How to Talk About Race in 2023 – with Ray Rickman

Ray Rickman, of Stages of Freedom, will discuss “How to Talk about Race in 2023” on Monday, February 6th at 6:30pm at the Weaver Library, 41 Grove avenue in East Providence. It is free and open to the public.

Ray Rickman has conducted 300 diversity and race relations workshops for businesses, colleges and government agencies over the past 30 years. The former executive director of the Providence Human Relations Commission, he was EEO Officer for both Lifespan and the City of Providence. He is also a former president of the American Civil Liberties Union and is currently the executive director of Stages of Freedom, an organization that promotes Black culture for the entire community.

“How to Talk About Race in 2023” enables us to discuss race and racism with people who may be different from us. Ray is an expert on helping individuals talk with others within their own racial group. The subject of dual language use and how to value people who may be different or new to your community is part of this discussion.

This session is either a 45 lecture with question and answers or a 2-hour, detailed, hands-on workshop that provides on-line tools that individuals can use to learn after the workshop is over. Our nation is at a cross roads and we need to talk.

Ray enjoys helping people find a positive personal role to play in improving race relations during these contemporary times.

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Ray Rickman is co-founder and executive director of the non-profit, Stages of Freedom. The organization is dedicated to teaching Black Rhode Island youth how to swim and building bridges of racial understanding by promoting and celebrating Rhode Island African American life and culture through high-profile events for thousands of Rhode Islanders each year.

As president of his own consulting firm, Rickman Group, he raised funds and conducted management and diversity training for non-profits, colleges and businesses. He is a former State Representative from the Brown University area of Providence and served as Rhode Island Deputy Secretary of State from 2000 to 2002, the highest office held by an African American in the state’s history.

Rickman has served as both Equal Opportunity Officer and Executive Director of the Human Relations Commission for the City of Providence.  From 2004-2006, Rickman was the Assistant Director of the Diversity Office for Lifespan, Rhode Island’s largest employer. 

Rickman was Senior Policy Advisor for Shape Up RI, the largest state-wide wellness program in the nation.  He was the lead consultant to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, Opera Providence, and The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. He was appointed to the board of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts by Gov. Chafee, and was a member of the Rhode Island Parole Board.

Rickman hosted a minority affairs and cultural program on Rhode Island Public Television for twenty- one years. In the 1980s, Rickman was president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island.

Rickman is past President of The Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and was the Secretary of the Rhode Island Historical Society for seven years. 

Rickman is an authority on Rhode Island African American history, lectures widely on African American history and American literature, conducts architectural and Black history tours of the Brown University area. He is a graduate of Wayne State University.