To Build a Bridge; strengthening democracy one person at a time.

Welcome to the first episode of the Collage podcast hosted by Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson, Jr.

In episode one, Dr. Johnson discusses the promise of Black History Month.

The Bridge Alliance community was founded on many principles, one being that there is no one solution to fixing our democracy and society. But rather, it will take the efforts and perspectives of everyone to create a just and balanced country. Aside from infrastructure and policy changes, there’s work to be done to the characteristics of our humanity as well. Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer who just released a documentary about how an increase in gratitude practices could change the way we interact within one another, creating a healthier culture. I got the opportunity to sit with him to discuss the film and how gratitude might help us fix our democracy as well.

To view the film and learn more bout World Gratitude Day, visit https://gratituderevealed.com

Healthy Self Governance leaders Debilyn Molineaux of Bridge Alliance, Ivan Douglass Hicks of The Ministerium and Pearce Godwin of the Listen First Coalition sit down to discuss critical race theory in the U.S and censorship culture over history and diverse perspectives.

As we are deep into the age of digital information, podcasts have easily become a society favorite when wanting to learn about...well anything. So many people are tuned into podcasts on a daily basis, it only makes sense for organizations who want to expand and amplify their message to offer podcasts to their supporters. Despite how smooth and effortless podcasts sound in their final form, recording, publishing and maintaining a podcast isn’t the easiest thing to do. I’m here with Jenna Spinelle and Brandon Stover of The Democracy group, to discuss their experience in the podcast industry, the benefits of having a podcast and some best practices for nonprofits to start and/or maximize their podcasts.

Being Right-of-Center in the era of social justice has become unpopular and suppressive. All too often, the right wing is labeled as prejudiced, hateful and uneducated conductors of national misinformation. This unfortunately discourages many from openly sharing their outlook which is a direct contradiction to this country’s constitution. I am sitting down with Shoshana Weissmann of RStreet Institute, Stephanie Slade of Reason Magazine, Jeremy Garson and Michelle Dickson of Bridge Alliance to discuss the modern American polarized experience and what the right wing is really trying to accomplish.

In 2017, the Bridge Alliance awarded a Bridge Action Grant to some of our member organizations. We are checking in with them to see how the grant supported their organization’s efforts, in what ways it helped, and what they are up to now. Join us as we explore the ripples of achievement that the Bridge Action Grant made in the democracy reform space. A small drop can produce waves. This episode features Liz Joyner, founder, and CEO of The Village Square. She shares with us how the grant supported their work and how it has helped them expand and grow their organization’s reach. The Village Square grows vibrant civil discourse across the partisan divide by building relationships across political, cultural, racial and religious divides among citizens inside their community and has expanded to six cities across America.

Democracy Beyond Elections is a collaborative, national campaign dedicated to transformative democracy rooted in community led decision making. DBE believes it is not enough to get the right person elected or to know that those closest to the issues are closest to the solutions — we must act on this knowledge and put real decision making power in community hands.

DBE works to equip community-members often ignored, pushed out, or marginalized by our current democratic systems with the tools, resources, and opportunities to deeply engage in democratic processes. Today, we’re sitting down with DBE leader, Elizabeth Crews to discuss best practices for engaging with underserved communities to increase civic engagement.

In 2017, Bridge Alliance awarded more than $525,000 in Bridge Action Grants to two dozen Bridge Alliance member organizations to enable our member organizations to better collaborate on ways to fix political processes on the local, state and national levels. We recently got the opportunity to catch up with Layla Zaidane of the Millennial Action Project to talk about their Future Leaders Summit and how their work has grown since receiving their grant.

Building bridges in this country requires inclusion and relationship building with all groups, even those we may have a complex history with, like the Muslim community. America Indivisible's Lida Azim sits down with Shakira to discuss genuine ways in which we can reach out to Muslims in our community to build the relationships needed to mend fences. Please email [email protected] for links to any resources mentioned.

The following resources are mentioned in this episode:

• Toolkit for Mobilizing to Support American Muslims

• Resources for further reading about Islam and American Muslims

• Muslims in America Policy Poll 2020