‘It’s never been done before,’ group says
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Dr. Mario Villarino is helping to develop a curricula to address racial discrimination, according to a presentation he made to the Hopkins County Commissioner’s Court Monday.
“There’s been several instances in Texas and the United States in general related to social diversity and racial discrimination,” Villarino told the court. “The way we’re addressing it is pulling together a task force of extension agents to address systemic racism.”
Villarino said the curricula the group is compiling is “a work in progress.”
“We’re looking at what other groups have done internally, and we are trying to start a dialogue,” Villarino said.
The group of 30 from all over the state will compile their discussions and various literature to attempt to make lesson plans that extension agents can use in their everyday work, as many are familiar with developing from other extension work such as gardening, health education and more.
“Discussions about social diversity and racial discrimination do not always have to be a response to a complaint,” Villarino noted. “Through programming, we can focus on being proactive about topics related to lack of diversity or systemic racism.” By being able to reach communities in a way that only extension agents can, Villarino said the group hopes to “tackle those conversations and discussions with key stakeholders, and therefore start a dialogue.”
However, a setback the group may face is clear.
“As you can guess, it’s never actually been done before,” Villarino stated.
The group has been together since February but does not have a timeline for deploying the curricula as it is in the beginning stages.
“The idea is to teach key stakeholders of all ethnicities who can have an understanding of the process without being afraid of it,” Villarino said. “We’ve just started the first steps and then it will get bigger and bigger.”
The key to moving forward to a more accepting future, according to Villarino, is “talking about racial issues openly, without social tension. That way you can open a dialogue.”