Hyphens: Combined, Yet Divided
Haya: Asian-American: a term set to define a vast group of more than 3 billion people from across the continent of Asia, across various cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Asian and
Haya: Asian-American: a term set to define a vast group of more than 3 billion people from across the continent of Asia, across various cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Asian and
Authors: Brigitta Rongstad Strong, Annamarie Schaecher, Anne Gold, Ethan Knight Water is both critical and scarce across the desert southwest and a topic that touches on the lives of everyone
Stories carry memories, history, and wisdom. They have the ability to ground us in an experience we may know little to nothing about, yet invoke feelings as if we were
By: Anaïs Maseda Being someone with a richly diverse background and ancestry, I grew up confused about my ethnicity with constant questioning about my African-American culture. It took me
We are standing, yet again, at the edge of where our past year concludes and our new year is peaking over the horizon. What sort of lessons have we learned
Show your support and order your limited edition t-shirt today! We are incredibly excited to announce the talented winners of our very first art contest! Each artist submitted their interpretation
By: Sophia He Youth Council Consciously or unconsciously, our communities contribute to our identity and sense of self. While each of us has our own unique identity, whether a community
For me, respect involves understanding rather than judging. As a human being and a social animal, I encounter inevitable situations where I interact with others. Some of these interactions might
By Sophia He As inevitable navigators of society and the internal mind, we are all , right at this moment, going through experiences that shape our values and political beliefs.
Peilin Lu is a rising high school junior. She is passionate about social justice, history, and political science. What led you to Living Room Conversations? Sonder is my favorite word
Sophia He is currently a high school student going into tenth grade in the fall of 2020. She is a student at Newton Country Day School, which is a Catholic
Photo from Edwin Hooper — Unsplash.com As this pandemic morphs into a new reality, I thought about the highlights and lowlights of my time sheltered in place. The lowlights are
Anxiety and loss are dominant themes in our lives as the path of COVID-19 careens through our communities. Underneath this, I keep hearing about bright spots and possibilities. That we might discover
A Living Room Conversation (LRC) is a model of sharing and listening to diverse viewpoints that can be easily implemented in a classroom setting. The model, developed in 2011, helps people with
Editor’s Note: See John Gable’s take on this event here. Over the past decade I’ve been a regular attendee at the Wisdom 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. It’s an annual gathering
Dear ones, Staring down our vulnerability hurts in the forgotten places. Who knew the dial of these anxious times would suddenly be cranked up to 11? How are you? Really? Our team
Five of us gathered around my kitchen table last week armed with steaming mugs of tea, Skinny Pop Popcorn, and laptops—the weapons of suburban warriors. To be more precise, we
“That was really good,” Tyree told me at the end of the meeting. “Sitting down face-to-face changes everything!” A home healthcare worker studying to become a teacher, this marked the
Note: this post, by Brazilian-American political activist and commentator Julia Song, originally appeared as part of CNN’s “Fractured States of America” series. (CNN)I am a political activist by nature. In
Note: This post, by Albanian-born US citizen Rremida Shkoza, originally appeared as a part of CNN’s “Fractured States of America” series. (CNN)I was in my hotel room in New York
By Chad Estes, Faith Communities Partner at Living Room Conversations My church looked different at the beginning of 2018. Walking into our sanctuary you would have thought that the maintenance staff forgot to remove
One of our dedicated and deeply appreciated volunteer hosts, Kathy Mitchell, created a list of insights from the Communicating With Care conversation. From her experience hosting this conversation, she generated
by Gayle Yamauchi-Gleason Michael C. Taggart is retired from a public service career in the Columbus, OH area and is one of many dedicated Living Room Conversations volunteers. A self-identified
By Beth Raps Dr. David Sacks is in private practice as a clinical psychologist in the metropolitan DC area. He met us through one of our star organizers, Jessica Shryack,
