Author Archives: Gina Baleria

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 One America Movement …

Continue reading “David Levinsky & Nate Bagley, Bridging Divides Across Religious Difference”

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, executive director for Lean In Louisville and Project catalyst for the Global Human project, discusses the importance of reaching across difference to heal communities and forge connections. He also stresses the importance of meeting people where they are and doing the work to know yourself, so you can truly know others.

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 across difference.

“You may not find reciprocity as you attempt to have conversations” across difference, said Kim Roth Howe, founding principal of Co-Creative Labs and TED Talk speaker of Searching for Purple in a Red and Blue Time. “Even if you do everything exactly right, and you come with the most open heart and most gracious perspective…, …

Continue reading “Kim Roth Howe Searches for Purple in a Red/Blue Time”

Acts of dehumanization and humiliation are well-documented tools of war and submission. But the flip side – the impact of offering someone dignity, acknowledging their humanity – is less studied. “It occurs to me that if you can damage the dignity of someone in a small or a very large way, well then aren’t we …

Continue reading “Claudia Cohen on Everyday Dignity”

Stuart Chittenden is a lawyer by training, but he began to see the power of empathetic conversation on relationships and even his own outlook on life. He now focuses on building relationships helping people tell their stories and truly hear the stories of others as founder of Squishtalks.

This is Civity Radio talks with Kate Chance and Ameena Jandali with the Islamic Networks Group (ING). ING works around the country on education geared toward cultural literacy and mutual respect, as well as efforts to counter incidents of bigotry through building relationships and engaging communities. ING has also created the Know Your Neighbor Campaign, of which Civity is a partner.