Facilitated through the Wake County YWCA and League of Women Voters , the Study Circles program assigns the participants into racially balanced groups, who engage in small, democratic, peer-led discussions regarding their racial attitudes. In the fall of 1998, the League of Women Voters, together with the YWCA, the North Carolina Coalition for Indian Affairs and eight churches, launched a community-wide program on race relations. More than half of the 70 people who took part in the pilot assisted in building the program - recruiting sponsors and participants for a spring round that began in April 1999. A second full round took place following a kickoff event in August. To date, more than 325 people have taken part, including members of the North Carolina Highway Patrol and more than 30 employees from Wake County Human Services.
Efforts are currently under way to expand the program.
Outcomes include a decision to establish task forces to help schools address racism and race relations, and to publish a newsletter to raise awareness of the study circles and the various outcomes the program has generated. A grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation helps to support operating costs for the program. The next round for Study Circles will be held in October, 2000. Additional rounds are being planned for December, 2000. Typically, each Study Circle meets for 2 hours each week, for a total of 5 weeks.