Civity Tackles the Issues

April 2023

Dear Friends-

Happy April! The days are getting longer, winter is giving way to spring, and civity is blossoming.

I am looking forward to Earth Day, when I’ll be at the Leadership Circle Summit hosted by In This Together – an organization of citizens, NGOs, corporate leaders, scientists, and donors from across the political divide committed to moving forward on pragmatic climate solutions. And on April 23, that same weekend, Civity is hosting a free workshop open to the general public as part of the National Week of Conversation.

Palma and I are especially encouraged by the spike in interest in applying connection across difference that we’re seeing from people working to address specific problems like climate change and the nation’s housing crisis. The need to address real challenges in real communities is why we founded Civity, as we reflect on in Civity and the Tough Issues. If you want to learn more about how civity matters in tackling climate change, check out Lucy’s article about her recent workshops in the Midwest and Kentucky.

Finally, Gina’s got some great podcasts this month. Check out her interviews with Ian Haney López on “Bridging Divides & Cultivating Solidarity to Counter Strategic Racism” and with Eric Tars on "How Seeing Humanity Helps Us More Effectively Address Homelessness." More and more, people are recognizing the value of civity in “going deep” to build a future of belonging for everyone.

So...now’s the time: If you’ve always wanted to try a Civity workshop, click here to sign up for the National Week of Conversation virtual event on Sunday, April 23, from 3-5 pm Eastern/2-4 pm Central/1-3 pm Mountain/12-2 pm Pacific.

In the meantime, enjoy springtime!

Warmly,

Malka

Civity & the "Tough Issues"

By Palma Joy Strand & Malka Ranjana Kopell

Our joint civity journey – close to 20 years now – started with a one-on-one conversation … with each other.

We talked about our concerns about important “tough issues” such as the environment, health care, education, racism, and poverty.

We talked about our combined experience in local communities where we saw the effects of these problems, and where we also saw efforts to address them.

And we started talking about the barriers we saw that got in the way of those efforts at problem-solving – and also the conditions that made for success.

Join Us April 23 for a Civity NWOC Workshop on Connecting Across Difference

Join Civity on Sunday, April 23, for our special online workshop, as part of the National Week of Conversation!

12pm - 2pm PT / 3pm - 5pm ET on Zoom.

We look forward to seeing you and building relational muscle together!

Civity Collaborates with Climate Change Practitioners

By Lucy Hancock

Over the last few months Civity has had the privilege of facilitating two civity workshops with climate-change-related practitioners. Working with the members of the Midwest Climate Collaborative in St. Louis, Missouri, and with Bluegrass Greensource in Lexington, Kentucky, the common thread was awareness that building relationships across difference is the foundation for change.

PODCAST: Eric Tars on How Seeing Humanity Helps Us Address Homelessness More Effectively

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.

We speak with Eric Tars, Legal Director of National Homelessness Law Center, who reminds us that housing is a human right.

Tars has been focused on bringing international human rights law into the U.S. housing and homelessness space.

Tars says he hopes that helping people see each other's humanity can bring this back into focus.

Listen

PODCAST: Ian Haney López on Countering Strategic Racism by Bridging Divides & Cultivating Solidarity

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.

We speak with 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 and Wrecked the Middle Class

and Merge Left: Fusing Race & Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America.

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.

Listen

Civity in the News

Youngsville, LA:

When Coffee Time Transforms Communities

In Youngsville, Louisiana, a coffee shop has been created as a space to highlight diversity and community through workshops and organic conversation.

Bob Luke says he loves a good cup of coffee and conversation. Café Détente is a space for those who are interested in or curious about Luke's vision "to help others have meaningful interactions with people whose paths may not otherwise cross while learning something new -- and maybe gaining a new perspective or even a friend."

"With all this noise going on, I just wanted to do my part to create this culture where people want to come and talk and share old traditions and skills,” Luke said.

The hope is that people who come leave with a new perspective.

Taking Community Engagement to Another Level

A San Francisco tech worker wanted to meet his neighbors. So he decided to convert his garage into a meeting place, in hopes of giving something meaningful to the community. Anand Upender engaged local suppliers and used inexpensive accessories to create the space. He saw it as an investment into his community.

The only rule to participate is that this is not a "To-Go Coffee place," Upender said. It's more like a "hang around place" where people can stay, talk, and get to know each other.

"The pop-up is my outlet for collaborating in the city and engaging my neighborhood," said Upender. "There is something here about fully engaging with everyone around me that feels necessary -- to be living and building community".

How You Can Support Civity's Work

Thank you for supporting and practicing civity! To support Civity’s work with a tax-exempt donation, CLICK HERE to donate online or get instructions for sending a check.

Your donation helps fund our communications and enables us to give free workshops to small nonprofits.

Our work is more important than ever, and we can’t do it without you. Help us reach more people and provide more support to leaders across the country seeking to build civity.

Let’s grow our Civity community by reaching out to “others” and bridging across divides. Together, we can create a culture where we ALL belong.

Donate to Civity!