History

A Historical Timeline of Everyday Democracy

2008

• The Study Circles Resource Center changes its name to Everyday Democracy!
• SCRC launches Communities Creating Racial Equity initiative  with eight selected programs from across the country.

2007

• SCRC launches DemocracySpace.org, a blog where community organizers and public officials connect online to share news, views, and ideas.

• SCRC partners with the Case Foundation on the “Make It Your Own” grant program designed to help grass-roots leaders involve their fellow citizens in dialogue, deliberation and action on community problems.

• To date, SCRC has worked with more than 550 communities around the country to organize dialogue-to-change initiatives.

• As part of a C.S. Mott and W.K. Kellogg-funded three-year initiative, SCRC hosts orientations in Austin, TX, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Little Rock, Ark., to introduce new resources to help communities achieve racial equity by engaging the full diversity of their residents in addressing racism and related issues. The  orientations also help recruit learning partners to participate in the initiative.

• SCRC publishes A Guide for Training Study Circle Facilitators, Second Edition.
• More than 170 small, rural communities in seven states ranging from Minnesota to Washington initiate study circle programs as part of Horizons II, a community leadership program sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation aimed at reducing poverty in rural and reservation communities.

2006

• In partnership with the Northwest Area Foundation, SCRC publishes Thriving Communities: Working together from poverty to prosperity for all.

• SCRC's web site is named a silver award by the Wilmer Shield Rich Program on Excellence in Communications (Council on Foundations)

• SCRC publishes Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation.

2005

• SCRC partners with the National League of Women Voters on Local Voices: Citizen Conversations on Civil Liberties and Secure Communities.
• SCRC launches new web site.

2004

• SCRC launches What Democracy Looks Like, a four-part story series that tells the stories of people and communities experiencing real change from study circles.
• After two years, more than 1,500 schools and 20,000 students participate in Mix It Up.
• Over 300 study circle programs are organized around the country since the founding of SCRC in 1989.
• The Topsfield Foundation changes its name to The Paul J. Aicher Foundation, to honor its founder.

2003

• Tolerance.org and SCRC release the discussion guide Reaching Across Boundaries: Talk to Create Change as part of the Mix It Up, a national campaign to help young people talk about and break down social barriers.
• SCRC publishes the how-to guides Organizing Study Circles with Young People and Training Young People to Facilitate Study Circles.
• SCRC publishes What Works: Study Circles In The Real World, a practical, short publication based on a two-year study of best practices in study circle organizing.
• U.S. Policy in Post-War Iraq: What Shall We Do? is published.

2002

• The Topsfield Foundation, Inc., celebrates its 20th anniversary.
• Helping Every Student Succeed: Schools and Communities Working Together is published.
• SCRC publishes What Democracy Feels Like, a story that chronicles Paul J. Aicher’s development as an innovative, visionary philanthropist and his creation of the Study Circles Resource Center.
• The National School Public Relations Association works with SCRC to promote study circles to its members as an effective tool for engaging schools and communities to address achievement gap. SCRC and NSPRA partner to assist Hartford, Conn., Public Schools in organizing district-wide study circles on the achievement gap.
• A Community for All Generations–Teens and Adults Working Together is published.
• Founder Paul J. Aicher dies on Aug. 19, 2002, after a short illness.

2001

• SCRC releases Toward Competent Communities: Best Practices for Producing Community-Wide Study Circles, a two-year study of effective study circle programs.
• Facing the Future: How Should We Move Forward After September 11? is published.
• SCRC publishes the now widely used how-to organizing guide, Organizing Community-wide Dialogue for Action and Change.
• New York statewide study circle program on the corrections system concludes after more than 2,200 people participate.

2000

• Protecting Communities, Serving the Public: Police and Residents Building Relationships to Work Together is published.
• SCRC publishes Building Strong Neighborhoods for Families with Children in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

1999

• Building Strong Neighborhoods: A Study Guide for Public Dialogue and Community Problem Solving is published.
• New York launches statewide study circle program on the state’s corrections system.
• SCRC launches its first website.
• Over 110 study circle programs are organized around the country since the founding of SCRC in 1989.

1998

• Oklahoma and Arkansas launch statewide study circle programs on education as part of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory’s “Calling the Roll” initiative.
• Smart Talk for Growing Communities: Meeting the Challenges of Growth and Development is published.
• SCRC partners with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform to develop Local Conversations on Education in Your Community and to present public engagement workshops around the country to school officials.
• SCRC publishes first training guide for preparing study circle facilitator, Guide for Training Study Circle Facilitators.

1997

• Balancing Justice: Setting Citizen Priorities for the Corrections System is published.
• First statewide study circle program in Oklahoma leads to legislation that completely revamps the state’s criminal justice system.
• Toward a More Perfect Union in an Age of Diversity: A Guide for Building Stronger Communities Through Public Dialogue is published.
• SCRC assists President Clinton’s Initiative on Race “One America in the 20th Century” by developing the initiative’s One America Dialogue Guide: Conducting a Discussion on Race.

1996

• Youth Issues, Youth Voices: A Guide for Engaging Youth and Adults in Public Dialogue and Problem Solving is published.
• SCRC receives the YWCA of the U.S.A. Racial Justice Award for Civil/Human Rights.
• SCRC publishes first how-to organizing guide, Planning Community-wide Study Circles: A Step-by-Step Guide.
• Congressional Exchange, a sister project of SCRC, is launched in Washington, D.C., to help Members of Congress engage their local districts in study circles.

1995

• Confronting Violence in Our Communities: A Guide for Involving Citizens in Public Dialogue and Problem Solving is published.
• Los Angeles City Council engages several hundred residents in study circles two weeks after the controversial O.J. Simpson trial verdict.
• Education: How Can Schools and Communities Work Together to Meet the Challenge? is published.
• Ten study circle programs are organized around the country since the founding of SCRC in 1989.

1994

• In Harm’s Way: When Should We Risk American Lives in World Conflict? discussion guide is published.

1993

• Lima, Ohio, is the first in the country to apply SCRC’s “community-wide” study circle model. Lima engaged more than 1,000 people on race and relations. 
• The discussion guide Going to War? Bosnia & Beyond is published.

1992

• SCRC publishes Election Year Discussion Set, a guide covering the top issues facing the presidential election.
• SCRC publishes its first race discussion guide Can't We All Just Get Along?- A Manual for Discussion Programs On Racism and Race Relations in response to the 1992 civil disturbances in Los Angeles after the Rodney King beating. This was the first time SCRC promoted the “community-wide” study circles model.

1991

• “Public Talk” series, single-issue discussions, are distributed to libraries, adult education programs, and religious organizations around the country on issues such as the death penalty, health care, and homelessness.

1990

• Crisis in the Gulf is published to help people talk about whether or not the United States should go to war with Iraq.
• SCRC publishes first issue of the quarterly newsletter, Focus on Study Circles.

1989

• Paul J. Aicher establishes the Study Circles Resource Center as a project of the Topsfield Foundation, Inc.