Posted 4:30 p.m. Fri., 02.21.10 - Steven Gibson had no idea what to expect.

In the past, events put on by the Cultural Diversity Club have drawn as many as three people. Gibson, a junior at Francis Howell Central High School, is the unofficial leader of the club, and on the evening of Feb. 17, he got a nice surprise.

More than 50 people gathered in the auditorium at FHS in Cottleville. The teachers, administrators, parents and students from surrounding schools came for "Black, White and Shades of Gray," a discussion about race.

In St. Louis, race affects politics, the economy, personal relationships, education – virtually every important aspect of community life. Yet it’s difficult to talk honestly and productively about race. In Race, Frankly, the Beacon invites you to look at race with fresh eyes. It’s a new day nationally, and in St. Louis, it’s time.

Read more stories in the Race, Frankly project

The Francis Howell District in St. Charles County is about 90 percent white, according to Jennifer Gasper, communications specialist for the district.

Two years ago, art teacher Lisa Milos started CDC based on her own daughter's experiences in the well-known Cultural Leadership program, where Jewish and black students learn about each other's cultures and lives while working toward social justice. (Click here and here to read earlier Beacon stories about Cultural Leadership.)

"That was part of my inspiration for this," she said.

Milos, who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, is working on programs about diversity with race, socioeconomics and religion.

The group at FHS has about five members and they put on several activities during the year. While some students came out of interest, others came for extra credit.

What was the night about, a group of middle schoolers were asked before the event began?

"It's about, like, how you shouldn't be racist," said Jessica Hyde, and 8th grader. "Not that I am."

"Just cultural diversity," added her friend, Claire Richardson. "I don't know."

Regardless of the reason for coming, everyone participated.

The event Wednesday night, which lasted nearly two hours, included a video that sparked discussion about assumptions. 

But perhaps the most significant conversations happened on stage in a fishbowl activity, where one group sat in the middle answering the questions of the group on the outside. Some of the students present came from Ladue High School and Ft. Zumwalt West and are members of Cultural Leadership. It was a chance to listen and ask questions that normally don't get asked.

We've edited those conversations down for time and you can watch them in the accompanying video. Questions from the white students included: "What do you guys want to be called?" and "Are you guys treated fairly at school?"

The black students asked: "How do you feel about black history month?" and "How do you feel when you hear anybody say the 'n' word."

After the event, everyone seemed a little surprised at what took place in the auditorium that night.

"I did learn," said Joe Carter, a senior at FHS. "I didn't expect to learn anything, at first I thought it was kind of cheesy, but I started to get (into it). I learned how white people feel about when they hear the 'n' word, I didn't expect that some white people would actually care. Like, I thought they wouldn't even mind."

"I learned a lot about this generation of kids compared to when I was in school," said Jill Russell, a parent. "I was really shocked that they are paying attention to the diversity of the children."

It was cool listening to other people's perspectives and being listened to, said Andy Russell, a freshman at Fort Zumwalt East. Russell is hoping a group like CDC will get started at his school.

"I think we all worked it out and everything's good," he said. "I hope we'll have more of these."