Image courtesy StoryCorps
Richmond is one of four cities selected by StoryCorps to serve as a location for One Small Step, an initiative that brings together two people of different beliefs in conversation.
The only catch? No political discussion.
The idea, says David Isey, StoryCorps’ founder, is for people to talk about their lives to discover what they have in common. The 40-minute conversations, which take place through a virtual platform, are recorded and uploaded to a database at the Library of Congress. Isey says the idea for One Small Step came as he and others at StoryCorps, a nonprofit that records, preserves and shares personal stories, noticed “a crisis of contempt in the country.” “There’s a toxic polarization. … we think it’s an existential threat to our democracy.”
StoryCorps began testing the idea about four years ago, and through polling and research, they identified Richmond; Wichita, Kansas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Shreveport, Louisiana, as cities where they could have the greatest chance of success. “These cities are divided, but people are tired of it,” Isey says. “We saw that in Richmond — the sense of exhaustion and hopefulness and desire to find a way out.”
Though anyone can take part in One Small Step, Richmond is a focus city. Those interested in participating locally should visit takeonesmallstep.org/richmond and sign up. Participants will be asked to fill out a questionnaire and write a one-paragraph bio, and they will be matched with a partner with a different background and beliefs. Conversations will take place through the remainder of 2021.
Isey says most conversations end on the same note: with participants exchanging contact info and making plans to meet in person once it is safe to do so. “When you put people who think they are enemies together, if they have a positive experience, that sense of hate can melt away,” Isey says. “If you do it right, it can have a remarkable impact on the way people see themselves and the world.”
