This Is Civity

In this episode, we talk with James Coan, Co-Founder and Executive Director of More Like Us, a national organization that seeks to correct political misperceptions – helping people see that we're not really as different as we sometimes think we are. Coan says the goal of More Like Us is to help bring scale to bridging efforts.For more information and to check out the lesson plans and other resources, go to MoreLikeUs.org.

In this episode, we talk with John Paul Lederach – professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, focused on international peace building. Lederach spent much of his career helping build peace in conflict areas around the world, and has written extensively on his experiences.Together, we explore the importance of building relationships across divides and differences to achieve meaningful foundations for building lasting peace. We also discuss how we might apply these lessons here in the U.S. before polarization becomes sustained violence.To learn more about John Paul Lederach and peruse his writings, go to JohnPaulLederach.com.

In this episode, we talk with Angela Bradbery – Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida's College of Journalism & Communications. Angela spearheads the annual Public Interest Communications Summer Institute — bringing educators, researchers, practitioners and others together to explore how to best communicate in the public interest.Angela's work in Public Interest Communications focuses on communicating and building relationships across divides to advance campaigns that help communities.

In this episode, we talk with Jennifer Leshnower, Bridging & Democracy Advisor at AmeriCorps.Jennifer and I discuss the importance of bringing people together… and how relationship building through service, and looking outward from ourselves to see others, can help build meaningful relationships to tackle sticky problems and strengthen communities.To learn more, go to americorps.gov.

In this episode, we talk with Ben Bain, volunteer Brick Yard leader for the Washington, D.C. area for the organization More Perfect Union. More Perfect Union seeks to strengthen communities through social connection, service, and civic engagement.Ben is a veteran – and a dog lover – who wanted to find ways to weave connective tissue in his community. More Perfect Union allows him do this by working toward building relationships among people around him.To check out MPU – and take the Coffee & Courage Challenge – go to MPU.US.(Photo depicts MPU gathering)

In this episode, we talk with Michael McRay, experiential story coach, and founder of Becoming Restoried.Michael helps others find and share their own stories, toward healing, reconciling, and connection. The stories we create have the power to connect or divide – and when someone does not have control of their story, it can be dehumanizing.Michael helps people see both themselves – and each other – as human, which in turn connects us across divides, differences, and unknowns.For more, go to BecomingRestoried.com.

In this episode, we talk with Monica Guzman, Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, and author of I never thought of it that way: How to have fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times.Monica at first dedicated her career to connecting people across differences through journalism… but then moved into the bridging space to find a more effective way to bring people together in relationship.Through it all, she has been driven by a deep curiosity about others and the stories that shape our lives and perspectives.

In this episode, we talk with David Brooks, New York Times Columnist, and author of How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. We explore David's journey to find ways to know other people better and learn how to share his own stories and experiences as part of the knowing process. He shares the lessons and strategies he's learned to cultivate relationships, big and small, as a way to weave community.

In this episode, we chat with Alexandra Hudson about her new book -The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves. Hudson explores the difference between politeness and what Hudson calls civility – and we call CIVITY – truly seeing an OTHER and recognizing their humanity and dignity.Alexandra is also founder of Civic Renaissance, an online space dedicated to elevating our public discourse.

In this episode, we explore the importance of strong neighborhood and community relationships to the health of nations, and we discuss the fact that many neighborhoods in the U.S. don't have strong local ties and need structural and systemic help.My guest is Seth Kaplan - Author of Fragile Neighborhoods Repairing American Society One Zip Code at a Time. Seth is also an international relations expert whose job is to help fragile states around the world. He consults with organizations such as the World Bank and U.S. State Department, and he teaches international relations at Johns Hopkins University.

In this episode, we talk with Riaz Patel, executive producer and director focusing on reality shows that depict people connecting and having positive transformations. Riaz created what he calls the EPIC system - with EPIC standing for Equalization, Personalization, Information Gathering, and Collaboration - something very in line with Civity's approach to helping people connect across differences.Riaz has used the EPIC System to create a show called ConnectEffect, in which he has people learn about and connect with each other face-to-face - breaking through labels and getting to each other's humanity.

