Conversations on Race. Communities in Action.
Spring 2009 participants, fill out the post-survey!
What is Common Ground?
Picture a room with about 10 ordinary residents sitting in a circle. There are men and women, blacks, whites, Asians, Native Americans, Hispanics and other ethnic groups. They represent different religions, backgrounds and generations.
This small group of diverse people has agreed to meet for several hours with a trained facilitator who leads a discussion on race relations.
And this spring, Common Ground is meeting at five locations, Lindenwood Christian Church, Caritas Village, Trinity Baptist Church in Cordova, Idlewild Presbyterian Church and Calvary Church in Cordova.
Spring 2009 sites are:
MONDAYS: 6-8 p.m., April 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11, 18 and 25. Lindenwood Christian Church, 2400 Union Ave., Memphis
TUESDAYS: 6-8 p.m., April 14, 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19 and 26. Caritas Village, 2509 Harvard Ave., Memphis
WEDNESDAYS: 6:15-8:15 p.m., April 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13 and 20. Trinity Baptist Church, 8899 Trinity Road, Cordova
THURSDAYS: 7-9 p.m., April 16, 23, 30, May 7, 14, 21 and 28. Idlewild Presbyterian Church, 1750 Union Ave.
SATURDAYS: 8-noon, April 25, May 2 and May 9. Calvary Church, 1851 Houston Levee Road, Cordova
In the winter 2009, Common Ground met at Kingsbury High, at Southwest Community College on Union and at BRIDGES in Uptown. The University of Memphis hosted its own Common Ground session for faculty, staff and students, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to participate with small, on-site sessions.
In these sort of safe and open environment, it’s been proven that people will listen and freely share their thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions. Through Common Ground, which had its inaugural class of 221 in the spring of 2008, another 200-plus participants in the fall of 2008, and another 200-plus participants ni the winter of 2009, participants are developing relationships across racial divides.
During their time together, participants share stories about what they have experienced in their lives in the Mid-South or other communities. They begin to get a glimpse of new possibilities and start to understand how a person of another race, gender or age sees the world.
Each session of Common Ground ends with an action forum. Participants from the small groupscome together and take the talk to the next level. Working with the alumni from the inaugural class of Common Ground (spring 2008), the fall participants are developing and implement specific recommendations on how to improve race relations in our community.
If you’re interested in hosting a session at your workplace, in your neighborhood or place of worship in 2009, send an e-mail to info@commongroundmemphis.org. And if you’d like to get our e-newsletter, send us an e-mail to the above e-mail address too!
