Everyday Democracy is a proud member of the CT Collaborative on Poverty, Criminal Justice and Race ("the Collaborative"), which held its second annual Time to Talk community dialogue event on November 6, 2019 at Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Everyday Democracy's Approach - To Community-Police Engagement
From July 31 - Aug 2, Everyday Democracy's Carolyne Abdullah, Gwen Whiting and Gwen Wright helped lead a training designed for police chiefs across the country who are members of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Participants toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture, talked about the history of policing, advancements in community engagement and strategies for shifting culture and sustaining change.
The Wondertwins, famed veteran hip-hop dance duo from Boston, performed their newest piece, BLACK on September 27th, 2019. BLACK explores the traumatizing effects of police violence towards the black community by incorporating dance with historic and contemporary audio and video clips.
For more than 25 years, Everyday Democracy has worked with communities across the country to foster a healthy and vibrant democracy – one that is characterized by strong relationships across divides, racial equity, and widespread leadership and voice. Here are snapshots of just four of the hundreds of communities that have been positively transformed through their Dialogue to Change efforts.
Beth Broadway, President/CEO of InterFaith Works of Central New York, was selected as the winner of the 2018 Paul and Joyce Aicher Leadership in Democracy Award. Beth’s winning nomination was selected from 67 nominations of both individuals and organizations, in this second annual national contest, and as a result, $10,000 for her agency and an award statue was presented to Beth at a ceremony in Hartford, CT on December 6.
Criminal justice reform advocates are trying to spark a larger conversation regarding the role race and poverty play in experience with the justice system. In Hartford recently, a dialogue took place between lawyers, public officials, and community stakeholders, including formerly incarcerated individuals.
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT. As people throughout the state and country lose faith that there is any resemblance of equity in our jail, prison, sentencing and overall justice systems, an action-driven collaborative in Connecticut is organizing a day of dialogue and deliberation, led by the national non-profit, Everyday Democracy. The collaborative includes: ACLU Smart Justice Connecticut; Capital Community College, Community Capacity Builders, Community Solutions, City of Hartford, the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice and Phoenix Association. Join Us Saturday, November 17th at noon (11am lunch) at the Chrysalis Center for a Discusssion and Dialogue with Peter Edelman. Registration is required.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-time-to-talk-poverty-criminal-justice-and-race-tickets-51466407410
There was a lot of recognition for the work being done to strengthen democracy at this October’s annual National Conference on Citizenship in Washington DC. One of the highlights of the event was the announcement of InterFaith Works El Hindi Center for Dialogue, Syracuse, NY as a 2018 recipient of the esteemed CIVVY award in the category of “local” organizations.
In late August, 2018, teams from 20 states participated in the first group of the Southern Rural Development Center's (SRDC) "Train the Trainers" program "Coming Together for Racial Understanding." The purpose of the initiative was to build capacity within the national Cooperative Extension Service to help communities engage in civil dialogues around racial equity. The training was designed to prepare participants to build capacity within their home institutions.
Our ultimate goal is to create positive community change that includes everyone, and our tools, advice, and resources foster that kind of change. Whether you’re grappling with a divisive community issue, or simply want to include residents’ voices in city government, Everyday Democracy's Dialogue to Change process, using a racial equity lens, can help.