In this episode, we explore how "othering" has led to increased marginalization and vilification of people who are un-housed - and how civity can help counter this trend by helping people who are housed see the humanity of those without housing. My guest is Eric Tars, Legal Director of National Homelessness Law Center, who reminds us that housing is a human right. Tars hopes that helping people see each other's humanity can bring this back into focus.

In this episode, we explore how engaging across our racial and class divides and cultivating solidarity can help bring us together to care for and nurture our democracy.My guest is Ian Haney López, professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, and author of several books, including Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism & Wrecked the Middle Class, and Merge Left: Fusing Race & Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America.López says strategic racism is a deeply corrosive force, he's exploring how to counter its effects by encouraging people to come together across racial divides, so we can focus on our commonalities, develop shared understandings of what we want from democracy and our elected officials, and work together to improve society.López developed the Race-Class Narrative Project and the Race-Class Academy to counter dog-whistle politics and build cross-racial and cross-class solidarity.

In this episode, we explore a massive new study on improving the health of democracy. The Strengthening Democracy Challenge invited more than 30,000 people to engage with 25 interventions. The goal was to find ways to reduce things like partisan animosity, partisan violence, and anti-democratic attitudes, and increase social trust and a willingness to engage with people across socially salient differences.Civity's intervention was one of 25 chosen from a pool of 250-plus… and it was number 1 at increasing social trust, number 2 in decreasing social distance and opposition to bipartisanship, and number 4 in reducing partisan animosity.Civity's relational, story-based intervention also reduced support for un-democratic practices and helped people accept others from across the political divide.We talk with researcher Robb Willer, professor of sociology, psychology, and organizational behavior at Stanford University; as well as Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab, and Co-Director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Jacqueline Font-Guzmán, vice president for diversity, equity, & inclusion at Eastern Mennonite University; and strategic vision director for the Center of Justice & Peace Building at EMU.Civity has been privileged to support EMU on its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) journey with workshops for the President and her Cabinet and the Board of Trustees.Together, we explore how to make DEI work transformative, including the importance of making it relational, and building trust and partnership among groups in a community to forge strong connections.

In this episode, we welcome Graham Bodie, professor of integrated marketing communication at the University of Mississippi, and chief listening officer with the Listen First Project. As with Civity, the Listen First Project supports the creation of bridging relationships - focusing its efforts on elevating the impact, visibility, and voice of organizations doing bridging work. We explore how Listen First brings bridging organizations together and works to bring more people to the experience of connecting across differences.  We also discuss the act of listening itself, the importance of learning how to listen, and what listening looks like in different contexts.

In this episode, we speak with David Eisner, CEO of the nonprofit bridging organization Convergence , about the increasing role of bridging organizations in cultivating relationships across difference, and working to preserve and nurture healthy civic spaces.Convergence convenes people and groups with divergent views to build trust, identify solutions, and form alliances for action on critical national issues.

In this episode, we talk with Josh Schachter - Founder & director of Community Share, a nonprofit that connects community resources, artists, organizations, and people to teachers, students, and schools. The goal is to share wisdom and knowledge across these connections… and create real-world learning experiences for young people.To find out more … or get involved… go to CommunityShare.us.

Welcoming Week is an annual event put on by the organization Welcoming America to support communities seeking to increase belonging among all members of their communities, including immigrants.The theme for 2021event is “Belonging Begins With Us” - reminding all of us that we can do our part to help others feel welcomed.My guests are:Jordyne Krumroy, Senior Regional Manager for Welcoming America-AND-Anthony Salas, Senior Manager of Events & Membership for Welcoming AmericaWelcoming Week 2021 takes place fromSeptember 10-19. Find out more at https://welcomingamerica.org/WelcomingAmerica.org or BelongingBeginsWithUs.org

In this episode, we explore the importance of bridging and relational infrastructure to achieving healthy communities. Our guest is Nang Mo Kham, Eisenhower Fellow & senior health specialist at the World Bank.Based in Myanmar. Nang sees herself as someone who can help establish a system that knits together local services, including education, public health, and others, to improve access for everyone, no matter their social status, background, or ethnicity… and thus improve the overall health of her community. Nang's work aligns with the civity principles of building relational infrastructure to bridge difference and move from us-vs-them to ‘we all belong.' We are also joined in this episode by our Civity intern, Maya Fiorella.

