| Manuals and Guides: Community Planning Community-wide Study Circle Programs, continued
Part IV: Stories of Community-wide Study Circle Programs Manual Index Part I: Introduction
Part II: Basic Steps in Creating a Community-wide Program
Part III: Sample Documents
Part IV: Stories of Community-wide Study Circle Programs
Part V: Appendices Contents Part IV: Stories of Community-wide Study Circle Programs
Lima, Ohio: Fertile Ground for Study Circles
"Cabin Fever Conversations" Kindle Dialogue in Yarmouth, Maine
"Day of Dialogue" Study Circles in Los Angeles Gain National Attention Lima, Ohio: Fertile Ground for Study Circles It is hard to have a discussion with an SCRC staff member about study circles without hearing at least one mention of Lima, Ohio. Why all the fuss about a city in western Ohio whose name no one can even pronounce? (Say it like the lima bean, not like Lima, Peru.) The reason: Lima is where it all began for large-scale, community-wide study circle programs. Though other cities have added new and important ideas for creating community-wide programs, Lima provided the first concrete model. The basic steps established in Lima for creating community-wide dialogue still mesh with the ones we now encourage other organizers to follow. The Roots of the Program In late 1992, Lima Mayor David Berger brought together the resources of the city's clergy, The Ohio State University at Lima, the media, and the Study Circles Resource Center to launch a major campaign to address racial divisions. Lima is a city of 46,000, with an African-American population of about 25%, situated in a county whose population numbers an additional 110,000 individuals. The Rodney King incident in Los Angeles heightened racial tension in Lima, and prompted a peaceful march through the downtown area on May 1, 1992. On that same day, Mayor Berger brought together a group of prominent ministers who made a public plea for peace and unity. Mayor Berger realized at this meeting that members of the local clergy rarely had the opportunity to work together and did not really know one another. He also realized that the ministers and their congregations could be a tremendous resource in bringing about racial harmony. As a result, the mayor's office helped to form the Clergy Task Force, made up of a dozen or so members of the clergy, and challenged them to work together to address racial tension in the city. In several meetings with the mayor's office, the task force developed a strong consensus on the need for dialogue. They were left, though, with the question of how to initiate and sustain community-wide dialogue on race relations. At this point, Dr. Carol Fasig, Director of Continuing Education at The Ohio State University at Lima, learned of the Clergy Task Force and its search for resources. She knew just what they needed. Dr. Fasig had recently obtained a copy of SCRC's Can't We All Just Get Along? A Manual for Discussion Programs on Racism and Race Relations. Dr. Fasig; Dean Violet Meek, Director of OSU-Lima; Dr. James McLemore of the Clergy Task Force; Mayor Berger; and Berger's Administrative Coordinator, Ron Hagaman, held several meetings and many conversations. The result was the decision for the city, the university, and the Clergy Task Force to collaborate in sponsoring a discussion program on race relations. Plans called for the mayor's office to coordinate the program, and for The Ohio State University at Lima to provide training and evaluation. The Clergy Task Force met on January 6, 1993, to participate in their first study circle and to plan a kickoff meeting to introduce the other members of the clergy to this major study circle effort. Planting the Seeds The January 26 kickoff was a huge success. Many Lima citizens spoke about the need for dialogue across racial lines. SCRC's Martha McCoy gave the keynote address and participated in the extensive media coverage, which included reports on radio, on television, and in the newspapers. By the end of the day, about 40 churches had signed on to serve as study circle sites. Next came the pilot phase of the program. Fasig, Hagaman (representing Zion Lutheran Church as well as the mayor's office), and the Rev. McLemore (representing St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church as well as the Clergy Task Force) held a discussion leader training program for eight lay people—four African-Americans and four whites. These people then paired up to lead the pilot study circles. Ultimately, 72 people took part in the pilots. Meanwhile, preparations were underway for the March 16 orientation meeting for ministers who had signed on to the program. At that meeting, the Rev. McLemore explained study circles and showed a video of the pilot program which was produced by Warner Cable, the local cable television company. This footage, which includes people's comments on how participation affected them, drew applause from the ministers. Hagaman and Fasig then explained how the ministers could involve their congregations in the study circle program. The ministers went home with copies of the videotape and