Imagine a community where belonging isn’t just an idea, but a way of life. Where our differences are embraced, and everyone’s included. Where all our children have the same opportunities, and all people are valued equally.
We don’t have to imagine, but we do have to act.
Don’t know where to start? Explore the resources below to help you make a positive impact in your community today. Together we can make a difference. We’re in this, side by side. Not just for now, but for good.
Interested in books that explore how faith impacts belonging in our communities? See below:
Undivided: The Power of Community in a Polarized World by Hahrie Han
In this New York Times Notable Book, Hahrie Han takes readers inside an unlikely but extraordinary story—a large, politically and racially diverse evangelical church in Cincinnati that defied the odds by coming together across deep divides. Han reveals how communities can break through division—not by avoiding difference, but by leaning into it with intention and courage. A practical roadmap for anyone looking to transform division into connection and collective action.
Faith, Race, and the Lost Cause by Christopher Alan Graham
In this historical account of Richmond’s famous St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Christopher Graham recounts how well intentioned white members of this faith community became complicit in reinforcing racial oppression by upholding the Lost Cause narrative and then how they came together to forge a new path towards recognition and healing.
Called to Reconciliation by Johnathan C. Augustine
Johnathan C. Augustine explores several concepts of reconciliation via the Black church and its relationship to the civil rights movement and how these forms of reconciliation can serve as a helpful model for society at large.
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: and the Path to a Shared American Future by Robert P. Jones.
In this illuminatory account, Robert Jones closely examines the role religion played in colonial America in justifying the dehumanization of Native Americans and Black people and how this came to define and distort the trajectory of American democracy.
Interested in nonfiction books to help build belonging in communities? See below:
The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison
America’s foremost novelist reflects on the themes that preoccupy her work and increasingly dominate national and world politics: race, fear, borders, the mass movement of peoples, the desire for belonging. What is race and why does it matter? What motivates the human tendency to construct Others? Why does the presence of Others make us so afraid?
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Layla Saad leads readers through a journey of understanding the concept of privilege and illustrating how white people’s participation in white supremacy is often unconscious.
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin’s early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document from one of America’s most iconic writers. It consists of two “letters,” written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism.
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward
In this bestselling, widely lauded collection, Jesmyn Ward gathers our most original thinkers and writers to speak on contemporary racism and race. Envisioned as a response to The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin’s groundbreaking 1963 essay collection, these contemporary writers reflect on the past, present, and future of race in America.
Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism by James W. Loewen
In this provocative, sweeping analysis of American residential patterns, Loewen uncovers the thousands of “sundown towns”―almost exclusively white towns where it was an unspoken rule that blacks weren’t welcome―that cropped up throughout the twentieth century, most of them located outside of the South.
We Need to Build by Eboo Patel
The goal of social change work is not a more ferocious revolution; it is a more beautiful social order. It is harder to organize a fair trial than it is to fire up a crowd, more challenging to build a good school than it is to tell others they are doing education all wrong. We Need to Build is a call to those committed to refounding America as a just and inclusive democracy – we need to defeat the things we don’t like by building the things we do.
Interested in books with stories of new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong by John A. Powell
In the US, 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it’s possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don’t know how to move forward. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through “bridging” that helps us communicate, coexist, and imagine a new story for a shared future where we all belong.
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy tells the story of EJI, from the early days with a small staff facing the nation’s highest death sentencing and execution rates, through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison, to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice.
Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World by John A. Powell and Stephen Menendian
The pressures that separate us have a common root: our tendency to cast people and groups in irreconcilable terms – or the process of “othering.” This book gives vital language to this universal problem, unveiling its machinery at work across time and around the world. To subvert it, john a. powell and Stephen Menendian make a powerful and sweeping case for adopting a paradigm of belonging that does not require the creation of an “other.” This new paradigm hinges on transitioning from narrow to expansive identities. As the threat of authoritarianism grows across the globe, this book makes the case that belonging without othering is the necessary, but not the inevitable, next step in our long journey toward creating truly equitable and thriving societies.
SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World by Scott Shigeoka Did you know that curiosity is your superpower? Learn science-based practices that will help you to foster understanding and connection in this book by curiosity expert, speaker, and author Scott Shigeoka.
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
In this beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson presents a definitive and dramatic account of one of the great untold stories of American history: the Great Migration of six million Black citizens who fled the South for the North and West in search of a better life, from World War I to 1970
Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity by Michele Norris
Our Hidden Conversations is a unique compilation of stories, richly reported essays, and photographs providing a window into America during a tumultuous era. This powerful book offers an honest, if sometimes uncomfortable, conversation about race and identity, permitting us to eavesdrop on deep-seated thoughts, private discussions, and long submerged memories.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased.
High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out (+ Discussion Guide) by Amanda Ripley
How do good people lose their minds in soul-crushing conflicts with co-workers, neighbors, grown siblings or even national politicians they’ve never met? Journalist Amanda Ripley reveals how humans can help one another break out of destructive feuds–and generate healthy, useful conflict instead.
Interested in creative books of new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.
Let us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
Let Us Descend describes a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. A journey that is as beautifully rendered as it is heart wrenching, the novel is “[t]he literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry pours” (NPR).
Interested in books that can guide you through difficult conversations about belonging with friends and family? See below:
So You Want to Talk About Race – Ijeoma Oluo
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.
I never thought about it that way by Monica Guzman
Drawing from cross-partisan conversations she’s had, organized, or witnessed everywhere from the echo chambers on social media to the wheat fields in Oregon to raw, unfiltered fights with her own family on election night, Mónica shows how you can put your natural sense of wonder to work for you immediately, finding the answers you need by talking with people—rather than about them—and asking the questions you want, curiously.
Interested in books that introduce young people to the bridging across differences and belonging in communities? See below:
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehesi Coates
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer the biggest and most difficult questions of what it means to be Black in America in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world.
A Letter to My Nephew by James Baldwin
James Baldwin’s thoughts on his nephew’s future—in a country with a terrible history of racism— first appeared in The Progressive magazine in 1962. Over 50 years later his words are as powerful as ever.
Teaching What Really Happened by James W. Loewen
James Loewen has revised Teaching What Really Happened, the bestselling, go-to resource for social studies and history teachers wishing to break away from standard textbook retellings of the past. In addition to updating the scholarship and anecdotes throughout, the second edition features a timely new chapter entitled “Truth” that addresses how traditional and social media can distort current events and the historical record.
Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong by James W. Loewe
From the author of the national bestseller Lies My Teacher Told Me, a completely updated—and more timely than ever—version of the myth-busting history book that focuses on the inaccuracies, myths, and lies on monuments, statues, national landmarks, and historical sites all across America.
Teach children the importance of unity and diversity as patriotic American values.
Read What Does It Mean to Be An American? By Rana DiOrio and Elad Yoran. While politics seem to divide our country into the two opposing teams of red and blue, one truth remains: we are all Americans. But what does that mean? An engaging, patriotic picture book for children that celebrates what it means to be American.
Interested in nonfiction films to help build belonging in communities? See below:
13th (Ava DuVernay for Netflix)
In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze how the 13th amendment contributed to the mass incarceration of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.
We Feed People directed by Ron Howard
We Feed People is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Ron Howard that chronicles how chef José Andrés and his nonprofit World Central Kitchen helped to feed the people of Puerto Rico after a devastating hurricane in 2017
I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck for Hulu)
I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, a radical narration about race in America, using the writer’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Alongside a flood of rich archival material, the film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to bring a fresh perspective to the current racial narratives in America.
Interested in films with stories of new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
American Symphony, directed by Matthew Heineman
American Symphony is a 2023 American biographical documentary film, written, shot, and edited by Matthew Heineman. It explores a year in the life of musician Jon Batiste, his music career, and his wife’s struggle with leukemia.