In this episode, we explore the role of the public health department, and how civity practices can help local public health officials navigate differences and help residents feel heard and seen. The public health department is involved in anything that can impact the health of populations – from obvious activities, such as educating the public about COVID-19, to activities that may not be immediately clear, such as being involved in transit planning or declaring racism a public health crisis. To be effective and really reach the publics that they serve, public health departments must figure out how to communicate with those who may disagree with government officials and each other.

In this episode, we talk with John Wood, Jr., national ambassador for Braver Angels, an organization also working to build relationships across the divides that fracture Americans - including red-blue, class, and race & ethnicity Braver Angels works at the grassroots level – in communities, on college campuses, and with local organizations – to bring people together in[removed]substantive ways. They are also looking for ways to heal the nation in the wake[removed]of the 2020 election by focusing on commitments to nonviolence and direct[removed]conversations among people who voted differently.

Community Church of Barrington seeks to have people in their community connect and relate across differences, and they have been hosting what are called Courageous Conversations in an effort to tackle challenging community issues.Reverend Zina Jacque & Jessica Green are co-hosts of a Year of Courageous Conversations in Barrington. They discuss how it has helped their community face and grapple with issues that permeate society.Photo by: Linda Barrett (https://www.lindambarrettproductions.com)

In this episode, Marnita Schroedl, CEO of Marnita's Table, and Lauren Williams, Marnita's Table's Training Manager & Executive Administrator, discuss how to socially engineer equity. Marnita's Table has been working in the communities in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as communities across the country and around the world, to authentically connect people across difference, challenge people to have honest conversations… and achieve equity.

Attorney and Louisville civic leader Tom Williams discusses the importance of cultivating connections in communities where difference can lead to deep divide, and the importance of putting people at the center of this work.

Rachel Peric, executive director of Welcoming America, visits the This Is Civity Podcast to discuss the importance of inclusion in communities, and how government and business leaders can lead the way in taking specific actions to make immigrants feel more welcome. Photo credit to Welcoming America

CFRA's Jordan Feyerherm & Gladys Godinez join the podcast to discuss the relational and civity nature of the work they do to encourage inclusion and connection in rural U.S. communities.

Library Director Derek Wolfgram and Library Services Supervisor Jenny Barnes talk about the Redwood City Public Library's Human Library, which helps to bridge divides by allowing readers to check out human "books" and have a conversation across difference.

Rabbi David Levinsky is Saidye Bromfman Rabbinical Chair at Temple Har Shalom in Park City, Utah. Nate Bagley is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Utah and host of the Loveumentary podcast, helping people create strong, lasting relationships. Both David and Nate are part of the OneAmerica movement – which seeks to build bridges and solve problems across the socially salient differences that divide us. They focus on bridging divides across religious difference.

Stephanie Lepp, artist, strategist, and producer and host of the Reckonings podcast, discusses how she explores the ways we change hearts and minds, often by recognizing and transforming our own worldviews, assumptions, and biases – how we actually change.

Jud Hendrix is executive director for Lean Into Louisville and project catalyst for the Global Human project. Jud has dedicated his life to encouraging and creating opportunities for engagement across difference. He discusses the importance of reaching across difference to heal communities and forge connections; and the importance of meeting people where they are and doing the work to know yourself, so you can truly know others.

Zach Bell and Ron Towns are co-founders and co-directors of Camp Common Ground. a summer camp that brings racially and economically diverse middle schoolers together to teach them about leadership, social-emotional, and cultural competencies, and how to develop meaningful relationships with each other. Bell & Towns discuss their work and how kids are taking up the effort to build connection across difference.

Kim Roth Howe, founding principal of Co-Creative Labs and TEDx Talk speaker on “Searching for Purple in a Red and Blue Time, was prompted by the 2016 election to devote herself to bringing people in her community together to discuss issues and make connections across difference - building a purple space out of their red and blue views. She discusses her experiences, ups and downs, and triumphs and tribulations in pursuit of this goal.

Acts of dehumanization and humiliation are tools of war and submission. But, the flip side – the impact of offering dignity and acknowledging humanity, is less well studied. Claudia Cohen has coined the phrase everyday dignity to describe small acts that can restore our humanity. Cohen is adjunct faculty at the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia Teachers College, and a founding member of the Summit Interfaith Council Anti-racism Committee and Anti-Racism Community Collaborative in Westfield/Scotch Plains, NJ.