sample inserts for their Sunday bulletins. As the program took shape, the importance of knowing and understanding the community became evident. Recruiting churches and staying in touch with ministers who had already signed on continued to be a major focus of the mayor's office. Mayor Berger attended Sunday services at churches around town and, when it became apparent that some of the black churches were hesitant to take part, invited each of the black ministers to a special meeting. Berger learned that the ministers were concerned about the fact that the various congregations, including one synagogue, often have quite different interpretations of Scripture. Black ministers were also hesitant about opening their doors to this program because their churches often serve as safe havens for members who face prejudice in virtually every other aspect of their lives. Mayor Berger, Hagaman, and the Rev. McLemore played critical roles at this stage by listening to the ministers' concerns and helping them to see that the community was depending upon their leadership at this critical time. They pointed to anticipated rewards of the program, and assured them that they would not be asked to compromise basic beliefs or concerns. In April 1993, nearly 200 lay leaders attended the facilitator training sessions. After this training, much of the responsibility for the program passed to the ministers. They worked in pairs to recruit participants and organize study circles joining black and white congregations. The Effort Grows Between April 1993 and April 1994, over 1,200 Lima citizens participated in study circles on race relations. Paired religious congregations ensured a diversity of racial and ethnic backgrounds in almost every group (each with 10-15 members). In May 1994, a second "round" of study circles began. The number of participants and participating organizations grew, and many groups began supplementing Can't We All Just Get Along? with a variety of other discussion materials. Dr. Fasig oversaw the production of a "how-to" manual for study circles in Lima. The manual borrowed from SCRC materials, and added information specific to Lima. The program's working group expanded to include the Allen County government and the Allen-Lima Leadership Program. The number and kinds of grassroots organizations offering sponsorship also expanded. By late 1994, the NAACP, plus a long list of businesses, neighborhood associations, city government departments, and schools had joined the churches in hosting study circles and recruiting their members as participants. The study circles met in a wide variety of locations, including churches, businesses, fire stations, and libraries. A study circle float even appeared in the annual Labor Day parade! The involvement of so many Lima citizens inspired an interdisciplinary team of psychologists and sociologists at The Ohio State University at Lima to begin evaluating the study circles. This team is studying the effects of study circle participation on people's attitudes toward other races. (See "Measuring the Outcomes of Community-wide Study Circle Programs.") Successive rounds of race relations study circles continue in Lima. Hagaman, Fasig, McLemore, and the rest of the organizers go through a new cycle of publicizing and coordinating every time a new round is announced and new participants are introduced to study circles. Meanwhile, many of the original groups have continued to meet, searching the libraries, newspapers, and nightly news broadcast to find new discussion material for their ongoing conversations. A Stimulus for Action But Lima's study circles have led to more than changes of attitude and a citywide appetite for discussion. The study circles have been wellsprings of grassroots-level action. Dozens of projects, programs, and cooperative efforts have resulted. These include youth mentoring projects, collaborative school-business efforts, a multiracial "unity choir," community service clubs at Lima high schools, a new playground, a new soup kitchen, and a neighborhood "peace zone." Most of these projects have emerged from the pooled ideas of small groups of people who have found a voice through the study circle process, and have gained the confidence to become problem solvers and community builders. When the Lima working group - the mayor's office, OSU at Lima, and the Clergy Task Force - began the study circles in 1992, they did so out of a belief that they would be fostering a way for the community itself to develop solutions to racial tensions. But the organizers had no idea what those solutions would be, or that they would be so dynamic. The long-term importance of the Lima study circle program goes far beyond its concrete, short-term results. It lies in the fact that it has provided a means by which growing numbers of people can aspire to, plan for, and work together for positive community change. As Mayor Berger puts it, "Study circles are the missing links for our communities. Their value lies in a community and its leadership owning up to a problem and committing to a specific course of action: