Listen and Dialogue
Telling our Nation's Story
We should shift our focus away from telling the American story to listening for the American story. Our shared national narratives should come from the bottom up, not the top down. The semiquincentennial is an opportunity for this kind of civic conversation. We should create spaces for discussion that allow participants to explore their thoughts and feelings about the nation’s story. These dialogues should bring community members together across lines of difference, including partisan divides. Community conversations can be used to help Americans from all walks of life hear one another’s understandings of the nation’s history and their hopes for our collective future.
Key Features
At a time of heightened political polarization, practitioners might be wary of hosting community conversations focused on complex and potentially divisive topics. The following are best practices to keep community dialogues civil and engaging.
- Place: Community conversations need to happen in trusted and shared spaces where people feel comfortable connecting and talking with one another even when they disagree. These are places like public libraries, local historical societies, and museums.
- Structure: Community dialogue events should feel relational and attractive to a diverse range of participants. They should not feel like school lectures, but they should be social gatherings where people feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts and opinions with one another.
- People: Trained brokers like local librarians are needed to facilitate conversations and build trust between people from different perspectives and experiences.
Examples
Throughout 2024, state humanities councils collaborated with libraries in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania to design tools for community conversations. This program focused on capacity-building, training a corps of skilled leaders who can host meaningful conversations related to the 250th. Together, libraries and councils trained 164 discussion leaders who are equipped to guide reflective conversations, in-person and virtually, throughout 2026. The Federation also held a national forum led by the five pilot humanities councils to introduce their program partners, early plans, and learnings. This initiative was funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. With this training, state humanities councils and their library partners are ready to host vital community conversations about the country’s founding and its future. Learn more about the Federation here.
The Village Square, a non-partisan public educational forum in Florida, builds relationships across political, cultural, racial, and religious divides through civic conversations. Their community dialogue series center on discussing the history and democratic principles at the foundation of America. They include an in-person dinner series as well as virtual conversations with leading historians and thinkers. Learn more here.
Learn more about our recommendations for telling our nation's story.