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Want to feel hopeful?
Follow the "shadow campaign" for America.
It's nearly impossible to capture, in just a few short paragraphs, the incredible energy being poured into bridge-building and civic strengthening work right now. But maybe that's the point! With every repairing stitch being sewn into our civic fabric, we vastly increase the odds of holding together in the face of yet another highly divisive election.
Consider: Last weekend More Perfect Union graduated its latest cohort of "brickyard" leaders, distinguished military veterans and other civic leaders launching cross-partisan service chapters to serve and bridge in communities all across the country. Simultaneously, New Hampshire Together convened a citizens assembly in Manchester, NH to contemplate ways to reduce polarization and increase trust in elections.
This week, Braver Angels hosts its national convention bringing "red" and "blue" Americans together, before sending cross-partisan delegations to serve as a depolarizing presence at both the Democratic and Republican conventions. In early July, the National Governors Association will hold its capstone meeting celebrating this past year's #DisagreeBetter campaign to encourage more collaborative action by political leaders and everyday Americans.
In late July, Future Caucus will host the nation's largest bipartisan convening of young state legislators, fostering relationships and problem-solving capacity across political aisles in America's statehouses. Meanwhile, the Harwood Institute is stumping to renew frayed communities across the county with its powerful "Enough. Time to Build" campaign.
Across the country, Americans are strengthening our civic fabric ahead of Election 2024.
In higher ed, where campuses have been rocked by protests and conflict throughout the past academic year, Citizens and Scholars is working in partnership with Constructive Dialogue Institute, BridgeUSA, Interfaith America, and many others to help college presidents, campus administrators, faculty, and student-led organizations develop holistic strategies for constructive civic learning and dialogue in the coming year.
At the K-12 level, American Exchange Project is criss-crossing the country this summer, sending its largest-ever cohort of graduating seniors to participate in domestic cultural exchange programs from coast to coast and throughout the heartland. AllSides for Schools and Mismatch are gearing up to help teachers navigate current events and civil dialogue in their classrooms this fall. And Living Room Conversations and the National Association for Community Mediation have jointly piloted a toolkit to support school boards in navigating conflict.
Will these and other efforts add up to enough civic strength to see us all through the months ahead? At Civic Health Project, we don't have a crystal ball, but we do have a vantage point that helps us feel hopeful. Keep reading ... we're certain you'll feel more hopeful too!
Can Laughter Heal America? We Believe It Can.
On June 4th, Bridge Entertainment Labs brought together leaders in entertainment, comedy, and democratic reform for 'What's Making Us Laugh?'"Comedy is a thing that starts the conversation, that makes the connections we're unwilling to make, that communicates the things we're too defensive to hear in other situations'' - Dr. Dave Caplan (Writer & Executive Producer of ABC's The Conners, George Lopez, and The Drew Carey Show)Watch this insightful 90-minute event from Bridge Entertainment Labs on the role that comedy can play in diminishing fear, fostering authentic human connections, and ultimately bringing Americans together across lines of difference. Watch the recording
#DisagreeBetter Campaign Featured on
Good Morning America
Spencer Cox, Utah's Republican governor, and Wes Moore, Maryland's Democratic governor, discuss the #DisagreeBetter initiative and the importance of encouraging healthy discourse to find common ground and solve problems.Watch #DisagreeBetter on Good Morning America
New Dialogue Toolkit for Organizational Leaders
Co-created by Essential Partners and the Share Our America team at 92NY’s Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact, this free Share Our Organization Toolkit can help your organization leverage different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to meet goals, set policy, and build a culture of collaboration, innovation, and belonging.Download the Share Our Organization Toolkit
Being a Builder ... Starts With Us!
Daniel Lubetzky invites people to join the Builders Movement in a May TED Talk. "We're going to be more effective in advancing our causes once we frame things differently. Instead of us versus them, what if we understood it as all of us versus extremism? [...] We need to bring a builder's mindset to all conversations by relying on curiosity, compassion, creativity, and courage." Watch Daniel Lubetzky of Starts With Us introduce a new initiative that aims to bring together "builders" from around the world to replace extremism with practical problem-solving — and describe how you can join the movement.Sign up to join the Builders Movement
Civic Health Project Grantee BridgeUSA
Featured in the Wall Street Journal
In the wake of student protests around the country regarding Israel and Gaza, Civic Health Project grantee BridgeUSA was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for their work bringing students together to have difficult, respectful conversations. Read about BridgeUSA in the Wall Street Journal
Civic Health Project Grantee
The Basement Talks
Coming to Amazon Prime
Watch the six-episode series The Basement Talks on Amazon Prime.
THE BASEMENT TALKS follows the 1990s-era crimes and trial of John Salvi, who murdered two abortion clinic employees —and the subsequent story of six women, leaders in the opposing pro-life and pro-choice movements, who sought to ensure that it would never happen again.
These courageous leaders risked their personal safety and professional lives to meet secretly for six years under the guidance of Essential Partners co-founder Laura R. Chasin and mediator Susan Podziba.
The experience would forever change how they spoke to and about each other. They would begin to engage publicly in more cross-partisan efforts. And although they continued to disagree about abortion, together they successfully prevented future violence.
Watch The Basement Talks on Amazon PrimeLearn More About The Basement Talks
Civic Health Project Grantee
Urban-Rural Action
Brings Wisconsinites Together
Civic Health Project grantee Urban Rural Action has kicked off their Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence in Southeast Wisconsin program, bringing together Wisconsin residents of urban, rural and suburban communities to address social challenges and strengthen regional cohesion. This year's cohort has 28 participating members (“Uniters”) of various identities, affiliations and backgrounds who all live or work in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha and Walworth counties.Learn More About Urban-Rural Action in Wisconsin
Is the U.S. a Democracy or a Republic? Yes.
And the answer is…yes.
Join RepresentUs as they do a deep dive into one of the oldest debates in American politics: Is the United States a democracy or a republic? In this video, they unravel the complexities of these terms and explore their historical context. From the ancient Greeks to modern-day America, discover how our system of government combines elements of both democracy and republicanism.Democracy or Republic? Watch the Video
Building Critical Thinkers:
Navigating News and Bias in the Classroom
Are you an educator looking for ways to bring civic dialogue and current events into your classroom? Worried about how to do this?
Whether it’s the upcoming election, the Supreme Court, immigration, or climate change, having classroom discussions on hot topics can feel overwhelming. AllSides is hosting a conversation on Thurs, Jun 27, 2024 at 4:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm PT to explore ways to discuss current events in the classroom and to teach civics through experiences.
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