to carry forward the dialogue." A New Issue The mayor and many other members of the Lima community quickly recognized the potential of study circles to facilitate public involvement on any issue—not just race relations. Meanwhile, by observing the Lima program, the staff of SCRC was gaining a better understanding of how study circles can lead to concrete actions by individuals, small groups, and large institutions. SCRC incorporated this new understanding into its next community-wide discussion guide, Confronting Violence in Our Communities. This new guide also proved to be a vehicle for Lima's next round of study circles. To address this new topic, the Lima coalition expanded again. The Police Department, the Allen County Sheriff.s Office, the Lima-Allen Gang Coalition, the Lima City Schools, and several other organizations joined the organizing meetings. One goal was to establish connections between the study circles and the city's new community policing plan. The Rev. Lamont Monford, a pastor who had been involved in the race relations study circles, emerged as one of the key figures in this new organizing effort. Monford, who lost his mother to violence when he was a youth, was an articulate and impassioned advocate for study circles as a way of confronting crime and violence. "Helping to organize this program was a way to release my agony and to prevent other people's mothers from getting killed," Monford said. Study circles on violence were introduced to the media and the public at a kickoff event on January 10, 1995. The study circles began in February, and were punctuated by citywide meetings on March 16 and May 19. At the March meeting, police helped participants understand how their discussions could tie into the new community policing program. The May meeting was coupled with Celebration '95, an opportunity for all of Lima to celebrate the successes of the study circles on both race relations and violence. It included a potluck dinner with music and other entertainment. The study circles on violence have led to new projects around the community, to new connections between neighborhoods and community policing, and to the beginning of a citywide, citizen-developed plan for violence prevention. Along the way, Lima has developed a large group of newly engaged, connected, and involved community members. Effects Around the Country The Lima study circles have received praise from around the country. Ohio Governor George Voinovich has publicly commended the program. Delegations from several cities have visited Lima. The Mayor, Hagaman, Fasig, McLemore, and Meek have given countless speeches and presentations on the Lima program. During October and November of 1994, TV stations throughout the U.S. broadcast coverage of the Lima story. The documentary "Story of a People," produced by SI Communications and narrated by Louis Gossett, Jr., featured the Lima story along with other aspects of race relations in this country. The segment on Lima conveys the power of the study circles for Lima, and has been used effectively by other working groups as a way to describe what they are trying to accomplish in their own communities. When they started out in 1992, the organizers of the Lima program could not have foreseen that their work would be studied and emulated by communities from coast to coast. For them, the desired outcome has been achieved: a city whose residents can better communicate and collaborate to address some of the most pressing issues they face. The study circles continue, further strengthening the cultural and political fabric of Lima. According to Mayor Berger, "This city will never be the same." Back to top "Cabin Fever Conversations" Kindle Dialogue in Yarmouth, Maine In New England, many citizens dread the dead of winter for two reasons: the weather and the budget process. Winter is budget season in many New England towns, when residents, town councils, and school committees must decide how they will make ends meet for their communities. Yammouth, Maine, is no exception; in fact, the budget meetings in early 1994 had been particularly contentious, with hours of rancorous debate between people in entrenched camps. So Yarmouth residents were particularly discouraged in the fall of 1994 when they received the news that the town's largest taxpayer, the Central Maine Power Company, would be paying almost $1 million less in taxes to the town. The value of the company's property had come down in relation to the surrounding area; this meant that the tax bill for the average resident would be going up by almost 20%. People quickly began to form their usual camps: those who wanted to drastically cut the budget for the town and its schools, and those who wanted to pay the higher taxes in order to maintain the bottom line. Foreseeing another winter of discontent, a handful of Yammouth residents decided to take action. Melisa Webster and Pamelia Adams, the leaders of this group, resolved to use study circles to help Yarmouth deal with its budget woes. The "Yarmouth Roundtables: Cabin Fever Conversations on the Budget Puzzle" was