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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.

In fall 2010, Common Ground will hold one public session from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20 at Southwest Community College. Sessions will be held for seven consecutive Mondays.

In spring 2010, Common Ground celebrated its second anniversary with sessions at Rhodes beginning April 1.

And this winter, Common Ground held two sessions, starting the week of Jan. 25, at University of Phoenix and at Hutchison School.

In the fall of 2009, Common Ground had two sessions, one in early fall, the weeks of Sept. 14-Oct. 26 and in the late fall Oct. 12-Nov. 30.

Late fall sessions were held at Idlewild Presbyterian Church and Trinity Baptist Church.

In the early fall 2009 sessions, Common Ground met at Faith Christian Church, Southwest Tennessee Community College Gill Center and Hope and Healing Center.

In the late fall 2009 sessions, Common Ground met at Southwest Tennessee Community College Gill Center, Trinity Baptist Church and Idlewild Presbyterian Church.

In October 2009, Leadership Memphis’ Executive Program class completed the Common Ground curriculum, a first for the leadership organization.

In Spring 2009, Common Ground met at Lindenwood Christian Church, Caritas Village, Trinity Baptist Church, Idlewild Presbyterian Church, and Calvary Church, 1851 Houston Levee Road, Cordova

In 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 in the spring of 2009 and is hosting sessions again in the fall of 2009. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department has participated with small, on-site sessions.

Common Ground’s inaugural class met in the late spring of 2008, with more than 240 participants and facilitators at Rhodes College.

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, more than 1,000 alumni 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 groups come together and take the talk to the next level. Participants are developing and implementing specific recommendations on how to improve race relations in our community - from film festivals, to forums on race and the media, to political action, to mentoring children.

If you’re interested in hosting a session at your workplace, in your neighborhood or place of worship, send an e-mail to info@commongroundmemphis.org.