TED Talk: Why the World Needs More Builders and Less “Us vs. Them” by Daniel Lubetzky
We’re programmed to think every issue is binary: “us vs. them.” But Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of KIND Snacks, says the real enemy isn’t a person but a mindset. He introduces a new initiative that aims to bring together “builders” from around the world to replace extremism with practical problem-solving — and shows how you can join the movement.
Interested in creative stories in films of new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
Purple (+ Discussion Guide) by Resetting the Table RTT’s short film tells the story of Americans with opposing viewpoints confronting their differences and discovering the concerns and humanity that lie behind each other’s positions.
Rustin directed by George C. Wolfe
Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
ORIGIN directed by Ava DuVernay
Written and directed by Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay, ORIGIN chronicles the tragedy and triumph of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson as she investigates the global phenomenon of caste.
American Fiction, directed by Cord Jefferson
American Fiction is Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes.
Join or Die directed by Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis
A film about why you should join a club…and why the fate of America depends on it. Follow the story of America’s civic unraveling through the journey of Robert Putnam, whose legendary “Bowling Alone” research into American community decline may hold the answers to our democracy’s present crisis.
Belonging Without Othering: The Story of Our Future, john a. powell talks at Bioneers 2023 (20 min)
Listen to john a. powell, a longtime leading expert on civil rights and democracy, share a new story about a world where we all belong. In order to emerge from the existential crises we face and to birth a far more humane civilization, we need to look deeply at ourselves and our social structures to overcome the separations that have been inculcated into us for so long to rediscover our fundamental connection to each other and the entire web of life.
Two Distant Strangers directed Martin Desmond Roe
In this Oscar-winning short film, a man trying to get home to his dog becomes stuck in a time loop that forces him to relive a deadly run-in with a cop.
When They See Us (Ava DuVernay for Netflix)
Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they’re falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.
Crash (Paul Haggis on many streaming networks)
Crash is a 2004 American crime drama film produced, directed, and co-written by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco. A self-described “passion piece” for Haggis, the film features racial and social tensions in Los Angeles and was inspired by a real-life incident in which Haggis’s Porsche was carjacked in 1991
Interested in non-fiction TV shows to help build belonging in communities? See below:
The 1619 Project
Hulu’s six-part 1619 Docuseries is an expansion of “The 1619 Project” created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine. The series seeks to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative
The Civil War (Ken Burns for PBS)
This epic nine-episode series by the award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is a comprehensive and definitive history of the American Civil War, and the recipient of 40 major film and television awards, including two Emmys and two Grammys.
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War (Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for PBS)
America After the Civil War explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy.
Interested in podcasts that explore how faith impacts belonging in our communities? See below:
Purpose that Prevails with Dr. Pickett
Purpose That Prevails was created to inspire its listeners, primarily of the Christian faith, to offer their hearts, voices, and hands in shaping the social, economic and religious landscapes in the American South.
Voices of Interfaith America with Eboo Patel
Voices of Interfaith America passes the mic to interfaith leaders and bridgebuilders as they tackle pressing issues within their communities
Interested in podcasts based on nonfiction stories to help build belonging in communities? See below:
Uncivil
Uncivil brings you stories that were left out of the official history of the Civil War, ransacking America’s past, and taking on the history you grew up with. It provides untold stories about resistance, covert operations, corruption, mutiny, counterfeiting, and antebellum drones, connecting these forgotten struggles to the political battlefield we’re living on right now.
Divided by Design
The Divided by Design podcast features discussions with advocates, historians, and experts about how race intersects with health, wealth, criminal justice, housing, and voting rights. By better understanding how we got here to this moment, we can better chart a path forward towards a more just, inclusive and equitable America for us all.
NPR Podcast, example of case probe: “Not so Black and White: A Community’s Divided History“
Not So Black and White is a podcast from WFSU Public Media tracing the divided history of Tallahassee and Leon County. Through conversations with the community, WFSU investigates the barriers that continue to separate the places we live, work, play, educate and worship.
