The “content” of intergroup contact: lessons from the Denton Women’s Interracial Fellowship

Abstract

Does the content of intergroup contact matter? Despite extensive research on the benefits of contact for intergroup relations, we know little about what happens during contact-based programs and interventions. This article addresses this gap by inductively building theory about the desired content of contact. My analysis draws on oral history interviews and archival data from the Denton Women’s Interracial Fellowship: a real-world case of intergroup contact that emerged to ease the process of school desegregation in Denton, Texas. My analysis of these data moves beyond the scope conditions suggested by (Allport, Gordon W. 1954. The Nature of Prejudice. 25th ed. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books) to highlight the role of conversations about outgroup experiences. I illuminate how these conversations produce positive impacts on intergroup relations and draw out the implications for research on intergroup contact: namely, that forms of intergroup contact that incorporate these conversations are more likely to improve intergroup relations, and that intergroup contact interventions should explicitly encourage or incorporate these kinds of conversations.