THE STORY OF JUNETEENTH, which is about freedoms granted and freedoms delayed, resonates with impact today. American freedoms are under threat to a greater degree than at any time in recent memory. Academic freedom, freedom of expression, artistic freedom, and freedom of assembly are just a few of the core American rights now at risk on several fronts. On paper, our nation remains a democracy. But not unlike illiberal democracies such as Hungary, India and Indonesia, we are discovering that…
Arcola Elementary School students showcase their civic songs SONG, MOVEMENT, AND POETRY made for a joyful capstone to the school year in Civic Circle workshops. With songwriter and teaching artist Munit Mesfin, two student groups at Arcola Elementary School showcased the civic songs they had written for one another, and discussed their creative choices in a conversation across the grade levels. At the Pembridge Square Apartments, students sang songs about kindness, community and their dreams for the future with Lilo Gonzalez, who…
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING in The Civic Challenge! We hope you had fun. In our final newsletter of this campaign, we’re going to lead with an important message: We need your help to continue this work! You can support democracy and civic learning by clicking HERE, or on one of the links below! We also invite you to share your thoughts, or a favorite poem or quotation, on the following question: “How will you use your voice…
ON DAY FOUR OF THE CIVIC CHALLENGE, we invite you to celebrate the power of community service and volunteering, the fourth “step to democracy” in our program (Join!). One of the most consistent outcomes of Civic Circle pre-post surveys is that very high percentages of participants leave our program “more excited about service-learning and helping others.” This demonstrates both how helping others supports student well-being, and how service-learning opens the door to community and civic…
Click above to watch Malachi Byrd read the audience-written collective poem “Democracy to Me.” WELCOME TO DAY THREE of the Civic Challenge! Today is all about voting (Choose!). Voting is at the heart of democracy, and students in our workshops do mock elections, learn about voting rights, and create their own songs, poems and art about what it means to make decisions as a group. Today, we invite you to support our work to empower civic engagement through…