Interested in podcasts that explore stories of new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
Reimagining Us
This is not just another conversation series—it’s a vital tool for healing divisions, designing our lives and communities for belonging, and empowering a movement of “builders.” Hosted by two distinguished leaders from the fields of psychology and equity-building, the show takes a nuanced look at the forces that fuel division and highlights actionable paths toward reconnection. As the nation navigates a post-election landscape rife with challenges, Reimagining Us offers a timely and necessary space for discovery, dialogue, and change.
Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
This podcast was created for those of you wanting to effect change, who understand the importance of restoring our democracy and want to engage in deep conversation around the issues. Those involved in the movement will be stopping by to have these conversations to provide testimony that’s real, straightforward, and honest.
Robert Putnam on The New York Times podcast, THE INTERVIEW
The author of “Bowling Alone” warned us about social isolation and its effect on democracy a quarter century ago. Things have only gotten worse.
Amanda Ripley, HOW TO!
We all need advice, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to turn. Each week, Courtney Martin and Carvell Wallace bring a listener on to the show to solve their toughest problems with the help of world-class experts. It’s free therapy, and you’re invited.
Interested in podcasts that can guide you through difficult conversations about belonging with friends and family? See below:
A Braver Way with Monica Guzman
Host Mónica Guzmán is joined by guests from across the political spectrum to unearth tools, insights, and messy real life stories that can guide you over the divide in your everyday life. So whether you’re Red, Blue, or something entirely different, “A Braver Way” will help you hear and be heard by people who confound you.
THE VILLAGE SQUARE – Interview w/ Melissa Weintraub (Resetting the Table)
Resetting the Table brings wisdom and expertise gained in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to healing America’s deepening divides. In the aftermath of the 2016 election — after years of focus on volatile disagreements surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — Resetting the Table launched an ambitious initiative forging communication and understanding across red/blue/purple divides in the U.S
HIDDEN BRAIN (science-y topics made digestible, but “Out of the Rabbit Hole” in particular, extremism with Nafees Hamid)
Hidden Brain explores the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior and questions that lie at the heart of our complex and changing world.
Glennon Doyle’s WE CAN DO HARD THINGS podcast (Glennon is co-hosting with her partner, former soccer star Abby Wambach; recent interviewee, Amanda Ripley!)
On We Can Do Hard Things, Glennon Doyle, her wife Abby Wambach, and her sister Amanda Doyle do the only thing they’ve found that has ever made life easier: Drop the fake and talk honestly about the hard things including sex, gender, parenting, blended families, bodies, anxiety, addiction, justice, boundaries, fun, quitting, overwhelm . . . all of it.
Interested in podcasts that introduce young people to the bridging across differences and belonging in communities? See below:
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast features movement voices, stories, and strategies for racial justice. Co-hosts Chevon and Hiba give their unique takes on race and pop culture, and uplift narratives of hope, struggle, and joy, as we continue to build the momentum needed to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.
Manu Meel, THE HOPEFUL MAJORITY (CEO of BridgeUSA, a youth movement for better politics)
Every Monday, Manu Meel invites you into a conversation about how we overcome our toxic politics to write the next chapter in our American story.
Interested in articles that explore how faith impacts belonging in our communities? See below:
A small town Georgia preacher fills pews by leaving no one out by Alison Miller
Alison Miller highlights how Reverend Chris Meeks of a rural Georgia church attracts a diverse congregation by fostering an inclusive, non-judgmental environment where all are welcome.
Generations After Slavery, Georgia Neighbors Find Freedom and Repair in Christ by Melissa Morgan Kelley
Melissa Morgan Kelley explores how Black communities in Georgia, shaped by the legacy of slavery, are finding spiritual healing and reconciliation through faith in Christ.
Interested in articles to help build belonging in communities? See below:
The Belonging Barometer: The State of Belonging in the US by Nichole Argo & Hammad Sheikh (produced by Over Zero & the American Immigration Council)
Without a sense of belonging, individuals and communities suffer; with it, they thrive. This easy to read report frames belonging as connection (feeling emotionally connected, welcomed and included), psychological safety (feeling valued as one’s whole self and able to disagree without being punished), and agency (knowing how things work, being treated equally, feeling like one has influence). When Americans were surveyed on these sentiments in late 2022, their “Belonging Barometer scores” were associated with critical life outcomes across health, work, relationships, and democracy.
