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The power of Study Circles comes closer to home! (see article below)
Actually, some of us involved in the Madison effort provided advice and
visited Fon du Lac to share The Madison Experience so it is great to see
their effort get launched. A recent websearch finds that Study Circles
are fastly gaining ground as a democracy builder. Check it out for
yourself...across the nation there are circles on a range of issues,
including race relations. During a time when politics resemble a Jerry
Spring episode - it is good to know that groups of citizens can come
together and engage in the democratic process in an honest and equitable
manner. I trust that as our own Study Circles program grows up and moves
out of the Mayor's office that the larger community will support the
concept of deliberative democracy as a tool to change communities for
the better.
Have a great weekend!
Hedi Rudd
Study Circles Program Coordinator
New diversity circles are forming in Fond du Lac
Groups hope to focus attention on race issues
By Kelly Tucker
the reporter [log in to unmask]
Study circles are among the newest ways that communities across the
country are using to explore social and political issues.
A pilot study circle focusing on the issue of diversity and race
relations in Fond du Lac is concluding this week and three additional
circles will begin later this month.
Diversity circles are the combined efforts of several Fond du Lac-based
organizations, including Advocap, Agnesian HealthCare, PeaceFest, Fond
du Lac School District, Safe and Stable Families, all three local
colleges and universities, and several of other organizations.
Facilitated by Judy Goldsmith and the Rev. Mary Council-Austin of Fond
du Lac, the circles are designed to address the unspoken issues that
surround race and diversity while renewing a commitment to community
involvement.
"Fond du Lac has been struggling to embrace the issue of diversity
for some time now," Council-Austin said.
"Race is always going to be an issue that hangs over our heads,"
Goldsmith said. "The reality is that we have passed some laws that ban
racism and discrimination of others. But until we sit down and talk
through these issues, we aren't going to get past those unspoken
issues.
"People in the community don't really sit down and discuss these
issues with others," Goldsmith continued. "We know that we still
deal with issues of race all the time. Race just keeps popping up
because we don't deal with it.
"In these circles, we are saying that we are going to take this and
talk about it - talk about the concerns we have and what we can do about
it."
The circles, which are composed of 8-12 members, including two from
minority ethnic groups, meet for five weeks to discuss pre-planned
issues surrounding the topic. After the conclusion of the fifth meeting,
members gather once again to form a plan of action.
"This is not just a feel-good opportunity," Council-Austin said.
"We have complex issues that have to be addressed in the local
community, the state, the nation and the world. We need some new ideas.
We need to draw on the diversity of ideas, which can empower us to
manage our community life in different ways.
"This kind of action and involvement are designed to hopefully compel
more people to get up and get involved in their community,"
Council-Austin added.
"When you do something like this, you learn more about yourself and
your community," Goldsmith said. "You don't just want to go back
as if you were not changed because it does change you.
"Generally, it causes people to want to do something in their
community, so that their community can reflect what they've learned
from the study circles," she observed.
According to Goldsmith, the benefit is a better understanding of the
people and the world around them and building better community
relationships.
"We could be doing more for the good of the community across racial
lines," Goldsmith said. "The world is increasingly multi-colored,
and our children and grandchildren will benefit from being more
comfortable with that reality."
Hedi Rudd
Mayor's Office
Study Circles on Race Program Coordinator
210 Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd Room 403
Madison, WI 53703-3346
608-266-4611 Phone
608-267-8671 Fax
"You keep plugging away--that's the way social change
takes place. That's the way every social change in history
has taken place: by a lot of people, who nobody ever heard
of, doing work."
Noam Chomsky
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