Stories matter. Stories do work – they guide what we do. If our stories discount or degrade Others, then our actions exploit and marginalize. If our stories acknowledge the human …
Category Archives: Blog
It’s the Relationships! #WeaveThePeople
Photo Courtesy: Lena Yarinkura My Civity co-founder Malka Kopell and I had the opportunity last week to be part of the #WeaveThePpl gathering in Washington, DC. We joined with people …
Weaving a Civity Cloth
New York Times columnist David Brooks brings a compelling voice to the conversation about how Americans should be with each other. He has been bearing witness to the pain of …
Listening to Understand the “Who” as Well as the “What”
Larry Kramer, president of the Hewlett Foundation, recently asserted the value of “listening with empathy” in the nation’s current political and social climate of “polarization” and “tribalism.” It is essential, …
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“Civity” by Any Other Name…
The word “civity” is not new. The Oxford English Dictionary lists “civity” as an archaic, no-longer-used word for “city.” “Civity” calls us back to the essence of “city,” which originally …
Seeding Civity: An Update From Louisville
We asked Louisville community leaders to share examples of spaces in the Louisville community where they see Civity connections happening or potential for them to happen. Over the past year, …
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Seeing Beyond the Title: Supporting Civity Conversations at the Human Library
This summer, Civity worked closely with Derek Wolfgram and Jenny Barnes from the Redwood City Public Library to help bring to life the city’s first-ever Human Library event. The Human …
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Claudia Cohen & Everyday Dignity
Acts of dehumanization and humiliation are tools of war and submission. But, the flip side – the impact of offering dignity and acknowledging humanity, is less well studied. Claudia Cohen has coined the phrase everyday dignity to describe small acts that can restore our humanity. Cohen is adjunct faculty at the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia Teachers College, and a founding member of the Summit Interfaith Council Anti-racism Committee and Anti-Racism Community Collaborative in Westfield/Scotch Plains, NJ.
Civity Update: Standing Up for Connection in a Divided Country
At a time when “our divided country” is all the buzz at cocktail parties (well, at least the cocktail parties I’m going to!), Civity is standing up for connection, compassion, …
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Civity, Relationships, and the Art of Playground Jump Rope
“Relationships carry action verbs. Love. Marry. Rule. Fight. Correspond. Mix.”Dorothee Kocks* Malka and I arrived at Civity by different paths. By the time we met, Malka had spent decades convening …
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