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That can be difficult. Just ask the people who were interviewed by Donna Ladd earlier this fall in Mississippi: since their racist upbringings.

There鈥檚 Bob Fuller, who grew up in Mississippi in the 1970s but whose history class made zero mention of the freedom fighters who transformed his state.

There鈥檚 Laurie Myatt, who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election but reached out to a black friend after realizing she had never sat down in a home with a black person to share a meal.

There鈥檚 Krista Hinman, now in her 40s, who grew up in a white suburb of Memphis swapping racist jokes with friends and using the N-word. The first song she ever learned to play on the piano was Dixie, the de facto battle hymn of the Confederacy.

鈥淚 was all in,鈥� Hinman told Ladd for The Guardian. 鈥淚 believed every single bit of it 鈥� all the 鈥榟eritage鈥� stuff.鈥�

But Hinman鈥檚 views began to change when she went to college, met black people and liberals, and began to understand how much of her life was shaped by a white privilege she didn鈥檛 know she had.

Almost all of the people whom Ladd interviewed are like Hinman: They began transformative relationships with black people that would correct what Ladd calls 鈥渞acial miseducation.鈥澛燭hat鈥檚 certainly what happened to Louis McFall, a libertarian who was 鈥渞aised pro-flag,鈥� as he put it, but just recently, after a black Facebook friend invited him to her home to talk about their differences in person.

鈥淚 started looking at it from other points of view,鈥� McFall told Ladd. 鈥淢y heart opened up.鈥� He now believes the Confederate flag 鈥渟hould change because it hurts my neighbors. I鈥檓 not going to lose my heritage.鈥�

This kind of transformation makes sense: It鈥檚 much harder to maintain two-dimensional stereotypes in the face of a three-dimensional relationship.

But historian Susan Glisson, who helped create a forum at the University of Mississippi that has since become the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, points out that the burden of dismantling bigotry shouldn鈥檛 fall solely on the shoulders of the people who are most vulnerable to it.

鈥淚t really should be white folks doing that work with white folks,鈥� Glisson told Ladd.

But she鈥檚 sensitive 鈥斅燼s many of us probably will be around the Thanksgiving table 鈥� that 鈥渂laming and shaming鈥� aren鈥檛 usually effective ways to start a productive dialogue.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 start talking about race,鈥� said Glisson. 鈥淲e start at the level of a human being to help people become self-reflective about who they are, their values. We build a bridge of trust.鈥�

It can be difficult to know how to do that in the moment. Our guide on how to can help. So can our resource on , one of which is to promote acceptance through conversations聽before a conflict arises.

What鈥檚 most important?

It鈥檚 having that conversation with people whose minds we can change, even when it鈥檚 uncomfortable and even when it doesn鈥檛 produce instant results. The people whom Ladd interviewed were changing beliefs, in many cases, that they鈥檝e held for decades. And they鈥檙e people who have a lot to lose in the process 鈥斅爄ncluding relationships with some of the very same friends and family members with whom they might have shared a Thanksgiving meal.

Conversations around the Thanksgiving table may be hard. But we know the work doesn鈥檛 stop there. And, we know the stakes are high.

We鈥檙e proud to be in the company of other Southerners who are working hard to lose their 鈥渞acial miseducation.鈥�

The Editors

P.S. Here are some other pieces we think are valuable this week:

• 鈥� by Eli Saslow for The Washington Post
• by Uri Berliner for NPR
• by J. David Goodman, Al Baker and James Glanz for The New York Times
• by Tim Turner for The Bitter Southerner

澳彩开奖's Weekend Reads are a weekly summary of the most important reporting and commentary from around the country on civil rights, economic and racial inequity, and hate and extremism.聽Sign up to receive Weekend Reads every Saturday morning.