Love Wins
 
Unfortunately, last week's All-America City award ceremony was Zoom-bombed, interrupted by individuals who sought to sow hate and fear with racist, vitriolic words. These awards shine a spotlight on communities working to solve local problems in an inclusive and equitable way, and this disruptive and hateful act only served to remind us all that the work of All-America Cities is far from complete and we must continue to come together to create the equitable future we envision. During our three-day event last week, the presentations by our 18 finalist communities provided a much needed reminder of the hope and promise of this country, thanks to the inspiring and effective work happening at the local level. While the night's events shook organizers and attendees alike, love and resilience ultimately ruled the day. Attendees reconvened virtually on a more secure platform to recognize our amazing All-America Cities. I welcome you to read more about the event below and hope that you feel inspired and energized by the great work of these communities.
    
 
President, National Civic League
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to the 2020 
All-America City 
Award Recipients
Congratulations to the ten communities selected as the 2020 All-America Cities! These communities demonstrate civic engagement practices that are inspirational, inclusive and promising, uniting people of their communities to help solve some of our country's most pressing and complex issues. This year's winners focused on civic engagement practices that enhance health and well-being in their communities. All 18 of the All-America City finalists provided a virtual presentation to a jury of national experts from August 17-19, which then selected the winners. 
Rev. Alvin Herring: 
Keynote Address of Solidarity, Hope and Action
Rev. Alvin Herring, Executive Director of Faith in Action, served as the keynote speaker for the 2020 All-America City Awards Opening Ceremony. Rev. Herring, a leader in the movement for racial and social justice, joined virtually to welcome finalist communities to the event and to share a message of solidarity and hope. "It is in this moment that we are challenged to speak to our fears, with the language of action which is deeply rooted in our vision for a better community, a better city and better country...I am so thankful for those of you who still labor on behalf of the common good." Listen to Reverend Herring's complete remarks. 
Thriving Together: A Springboard for Equitable Recovery & Resilience
The 2020 All-America City Awards featured a workshop on the newly released report, Thriving Together, A Springboard for Equitable Recovery & Resilience in Communities Across America, a project of Well Being Trust, coordinated with Community Initiatives and ReThink Health. Support for the project was provided by the CDC Foundation. Panelists discussed the 7 Vital Conditions for Well-Being, featured as the framework of the report: Thriving Natural World, Basic Needs, Humane Housing, Meaningful Work and Wealth, Lifelong Learning, Reliable Transportation, Belonging and Civic Muscle. 

Workshops and Speeches
from AAC 2020
All Things Voting: Election Reform and Voter Engagement; The National State of Mental Health, and Promising Local Efforts; and Keynote Addresses from Bechara Choucair, MD, Senior V.P. & Chief Health Officer, Kaiser Foundation and Tyler Norris, Chief Executive of Well Being Trust. 
2020 RWJF-NCL Health Equity Award Recipient 
The National Civic League is proud to announce the winner of this year's Health Equity Award: Dr. Tsu-Yin Wu,  director of the Eastern Michigan University Center for Health Disparities Innovation and Studies (CHDIS). The Health Equity Award is presented each year in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to recognize individuals who are leveraging civic engagement to improve health outcomes for those most impacted by health disparities. Read about Dr. Wu's work and listen to her acceptance speech. 
Pforzheimer Fellow Explores Deliberation Pedagogy
Democratic public life relies on problem-solving and decision-making across varied perspectives. Young people need to be better equipped with the communication skills necessary for improving the current state of polarization and political inefficacy in the United States. In this paper, NCL's 2019 Pforzheimer Fellow, Katie Patterson, shares her findings on the importance of deliberation pedagogy and how to train teachers for deliberation in the classroom to become more comfortable engaging
students in controversial discussions. 
Enjoying the newsletter? 
Send your feedback and ideas to ncl@ncl.org

Additional Information & Upcoming Events

2021 All-America City Award Theme Announced
Building Equitable and Resilient Communities

UNITE, ICMA's Annual Conference
Held Virtually, September 23-26, 2020

What We're Reading

COVID-19: Resources for Individuals and Governments

National League of Cities: COVID-19: Local Action Tracker Preview

A View From You: Our National Dialogue
This one-of-a-kind, national broadcast conversation offered the opportunity for residents to speak directly to community leaders, sharing what they need and the actions required by elected officials to get past this crisis.

NCDD Event Calendar
The calendar lists upcoming events related to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement.

Now accepting article proposals for National Civic Review
We are interested in 1,200-3,000 word articles. 
The deadline for the fall issue is September 15th. 
Contact mikem@ncl.org for more information. 


               
Thank you to National Civic League Sustaining Member 
Communities:

Asheboro, NC
Aurora, CO
Chula Vista, CA
Decatur, GA
Denver, CO
Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.
Dublin, CA
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Gladstone, MO
Hayward, CA
Illinois Municipal League
Las Vegas, NV
Oakridge Neighborhood, IA
Rancho Cordova, CA
Roanoke, VA
San Antonio, TX
Tallahassee, FL
Tampa Housing Authority
Tupelo, MS
Thank you to National Civic League Partner Organizations:

American Society for Public Administration
Bridge Alliance
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation
CGI
Colorado Health Foundation
Government Finance Officers Association
Greenberg Traurig
ICMA-RC
International City / County Management Association
Kaiser Permanente
Kettering Foundation
National Academy of Public Administration
National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation
National League of Cities
National Forum for Black Public Administrators
Rawson Family Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Southwest Airlines
United States Census Bureau
United Way Worldwide
Well Being Trust
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Join Our Mailing List