By Debilyn Molineaux. Reposted from AllSides.com Since I saw this YouTube video on The First Follower, I’ve been fascinated by who follows whom, and why? We often see analyses of various
By Joan Blades. Reposted from AllSides. I began describing Living Room Conversations as a domestic peace initiative just over a year ago. Individuals and communities that were at odds or disconnected were intentionally
By David Womeldorff & Donna Zajonc. Reposted from TED*. Are you a good listener? According to a recent business survey, even though people are frequently texting and checking their email
By Joan Blades & John Gable. Reposted from The Aspen Institute. The Better Arguments Project is a new national civic initiative created to help bridge ideological divides – not by
By Gayle Yamauchi-Gleason Our organizer/volunteer, Gayle Yamauchi-Gleason shared the thoughtful write-up below about Living Room Conversations. I’m a Living Room Conversations organizer because the Living Room Conversations model has about
By Tom McSteen. Reposted from AllSides.com. How do you feel when your voice is heard? How do you feel when it is not? We all want our voice to be
By Bogdan Matuszynski Over the weekend of March 31st several brave San Diegans and local leaders came together at the Museum of Man to get out of their comfort zone
By Bill Manny. Reposted from Idaho Statesman. Mismatch.org is part of Joan Blades’ plan to unite the world. Blades is a delightful mismatch of a person herself. She is a
By Brooke Deterline and Maxim Schrogin This week’s Living Room Conversations note to their members details their powerful partnership with Rotary International. You might already know that “Rotary is a
By Carlyn Montes De Oca. Reposted from animalhumanhealth.com What do you feel when you disagree with someone – discomfort, distaste, anger? Do you confront them or shut them out? Do
By Debilyn Molineaux. Reposted from AllSides. We all know them — and we may be them. Who? People who seem to tear down every idea, project or dream we’ve been
By Beth Raps. Reposted from AllSides. Living Room Conversations was recently represented at a major transpartisan conference—Unrig the System Summit—by our Chief Technical Officer Martin Wallace (who’s also one of
By Pedro Silva. Reposted from AllSides. As I sat in the front row of Second Baptist Church of Boulder, Colorado waiting to be called up to join my fellow panelists,
By Bruce Friesen. Reposted from AllSides. I used to think I knew what I stood for, what my make up as a person was. As the years go by, I’ve
By Jessica Shryack. Reposted from AllSides. Minnesota has some of the worst gaps in educational attainment in the country. That’s not really news anymore. What may be news to people
Join us for our first round of monthly video Living Room Conversations events! We are excited to be adding these monthly conversations as a staple of our mission to help
By Serena Witherspoon. Reprinted from Huffington Post. I am of a mixed racial background. My mom is a white first-generation American and spent a large chunk of her adolescence being raised
By Erik Fogg. Reprinted from Huffington Post I’ve personally been an advocate of ranked choice voting for some time. This is due in large part to the fact that I
By Cheryl Graeve, National Community Organizer, National Institute for Civil Discourse. Reprinted from Huffington Post. If you open your ears and listen quietly, if you set your eyes to look for
By Joan Blades, Founding Partner, Living Room Conversations. Reprinted from Huffington Post. Last month I was part of a community Living Room Conversation event about affordable housing at the Peninsula JCC in Silicon Valley, a
By Jacob Z. Hess, Ph.D. Reprinted from Huffington Post. Lots of attention is going today to physical habitat under siege (and for good reason): without more attention, many of these beautiful
By Joan Blades, Founding Partner, Living Room Conversations & Rabbi Lavey Derby, Director of Jewish Life, PJCC. Reprinted from Huffington Post. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
By Debilyn Molineaux. Reprinted from Huffington Post. I cry every time I watch the six minute opening scene from The Newsroom, an HBO series from 2012. Yes, it’s well produced, written
By Keith Kozloff. Reprinted from Huffington Post. What should one do when approaching the bridge over the political divide, but can’t see anyone coming from the other side? The goal
By Michael V. Rodriguez. Reprinted from Huffington Post. At 6 am as coffee attempts to dominate sleepiness I find a fitting state of mind to recall last night’s Living Room Conversation about
By Serena Witherspoon. Reprinted from Huffington Post. I ride my bike to school. When you enter Sproul Plaza (the entrance point at the South Side of the UC Berkeley campus) there
Subscribe to receive stories, conversation tips, resources, and updates.