born. "It seemed natural for our community to come together and have a dialogue about an issue," Webster said, "not like a town council or committee, where you just get up and speak your piece." Webster and Adams intended for the study circles to address the budget problems, but not to be limited to this issue. They began promoting study circles as a proactive way to "bring diverse opinions together for discussions of critical issues impacting the community." They approached various groups and organizations in Yarmouth, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Town Council, the School Committee (equivalent to the school board in many communities), the Village Improvement Society, the Amvets, the Lions Club, churches, schools, and parent-teacher organizations. Sally Campbell of the Maine Council of Churches, who was one of the principal architects of Maine's popular "Reader Roundtables" study circle program, offered invaluable advice and support. A steering committee was formed with representatives of many of these organizations. Rather than ask for financial contributions to support the project, the steering committee requested that organizations and individuals provide in-kind donations, such as volunteering to register participants, providing space for study circles to meet, and advertising the project. The steering committee enlisted a variety of local officials to help develop the packet of discussion materials. The town manager, the school superintendent, and the local Council of Governments provided information on the budget process for the school and the town, the tax base, the recent tax revaluation, and other matters. The Maine Council of Churches and the Study Circles Resource Center provided how-to information on study circles. All the planning came to fruition in January and February of 1995. About 100 people attended a kickoff event to sign up for the study circles, and nine study circles met three times each in the subsequent weeks. The total number of participants, 126, approximated the usual attendance at the annual town meeting, and far exceeded the attendance at any of the budget hearings held by the Town Council. The participants represented a broad cross-section of the community, and included about thirty high school students. Results of the discussions were far-ranging. For starters, the winter budget meetings were far less divisive than usual. Adams, a member of the school committee, noted a lack of angry outbursts, an increase in thoughtful questions, and a disappearance of the mistrust between citizens and government that had previously predominated. The town officials who participated in the study circles gained a better understanding of residents' priorities and improved their ability to explain complicated legal and financial matters to citizens. As the organizers had hoped, study circle participants also found their discussions widening beyond a narrow focus on budgets and tax revenues. They were able to consider Yarmouth's situation in general, and to discuss how this town of 8,000 could handle growth without losing its traditional character. The educational value of the Yarmouth study circles was evident in the follow-up questionnaires. Many participants said they had learned a great deal about the budget process and the different options for resolving the tax problem. Participants also valued the process. "There is no other environment where free discussion on a local topic among citizens is available," one participant wrote. "Any opportunity for community involvement and awareness of the town is valuable," wrote another. Most participants felt that the study circles provided a safe arena for candid, informed dialogue, and one suggested that town officials "routinely meet with citizens just for dialogue," noting that this would provide "a good way [for citizens] to support our public officials." Many town officials have agreed with these suggestions, and have begun planning ways to better incorporate dialogue and democratic principles into their decision-making processes. Meanwhile, residents are pushing ahead with their own efforts to promote study circles. A special meeting is planned for community members to discuss the future of study circles in Yarmouth. It's too soon to tell what these efforts will yield in the long run, but it is a solid start toward the goal expressed by one participant whose evaluation form included an appeal for local leaders to "continue the process so it becomes part of our culture." (This piece, by Matt Leighninger of SCRC, first appeared in the Spring 1995 issue of SCRC's newsletter, Focus on Study Circles.) Back to top "Day of Dialogue" Study Circles in Los Angeles Gain Nation Attention Just two weeks after the O.J. Simpson verdicts, when tensions in Los Angeles were escalating, L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas sponsored a motion in City Council: "This motion encourages a Day of Dialogue on Race Relations. The purpose of this day is to recognize the ever-widening racial divide in this City, and to try to address some of the underlying