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehesi Coates
Acclaimed scholar Ta-Nehisi Coates argues that the United States has a moral and economic responsibility to provide reparations to Black Americans for the historical and ongoing injustices of slavery, segregation, and systemic racism.
Decades of systemic racism seen as root of Jackson Mississippi water crisis by Drew Costley and Emily Wagster Pettus
Drew Costley and Emily Wagster Pettus examine how long-standing racial inequities and neglect have contributed to the severe water infrastructure failure in Jackson, Mississippi, disproportionately affecting its majority Black population.
Clowns, Reverse Boycotts, and Involuntary Walkathons: How Communities are Making Political Violence Backfire by Maria J. Stephan
Maria J. Stephan explores creative, nonviolent strategies employed by communities to counter political violence and undermine oppressive forces through humor, reverse boycotts, and other forms of peaceful resistance.
Race, class and gender shape how we see age and childhood By Bill Bush, Erin Mysogland
Bill Bush and Erin Mysogland explore how societal views on age and childhood are deeply influenced by intersecting factors like race, class, and gender. They argue that these lenses affect not only how different groups experience childhood and aging but also how societal policies and practices shape opportunities, identities, and life chances across the lifespan.
Interested in articles that explore new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
Climate change makes Appalachian life even harder. So why do we stay? by Silas House
In “Climate Change Makes Appalachian Life Even Harder. So Why Do We Stay?” Silas House examines how the residents of Appalachia are grappling with the compounded effects of climate change, including environmental degradation and economic challenges. Despite these hardships, House explores the deep-rooted connection to the land, community, and culture that keeps people in the region, even as they face increasing adversity.
Why We Split the World Into Good and Evil…and Make Decisions We Regret by Amanda Ripley
In times of high anxiety, each new conflict gets framed as a galactic struggle against a dark lord. Complexity is intolerable; ambivalence is cowardly. But any such vision is inherently inaccurate, leading to conclusions and actions we will often regret.
Interested in articles that can guide you through difficult conversations about belonging with friends and family? See below:
Is polarization really a problem? By DOMINIC PACKER & JAY VAN BAVEL
Dominic Packer and Jay Van Bavel challenge the conventional view that political polarization is inherently detrimental to society, arguing that it is a natural consequence of strong group identities. They suggest that while polarization can fuel division, it can also encourage political engagement and clarity, and the real issue lies in the ways polarization is manipulated by those in power and the media.
Interested in conversations that explore how faith impacts belonging in our communities? See below:
Confessions of a Southern Church
Christopher Graham gives a lecture on his book Faith, Race, and the Lost Cause, contemplating the ways that people change over time and use historical imagination to manifest a new present reality.
Bending Toward Truth: History and Reflections – YouTube
Bending Toward Truth was a forum held in March 2018 of scholars, religious leaders, and the public organized to discuss the history of race and religion in Richmond, Virginia.
Bending Toward Truth: A Panel on Race from Local Religious Leaders – YouTube
Bending Toward Truth was a forum held in March 2018 of scholars, religious leaders, and the public organized to discuss the history of race and religion in Richmond, Virginia.
Bending Toward Truth: Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Speaks – YouTube
Bending Toward Truth was a forum held in March 2018 of scholars, religious leaders, and the public organized to discuss the history of race and religion in Richmond, Virginia.
Bending Toward Truth: Rob Corcoran, Christy Coleman, Mark Constantine – YouTube
Bending Toward Truth was a forum held in March 2018 of scholars, religious leaders, and the public organized to discuss the history of race and religion in Richmond, Virginia.
The Most Reverend Bishop Michael B. Curry gives Sermon at St. Paul’s! – YouTube
Bending Toward Truth was a forum held in March 2018 of scholars, religious leaders, and the public organized to discuss the history of race and religion in Richmond, Virginia.
