Moving Beyond 2020: Thoughts and Reflections
We have finally reached the end of this long, draining, painful year.
What have we learned from this tumultuous time? How have we changed? What’s our wish for 2021?
We created the Civil Society Fellowship: A Partnership of ADL and the Aspen Institute in 2019 to begin to heal long-simmering fissures in society. And yet for all the need we saw back then, we could not have predicted how deeply urgent this work would feel right now, how desperate we are to see and hear one another.
Our first cohort of Fellows is a rich stew of people from widely varying backgrounds, experiences, and politics, each committed to a shared ideal of societal growth through collaboration and conversation.
As we bid farewell to this historic year, several of the Fellows shared their thoughts about this moment.
Farewell 2020: Takeaways from the Year (beyond the pandemic)
Racial reckoning
“Much as Emmett Till’s murder helped mobilize the Civil Rights movement, the killing of George Floyd while the entire country was paused and able to bear witness unleashed a white awakening, shattering any pretense of innocence.” — Shawn Barney, Managing Director at CLB Porter Development, New Orleans
“The civil unrest and resulting police reform in the wake of George Floyd’s death has indelibly changed law enforcement throughout the country…and will have far-reaching effects on law enforcement and the criminal justice system for many years to come.” — Police Chief Ryan Zuidema, Lynchburg, Virginia
“White people like myself are not just waking up to the systemic racism that has built and shaped America, but we are actively identifying, discussing, and confronting racial injustice openly for the first time.” — Matt Fieldman, Executive Director of America Works, Beachwood, Ohio
“Racism has disfigured American democracy since our nation’s inception and the summer’s protests provides powerful momentum to push for not only reform but transformation in our nation’s public safety and criminal justice system.” — Rev. Adam Taylor, Acting President of Sojourners, Chevy Chase, Maryland
“We’re witnessing the continued reckoning with America’s history of racial oppression, populism over the peoples’ will, and lack of accurate representation in our government. This was not a standalone event. There’s no miraculous reset after 11:59:59 2020. We have to continue to create a reset into 2021 and beyond.” — LB Prevette, Director of Community Engagement at Forward Wilkes, Wilkesboro, North Carolina
“Deep reckoning is taking place in churches, locker rooms, board rooms and family dinner tables across the country about the compounding disadvantage, inequities and barriers faced by people of color.” — Lauren McCann, Vice President of Stand Together, Falls Church, Virginia
Power of individuals and grassroots activism
“Nothing could have prepared us [in Flint] more for 2020 than the past decade … [when] we’ve had several crises and have shown our resilience. The 2020 game changer was realizing resilience wasn’t enough. We have to fight for change.” — Isaiah Oliver, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Michigan
“We learned (once again) that change — real change — is a grassroots endeavor. [This year] we witnessed the power of grassroots organizing and civic engagement, all of which came on the heels of George Floyd’s murder, worldwide protests against systemic racism and unrelenting police brutality. We witnessed enough people saying, “Enough is enough.” — Kaci Patterson, Owner of Social Good Solutions, Los Angeles
Value of relationships
“In spite of the difficulties and worldwide reckoning this year, we have all learned to redefine our relationships–both with individuals and our surroundings. [We can] access friends and family across the world through video technology. And it has been rewarding to take daily walks to discover our neighborhoods.” — Akbar Hossain, federal law clerk, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
“Despite the pandemic, I was able to grow my firm and employ three new people. It’s been a true blessing for the entire team, and we have become extremely efficient and strong together.” — Samah Abukhodeir, Managing Partner at The Florida Probate & Family Law Firm, Miami
“[This year] forced a realization that human connection to one another and the simple act of a hug is a critical part of our humanity.”— Blair Milo, Secretary of Career Connections and Talent for the State of Indiana
New Year’s Eve: Straddling Past and Future with Gratitude
“For me, the past and the future presents itself in three parts: gratitude, reflection on how far we’ve come, and hope about — and commitment to — where we will go next. I am grateful for the grassroots movements, the organizers, and the millions of working-class folks across the country who continue to sacrifice daily so that our society can function.” — Akbar Hossain
“I’m thinking about gratitude. Amid the turmoil and chaos of 2020, I embrace the next year with delight and gratitude.” — Jenifer Sarver, principal of Sarver Strategies, Austin
