One of the most significant, yet perhaps neglected, aspects of doing business or practicing law in an increasingly global economy (as well as communities that grow more multi-ethnic and multicultural each day) is the challenge of sustained interaction between people of different races, socioeconomic classes, and cultural or religious backgrounds. Even the simplest of encounters can often leave all parties, including clients and customers, feeling confused, frustrated, offended, or (worst of all) seriously hurt—even when everyone involved began with the best of intentions. This workshop explores cross-cultural interactions, and the perhaps surprising ways that so called "implicit biases" that we all have can affect how we interact with folks who are different from us in various ways.  Taking a cue from the groundbreaking and controversial song, “Accidental Racist,” by country music superstar Brad Paisley and hip-hop legend-turned-television actor, LL Cool J, ReelTime CLE has developed this program as a forum for an honest, authentic dialogue about the ways that implicit biases may show up, the impact they can have, where they come from, and what we can do to be more mindful of them. This particular workshop uses poignant clips from high-quality films (including 2005 Best Picture winner, Crash and Up in the Air) as the starting point for a highly interactive discussion, and an opportunity for participants to collaborate in discovering practical, more effective ways of developing cross-cultural competence.

In our similar program, Illumination of Bias, we use clips from three of our original films to illustrate the issues. Accordingly, that program is ideal for recording if desired.