Interested in conversations that explore history to help build belonging in communities? See below:
Conversation for an Equitable South: Racial Colorblindness Series
On both individual and community levels, there are many lies we tell ourselves about race and racism. Moving toward reconciliation means we have to be honest with ourselves. In this conversation, we explore what people really mean when they say they “don’t see color” and how we can express our genuine desire to be free from racial prejudice without denying the realities in front of us.
Conversation for an Equitable South: The Bold Leadership Series
Now more than ever, the deep divisions in our nation seem to penetrate every topic or issue that arises. Much of this is fueled by a resistance to challenges to the status quo and concurrently, a demand for equitable accountability and change. These divergent ways of thinking have stifled our ability to successfully address the everyday issues that affect our communities. These conditions force our elected leaders at every level of government to make difficult decisions.
Conversation for an Equitable South: Democracy Series
As a continuation of our important Conversations for an Equitable South narrative work, the multi-conversation Democracy Series focuses on the importance of a strong Democracy in advancing equity. With shared experiences and hopes for a better South, the series inspires action to create a truly equitable Democracy for all.
Conversation for an Equitable South: Truth. Action. Reconciliation.
In this inflection point for our country, it’s critical that we examine where we’ve been so we can plot an equitable path forward together. That’s why we’re hosting a series of virtual, digestible conversations to leverage this moment to make lasting change. Our country’s brightest minds and most effective leaders are sharing their insights and learning as they answer the questions: How did we get to where we currently are on criminal justice, health equity, economic opportunity, and democracy? And how do we create the America that is worthy of her promise?
Conversation for an Equitable South: Truth and Healing
To get closer to fulfilling the promise of America, we first need a consensus about the history of racism in the U.S. and the effect it still has today. Facing our nation’s dark truths is the first step towards healing. To do this E Pluribus Unum hosted a discussion exploring how formal Truth & Healing models can be implemented in the U.S.
Interested in conversations that explore stories of new perspectives and journeys around belonging? See below:
Hometown Heroes: A Conversation with Cat Cora
Hometown Heroes is an EPU series where Mitch Landrieu engages in conversations on Instagram Live with guests who share what they love about their southern hometown and their southern roots. These conversations take an honest look at how we can all work together to create a more equitable and inclusive South for everyone.
Hometown Heroes: A Conversation with Zyhana Bryant
Hometown Heroes is an EPU series where Mitch Landrieu engages in conversations on Instagram Live with guests who share what they love about their southern hometown and their southern roots. These conversations take an honest look at how we can all work together to create a more equitable and inclusive South for everyone.
Conversation for an Equitable South: The Women Series
In one segment of our Conversations for an Equitable South series, we focused on the roles of women in the fight for racial justice, specifically on white women and on mothers. Beginning in March 2021, this multi-conversation series provides a space to discuss the lasting impact racism has had on people and institutions and, as a result, will inspire action with the intention of creating racial equity within our communities.
Interested in conversations that can guide you through your own difficult conversations about belonging with friends and family? See below:
Resetting the Table with Melissa Weintraub
Tool up with wisdom from Melissa Weintraub, co-Director of Resetting the Table, an organization that trains people in how to communicate across differences
Consider 50 Things Anyone Can Do To Make Us Stronger Together” by Common Ground USA.
Take the 30-day Polarization Detox Challenge by the Builders Movement.
Practice peacemaking with “practice cards” from Common Ground USA.
Living Room Conversations (Topics: humor, tech, post-election, kindness, trust, respect, health/wellness, etc.)
Essential Partners’ Race in America dialogue guide
Common Ground USA’s Love Anyway Feast.
Ask friends which local organizations they respect and reach out to learn more, or search The Weavers Network for volunteer opportunities near you.
Become a bridger, able to facilitate challenging conversations in your family, workplace, or local community. Check out the facilitator training opportunities offered by Essential Partners (scholarships available).
Princeton’s Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) has created a state-by-state directory of local and national trainings to help communities, local leaders, election officials, poll workers, and individuals take concrete steps to prepare for elections, public meetings, and demonstrations, especially when there is a heightened risk of political violence. Find out which trainings are available in your state.