“I am grateful that throughout all the challenges we faced in 2020, our department and my family remained safe, healthy, and resilient. Although it has been a very difficult year, I am extremely proud of the way my employees have responded and adapted to unpredictable daily circumstances.” — Ryan Zuidema
“As 2020 become 2021, I remain a hopeful for humanity, for this country and for the communities we all serve. This hope is based on those who have come before us, and have fought hard to create a better world for us all. It is because of our ancestors I continue to work toward a better, more just society.” — Joseph Kunkel, Design Director, SNC Design Lab, Santa Fe
“This year was like a deep personal excavation for me. As a working mom with two young kids, I’ve never felt so exhausted and overwhelmed. I started 2020 in survival mode and burned out quickly when I realized we were in a marathon and not a sprint. But despite the enormous strain, I’m grateful for all of it, as it helped me realize the enormous value of my time and energy and the choice I have in how and where I spend it.” — Lauren McCann
Welcome, 2021: Hopes and Opportunities
“I am hopeful that the way forward is clear. The joy we saw in the streets all across America was not because we saw a hero in Joe Biden, it’s because we saw a hero in ourselves. We are our best and most determined liberators. That’s what gives me hope. The challenges we face are enormous. Those of us who believe in the good society will need to make it our business to lift as we climb so we don’t leave families and communities to be crushed under a pile of pain.” — Kaci Patterson
“I’m hopeful that out of the tumult of 2020, 2021 will bring about a hard-reset whereby a country that was founded in practice to benefit white people will fully embrace its ideals and have the courage to remedy equity for all our people. — Shawn Barney
“I’m hoping for more opportunities for the ones who need it most and I’m also hoping for significant change in the legal world, that the judicial system will take the opportunity to embrace new technology and systems.” — Samah Abukhodeir
“The pandemic has presented us with an unparalleled opportunity nationally to reimagine the role of philanthropy and bring integrity to our work as true partners in equity. I’m hoping we can engage donors and other stakeholders in conversations and agenda-setting and bring an equity lens beyond the pandemic.” — Isaiah Oliver
“Who belongs? Who matters? Who deserves an equitable share of our collective abundance? These will continue to be fiercely contested questions in 2021, whose answers will determine how much progress we are able to make toward equitable accessing of vaccines, reimagining law enforcement, protecting and promoting immigrants, expanding access to quality healthcare, and ending structural disinvestment in communities of color. We must also simultaneously widen the circle of human concern, which requires the adoption of practices and building a bigger tent for more people to join us in writing a radically inclusive future.” — Joseph Tomás Mckellar, co-director of PICO California, Los Angeles
“I look forward to redefining what is ‘normal.’ Here’s what I hope becomes normal: kindness, generosity, understanding and empathy.” — Jenifer Sarver
“2020 has forced us to see hard, harsh truths about our society and we cannot un-see them. [I hope that we] develop a common understanding of what we mean by equity. For me, it’s about fairness, as ensuring everyone has a fair shot at a decent life. And its pursuit has to be grounded in the better angels of our nature.” — Frank Fernandez, President & CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
As we leave 2020, what has struck Nike Irvin, managing director of the Civil Society Fellowship, is how much FEAR has motivated us. The pandemic scared us into a (limited) version of universal basic income, the idea of cutting checks to everyday people for their basic needs. The pandemic scared us into virtual work. It drove us into hybrid learning in public education.
As we move into 2021, let’s seek to find out what happens if fear were replaced with imagination. “Can we dare ourselves into solutions for gnarly problems? What would it take: Money? Recognition? Some other inspiration?” Irvin asks.
“We have a way of revering invention. I’m tickled that some of these inventors find their way to the Civil Society Fellowship. They tinker, break down and rebuild, and find clever ways for civil society to live up to our high values. These are folks who don’t get moved by fear or ego, but by community wins and greater good.”
Nominations are open for the next cohort of the Civil Society Fellowship: A Partnership of ADL and the Aspen Institute at www.civilsocietyfellowship.org. Nominate a next generation leader prepared to engage across difference and address the biggest issues facing our society in the United States.
The views and opinions expressed in these articles are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of ADL or the Aspen Institute. They are offered to stimulate thought and discussion.
