The Healing Power of Civil Discourse
by Nike Irvin, Managing Director of the Civil Society Fellowship: A Partnership of ADL and the Aspen Institute
When 2020 finally ends, I hope we remember it as the year Americans chose to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
Faced with a series of extraordinary challenges this year — from a pandemic and a battered economy to glaring exposure of an unequal justice system and bitterly contested elections — the image staring back at us is one of a fractured society.
It’s time for a hard reset so that we can rebuild our society and tear down the walls of fear that keep us from reaching out to each other. Over the years, movements have flared up to address the ‘isms: sexism, extremism, antisemitism, racism, and other issues. But they haven’t stuck. And so here we are, divided.
The hard work is critical. And it must accelerate now.
That is exactly what the Civil Society Fellowship, a partnership between the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and the Aspen Institute, is tackling, wrestling these divisions to the ground, one person at a time.
Marlon Peterson is a Black man in Brooklyn, an author, podcaster, and advocate for the formerly incarcerated — and a former inmate himself. Ryan Zuidema is a white man in Virginia, a police chief and teacher at Liberty University. It is safe to say Marlon and Ryan may not have otherwise met. And yet, the Fellowship has given them space for honest conversations about criminal justice, community safety, and what the “good society” means to them. This has been humbling and exciting to witness.
We launched this Fellowship last year with the goal of cultivating cohorts of up-and-coming problem solvers, activists, and community leaders who have the ability and desire to practice deep, respectful listening.
Imagine if new movement builders and problem solvers had a base, an anchor to turn to for sustenance as they roll up their sleeves to help lead us forward. Imagine how much stronger our society could be if leaders from different backgrounds and viewpoints were able to engage with each other through shared learning and model how to work through hard issues.
Chosen from more than 200 nominees, Marlon and Ryan are some of the 20 exceptional Fellows in our inaugural class. We curated the group purposefully so they come from different places and life experiences. From the Indigenous lands of New Mexico and Appalachia to Atlanta and Cleveland — our Fellows are literally a cross-section of America with a diversity of gender, race, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, and physical-ability. They are all social entrepreneurs in spirit.
In the weeks and months ahead, we will be using this space on Medium to highlight some of their stories and the challenges they’re facing. We will create space for their voices here, and hope they inspire and challenge you. Please follow us and share your thoughts with us.
These Fellows will come together five times over three years — in the United States and abroad — for weeklong seminars. Because of the pandemic, however, they’ve only had one gathering so far, which was exhilarating. Each moderated seminar uses text-based readings as the backbone of the shared experience. These are the launch points for a dive into self-inquiry of their values.
What these Fellows are doing is hard work. They are engaging in deep conversation with a serious purpose. They’re looking to find common ground, not conflict. Each Fellow is required to a do a large-scale leadership project, to think about the greater good and how they can affect their communities.
If this experiment goes well, we will have unleashed hundreds of leaders within the United States who know how to step into the gap, to have a meaningful effect on the public discourse. These leaders can accelerate the creation of more engaged and cohesive communities in the United States.
Modeling civil discourse can, of course, have ripple effects on how the rest of us engage with our fellow citizens. The inaugural Fellows will be hosting a town hall-style national conversation on November 20 about the state of the United States, engaging their communities about the hyper-polarization in America, through the lens of questions such as: “What is your dream for America?” “What is a good society?” and “What does America mean to you?” Registration for the Town Hall is free and open to the public.
As these inaugural Fellows continue learning from and with each other, it’s time for us to announce our next class of leaders. For 2020, we decided to go big. The times demand it.
There has been so much interest in the Civil Society Fellowship — exceeding our wildest expectations, to be honest — that we have decided to multiply our capacity. We are happy to announce that we have selected two new classes of Fellows.
The classes of 2020 and 2021, just like our first cohort, comprise a mini-mosaic of America. They include mayors, law enforcement officers, educators, entrepreneurs, veterans, authors and poets, lawyers, athletes, and activists. All are proven leaders who have reached a point in their lives where they are ready to apply their talent and skills to build a more civil society. They are individual examples of excellence. We are excited for you to hear from them in the future.
As the current election cycle comes to a close, and America witnesses a change of leadership, the pains and divisions in our society are ever-present. Yes, we must look at ourselves honestly in the mirror. But that’s just the start. We must also look at each other, to see and truly hear each other, extend grace as we see each other’s pain, if we have any hope of moving forward together.
Regardless of what happens on the national level, we are confident that our Civil Society Fellows will be bridges in their own communities. When we bet on them, somehow the odds for American renewal are less daunting and odds of success much greater.
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.
