Palma Joy Strand
What Civity means to me:
Civity is the root. Most of the challenges we face today arise from contention over the “Who is the We?” question: Who matters; who should matter; who matters more and less. Civity responds emphatically and unconditionally: Everyone matters; everyone belongs. This is the root for imagining and co-creating a different way of being with each other, as well as transforming existing institutions and social structures. The We is All of Us.
How I came to Civity:
I am a white woman married to a Black man, and I have three biracial, now adult, children. Crossing the boundary of race with conversation and relationship has been an integral part of my life for more than 40 years. I’m a lawyer by training, which is very “head”-oriented. Being involved in my local community as a public school parent, however, brought home the realization that the key to being able to address deep challenges is people being in relationship with each other – especially with people who are not like-minded and not similarly situated. The “heart” is the foundation that makes “head” progress possible. The word and the practice of civity grew out of this.
In addition to being Co-Founder and Research Director of Civity, I am a Professor of Law in the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (NCR) Program at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. I teach classes in conflict engagement, facilitation, leadership, systems, structural injustice, and organizing for justice and solidarity. I also design and facilitate Conversations About Race and Belonging, working especially with teachers and parents in public education.
Before joining the NCR Program, I was a faculty member in the Creighton School of Law. I have also taught at the University of Maryland School of Law and the Georgetown University Law Center. Before entering teaching, I clerked for Judge J. Skelly Wright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Byron White of the U.S. Supreme Court. My work with Civity connects my academic work to practice, and my practice work informs and grounds my academic work. In addition to a B.S. (Civil Engineering) from Stanford University, I hold a JD from Stanford Law School and an LLM in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Legal Problem-Solving from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Other things I like to do: walk, swim, and ride my electric bike. I make collages from old greeting cards, and quilts from old and new fabric combinations. I read and read and read…
Things I’d like to do: learn to play the steel drums and make mosaics; pick up my yoga practice and explore tai chi; spend more time in the redwoods.