This Is Civity

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: Fu...

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 dif...

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...

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 List...

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 na...

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 Americ...

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 e...

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 immediat...

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 way...

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 grappl...

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, challeng...

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 sa...

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 yoursel...

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 ac...

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...

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 Colle...