism in fields like sports, affordable housing and criminal justice, to name a few.
THE Conversation first aired in August 2020 during the “reckoning” following the murder of George Floyd in police custody, Mebane said.
Debra Rogers, who is CEO of FCTV, reached out to Mebane to ask if he would be willing to host a show that discussed racial issues. He in turn contacted Scott Price to act as co-host.
According to Scott Price, Rogers initially had the idea to produce the show after a public commenter at a Select Board meeting declared “there is no racism in Falmouth.”
THE Conversation looks at a specific topic each episode and explores the ways in which race affects it. Most recently, the show aired its 16th episode, centering on racism in sports. The hosts, as well as nationally known guests Richard Lapchick, Jen Fry and Colleen Coyne, identified the ways in which racism affects athletics, and suggested ways to combat and hopefully eliminate it.
The next episode of THE Conversation will air Feb. 11 on FCTV.org. All past episodes are also available on the website and on YouTube.