Heritage and cultural identity months are well established in the United States. It is important to take time to celebrate, learn about and acknowledge contributions to diversify and improve our society, especially contributions from marginalized groups or people who ally with them.
Our department’s Office for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) takes a proactive approach to address the diverse heritage and cultural identities represented in our organization. Our Lunch & Movie program, is one of the ways we make a conscious effort to set aside time and space to recognize various perspectives, and begin to address them in the workplace. It is an ongoing initiative that encourages faculty, staff, and students to expand their perspective of the history and experiences that have shaped our nation.
Participants voluntarily take a break from their scheduled responsibilities to eat lunch and watch a movie with colleagues. The purpose of this program is to promote awareness, encourage reflection, and support progress.
Thus far in 2023, we hosted 2 Lunch & Movie sessions: one for Black History Month in February and another for Pride Month in June. Black History month featured Ethnic Notions and Pride Month featured Quiet Heroes. We invited students, staff, and faculty using email announcements and electronic calendar appointments. We offered 2 dates on different days of the week for each of the featured movies. Those who accepted the invitation were emailed a link to select their choice for a submarine sandwich.
All participants were able to watch the movie in a designated room at our department. However, we also broadcast the session to 2 lecture halls to accommodate students who were at our offsite locations. Due to inclement weather in February, we provided a virtual only option for one of the sessions. In June, we were privileged to have the two stars of the documentary Quiet Heroes attend each session, and address a 20-minute question & answer period after the movie.
Approximately 161 students, staff, and faculty have participated in the Lunch & Movie program. In February, 36 students and 12 faculty & staff participated in the first session. More faculty & staff planned to attend the second session; however, that session was converted to an asynchronous, virtual only session due to a severe winter storm. Unfortunately, we were unable to determine the number of participants for that day. For the June sessions, 87 students participated, and 26 faculty and staff participated.
Participants were asked to complete a 5-item, multiple choice post-movie survey. Electronic access to the survey was made available directly after the movie via a QR code, and a link was emailed to the participants after the sessions as a reminder. The purpose of this survey was to encourage participants to reflect on the experience, and gather information for future event planning. The survey asked the following.
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- Did the movie help you learn something about yourself that you did not know? Yes/No
- Did the movie alert you about your own biases, socialization, culture, community, etc.? Yes/No
- Was this a valuable use of your time? Yes/No
- Would you participate in another event like this (Movie & Lunch) in the future? Yes/No
- What is your role in the department? Student/resident/staff/faculty/other
In February, 26 people responded to the survey. 42% were students. 35% were staff, and 23% were faculty. 81% of the respondents indicated that the documentary Ethnic Notions helped them to learn something about themselves. 92% were alerted to their own biases, socialization, culture, community, etc. 100% of the respondents indicated that the Lunch & Movie was a valuable use of time and would participate in another in the future.
In June, 50 people responded to the survey. 68% were students. 22% were staff and 10% were faculty. 96% of the respondents indicated that the documentary Quiet Heroes helped them to learn something about themselves. 92% were alerted to their own biases, socialization, culture, community, etc. 100% of the respondents indicated that the Lunch & Movie was a valuable use of time and would participate in another in the future.
Furthermore, we invited participants to engage in an informal discussion session to debrief the movie. One debrief session was offered in February and one in June. Participants were given in-person and virtual options to talk about their impressions from the movie. Comments were not recorded, but were generally reflective and positive.
Overall, our Lunch & Movie program has been successful. It is an ongoing initiative that encourages faculty, staff, and students to expand their perspective of the history and experiences that have shaped our nation. We encourage other departments and institutions to consider a similar activity.
Authors: Jessica L. Jones, MD, MSPH, Helen Davis, and Darin Ryujin, MS, MPAS, PA-C