reasons and concerns, one citizen to another. We need to ensure that productive discussions take place that will begin the healing process. The goal is for there to be at least 100 such discussions from San Pedro to Sylmar throughout the day and evening. The Study Circles Resource Center will assist community groups by training facilitators who will conduct small, democratic, highly participatory discussions." After the motion was passed unanimously by City Council, the City geared up to publicize the program. The Los Angeles Times published statements by community leaders in support of the Day of Dialogue. One hundred organizations around the city were recruited to host the study circles. Councilman Ridley-Thomas's office was inundated with phone calls until just hours before the first discussions were to begin. The City Attorney's office recruited facilitators, including many from the City's Dispute Settlement program The staff of SCRC also geared up. From the moment the City Council began considering the "Day of Dialogue," Ridley-Thomas was in touch with SCRC. We asked Fran Frazier of the Ohio Department of Human Services, and Stephen Thom of the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Justice Department (based in Los Angeles), to assist with the training of study circle leaders. On the day of the training, camera crews and journalists crowded into the room as Frazier, Thom, and SCRC Executive Director Martha McCoy trained over one hundred people to be study circle leaders. Everyone took part in practice study circles and worked together to prepare for the challenges of the following day. The City Attorney's office then assigned the discussion leaders to various sites around the city. On the Day of Dialogue itself, thousands of people, at approximately one hundred locations all over Los Angeles, began meeting in small groups to talk about the issues that are dividing them. Even Angelenos who weren't part of the discussions knew that something unique was happening in the city. Local television and radio coverage punctuated the day. Both NBC and ABC covered the event in their evening news broadcasts, and included footage of the actual study circles. This national coverage made it possible for people all over the country to see what can happen when leaders are determined to make dialogue a priority. Many study circle participants took the day off from work, believing that this was an opportunity too important to miss. Some community-based groups, such as churches, opened their doors to the public. Other organizations held study circles among their employees. At the Los Angeles Hilton, for example, staff members talked about how race relations affected them in the workplace. Most of the study circles were racially and ethnically mixed, but in more homogeneous groups facilitators helped to bring out a range of viewpoints. In Victory Outreach, a community center in South Los Angeles, former gang members and others relished the opportunity to say what they felt. In an often moving and angry discussion, the group of mostly African-American men talked about their experiences, their hopes for the community, and the part they want to play in rebuilding Los Angeles. Throughout the city, study circle participants felt positive, apprehensive, and eager for the discussions to continue. They knew that one day was not enough, but that continuing the study circles could lead to constructive community change. US Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) attended some of the study circles, and encouraged people to continue the dialogue. He also encouraged them not to stop with talk, to "connect it to personal and collective responsibility." It is already clear that the "Day of Dialogue" will become Days of Dialogue. There has been a tremendous level of public response to the discussions, and many organizations have contacted the City Council and SCRC to find out how they can become involved. The City Council is overseeing an effort to establish a foundation called Dialogue Now, which will help support the ongoing study circle program. In a city that is struggling with divisions and complex problems, the "Day of Dialogue" showed that people can work together to make a difference. Once again, Los Angeles became a symbol of the deep divisions that exist in our society—but this time, the city also became a symbol of what communities can do to begin to bridge those divisions. (This piece first appeared in the Winter 1996 issue of SCRC's newsletter, Focus on Study Circles. For copies of the complete City Council motion and of national news coverage of the Los Angeles "Day of Dialogue," contact SCRC.) Manual Index Part I: Introduction
Part II: Basic Steps in Creating a Community-wide Program
Part III: Sample Documents
Part IV: Stories of Community-wide Study Circle Programs
Part V: Appendices Contents Part IV: Stories of Community-wide Study Circle Programs
Lima, Ohio: Fertile Ground for Study Circles
"Cabin Fever Conversations" Kindle Dialogue in Yarmouth, Maine
"Day of Dialogue" Study Circles in Los Angeles Gain National Attention | 
