
DEI Course 1: Community of Practice Activity
The Lunch Date
(Video)
Instructions: Watch this award winning short film produced in 1989 by Adam Davidson. Hurrying down the platform to catch a train in New York’s Grand Central Terminal, a well-off white woman bumps into a black man, and as a result, the woman not only misses her train but also her wallet. Under those circumstances, the anxious woman trying to bide some time while waiting for the next train, she buys a salad for lunch which pays for it with some pocket change, however, after leaving for some cutlery, when she returns to her table, a homeless black man is eating her lunch. How dare he?
Debrief Questions: After watching the film with your team use the following questions to engage in intergroup dialogue.
- Who was poor? Who was rich?
- What perceptions did you develop as you watch the film?
- What stereotypes were being played out in the interactions you observed in the film?
- Did you observe any acts of privilege and/or oppression being play out? If yes, with whom and when?