From the Edmund Pettus Bridge to the Civic Convention
A few weeks ago I was in Selma, AL, to keynote the local NAACP’s annual banquet celebrating the 59th anniversary of the voting rights act. Nearly sixty years on, the voting rights act remains one of the most important pieces of legislation in our history.
Voting is a sacred responsibility. When Americans head to the polls we are equals among equals. Each of us must vote our conscience this year. But here’s what I told the packed room that night in Selma. Voting alone won’t solve what ails us.
No matter who wins this November, the underlying conditions in our communities will remain—pervasive mistrust, deep divisions, loneliness, a lack of hope, growing inequities and disparities. Solving those requires something much deeper than electing a particular candidate.
I’ve been crisscrossing the country this year for our civic campaign, “Enough. Time to Build.” Everywhere from Matt Gaetz’s district in Florida to Fresno, CA, to Flint, MI. I’m about to embark on new swings through Pennsylvania, California, and Kentucky. No matter where I go, the response is the same. People don’t want more divisive politics; they are hungry for a new path forward. Selma was no different.
And if Selma wants to move forward—truly, if our country wants to move forward—we need a new civic path.
Listen to Americans for even a moment and it’s clear: what ails us is deeply human. A sense that we are losing control over our lives. A deepening separation from one another. A belief that we are not seen or heard. A fear of being left out and left behind.
These are not Republican or Democratic challenges. They are challenges facing all Americans. And it is in our local communities where such challenges must be met. That’s where we can turn outward toward one another. That’s where we can figure out what we can agree on, even amid our real differences. That’s where we can get things done.
Look at American history. So many of the major changes in our past—from abolishing slavery to women’s suffrage to civil rights to gay rights—started in our local communities. That’s where the change we need is going to come from again today. Just like in 1965 when marchers crossed Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge to demand that our country be better and do better. Step by step, those marchers unleashed a chain reaction of actions that built momentum, grew over time, and grew our sense of possibility and hope. What started with a handful of people in Selma spread across this great nation and changed the arc of history forever.
On the heels of the Republican and Democratic conventions, our campaign is holding a convention of its own. A civic convention. Why? Because today, now more than ever, we need a new civic path to address the growing despair and chaos in society. Forging this new civic path is how we will grow our belief in ourselves and in one another that we can actually come together and get stuff done.
Communities across the country are already forging this civic path. Places like Reading, PA, once a white working class community that today is nearly 70% Hispanic; Alamance County, NC, one of the most divided places in the country; and Lexington, KY, a rapidly growing community where many feel in danger of being left out or left behind.
Real transformation is taking place in these communities. Step by step. Neighborhood by neighborhood. Day after day.
Each community is on the move against the odds because they have been intentional about focusing on issues that really matter to people. Things like youth opportunities, education, mental health, support for seniors, safety, and connection with others. What’s more, they have not allowed these bedrock issues to get trapped in a heated political frame. Instead they have rooted them in terms of people’s shared aspirations.
That’s why I’ve invited leaders from each community to speak at our civic convention. You’ll hear firsthand how these leaders are bearing witness to the many ways this new civic path is creating change and strengthening their communities’ civic culture.
Give us an hour and we’ll give you hope. Join us, August 28, 7 pm-8 pm ET.