Stuart Chittenden is a lawyer by training, but he began to see the power of empathetic conversation on relationships and even his own outlook on life. He now focuses on building relationships helping people tell their stories and truly hear the stories of others as founder of Squishtalks. Photo Credit Andrew Marinkovich

This is Civity Radio talks with Kate Chance and Ameena Jandali with the Islamic Networks Group (ING). ING works around the country on education geared toward cultural literacy and mutual respect, as well as efforts to counter incidents of bigotry through building relationships and engaging communities. ING has also created the Know Your Neighbor Campaign, of which Civity is a partner. Photo Courtesy ING

Andrew Hanauer, director of One America, discusses the work of his organization in the face of significant polarization among people in the U.S. and the importance of having people work together to help find common ground to heal growing divisions in American society.

Greg Baldwin, president of VolunteerMatch joins This is Civity Radio to discuss how a Civity Brush on BART profoundly impacted him and people around him, eventually ending up on the social media page of KTVU's Frank Somerville, who dedicates his feed to impactful storytelling. Baldwin now encourages people to set aside their instinct to persuade, and instead listen, hear, and seek understanding across divides.

Jacob Hess is director of the Utah chapter of The Village Square and one of the collaborators of The All Sides Dictionary, which has been (and is being) written by over 30 volunteer mediators and educators who span the socio-political spectrum — from religious to atheist, far left to far right, and everything in between. Rather than trying to avoid bias or presume neutrality, the dictionary helps us map a range of perspectives, meanings and feelings associated with words in the American political vocabulary, helping us understand the issues and each other better.

Paul VanDeCarr is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Working Narratives. He has spent much of his career using storytelling to build relationships, make connections, build understanding, and communicate ideas. Paul recently started a podcast called Who Are You in which he reaches across some sort of divide to find commonality with someone who may otherwise be considered “other.”

Vivek Patil is head of outreach for the Arlington County Democratic Committee in Virginia. Vivek uses a relationship-based – or Civity-based – approach to building community. This is in contrast to how political parties generally reach out to community members. His hope is that he can bridge divides and help people on opposite sides of the political spectrum see commonality in each other and then work together to solve the pressing issues facing their communities.

Marty Swaim, co-founder of Challenging Racism, discusses the importance of sharing stories and listening, even when it can be scary, uncomfortable, or frustrating. It is the only way to build understanding and bridge divides so we can solve community problems, such as institutional racism.

Vincent Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) SF, joins This is Civity to discuss the work of his community civil rights organization. CAA works to ensure that Chinese Americans and the broader Asian and Pacific American community are treated fairly and have access to government and civic leaders and services, so they can fully participate in the civic life of their community and society. This work is truly Civity-oriented.

Liz Joyner, executive director of The Village Square, says the work of collaboration does not begin once there is a problem to be solved. To be successful, that work must begin well before any problems arise, in the simple building of relationships. Joyner tells This is Civity Radio Show that relationships help build empathy and connection, two elements sorely lacking in our civic discourse today. Photo credit: Bob Howard (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Joan Blades, co-founder of Living Room Conversations, sits down with This is Civity Radio Show to discuss the importance of sitting down with people you disagree with to build empathy and common ground, and to embrace the hard but valuable work of collaborating to make our communities and democracy stronger.

Urban environments such as San Francisco offer many activities, services, and amenities. But if people do not know about them or how to engage, they can feel isolated or cut off. Katy Birnbaum, community organizer for Sunday Streets says Sunday Streets encourages people to be more active, make healthier choices, and take advantage of public transit. But it also helps people make connections and build relationships both within their community and with their city government. Photo by d annebrog (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

John Esterle, co-executive director of The Whitman Institute, joins Civity co-founder Malka Kopell to discuss the critical role of philanthropy in support of projects that build relationships to help bridge divides and strengthen communities. Photo by: Cambodia4kids.org Beth Kanter (CC BY 2.0)

Everyday Democracy Executive Director Martha McCoy discusses how we can address issues of privilege, social justice, and equity through Civity-building. (NOTE: This podcast cuts off after 23 minutes)