“We envision an America with respectful embrace of political disagreements, where civic friendship flourishes and competing perspectives strengthen our nation. … [Our] goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other.”
(From the vision statement of Braver Angels)
Listening to Bill Doherty describe the genesis of Braver Angels—the organization that he co-founded in 2016—evokes both a snapshot of the past and a vivid, high-resolution image of today.
It started the week after Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Doherty received a call from a colleague in New York City, who had been in touch with another colleague from southwest Ohio. The discussion turned to how people were feeling in largely liberal New York City (devastated) versus conservative southwest Ohio (very hopeful).
The three of them decided, just a month after the election, to get 10 Clinton voters and 10 Trump voters together for 13 hours over a weekend.
Braver Angels has grown impressively in the eight years since. There have been 60,000 participants at over 4,800 events across the country, including workshops, debates, and 1-to-1 conversations. There are more than 14,700 members, along with volunteers devoting up to 40 hours a week for the cause of elevating our discourse and relationships. Leadership is purposely evenly divided, with half identifying as “red” and half “blue.”