Editorial: Roanoke Collaboration Project promotes mutual respect over toxic division | Editorial

He referenced a towering speech given on July 5, 1852 to the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester, New York, by the great Black American orator, author and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

In the time that Douglass gave that address, nine years before the start of the American Civil War, debate over the legality and morality of slavery consumed the nation. As Lee summarized, Douglass argued that for Black Americans the Fourth of July was not cause for celebration, but a painful reminder of freedoms denied to them.

“He does a marvelous piece talking about, ‘This is not my America. This is not my freedom,” Lee said.

The subject arose during Thursday’s meeting of the Roanoke Collaboration Project, as Lee described from his own perspective why he takes part in the project and values its potential to empower voices that need to be heard. “I’m not arguing against Frederick Douglass. I’m saying, ‘Fred, there’s another way that we can get at this.’”

In this time, when Lee endorses “another way,” the political divide often seems like an unscalable wall. The members of the Roanoke Collaboration Project seek to show that where there’s patience, respect, understanding and cooperation, there is no wall.

The Roanoke Collaboration Project is not a political entity. It’s not even a formal organization. It’s a group of residents from diverse backgrounds interested in promoting civil discourse, so that people who might otherwise hold opposing ideological views can still work together in the service of crafting solutions to difficult community challenges.

“We’ve got a lot of challenges, and I think these complex problems are going to continue coming our way for probably the foreseeable future. So at a time like this, we have to be able to collaborate. You can’t collaborate if you don’t have civil discourse. It’s a non-starter,” said Jay Foster, founder and CEO of Flex Metrics software company in Roanoke.

“We’ve been meeting for about two and a half years, and built this group very intentionally to represent a wide range of political orientations” in pursuit of “learning how to listen to different points of view,” said Dana Ackley, a trained psychologist who offers executive coaching through his company, EQ Leader.

“There’s a great sensibility among our members that here in Roanoke, we roll up our sleeves and talk to each other and solve problems together,” said Lee Learman, dean of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. “It doesn’t happen perfectly, but it’s something that defines our community at its best. We believe that this trend that we’re seeing across the country of polarization and acrimony is something that we want to defend against.”

Katherin Elam, president of Junior Achievement of Southwest Virginia, emphasized how youth model their behavior on adults, making civil discourse in public spaces even more vital. She said group members discuss being the examples for others to follow. “Are we going to be comfortable enough to hear different points of view,” and afterward “still know that I can come back and discuss with you things that may concern me about our community,” and know “that we can together work to find the resources to make it happen?”

Former Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill, who still lives in the Star City, discussed a study called “Soul of the Community” conducted by the Florida-based Knight Foundation, a supporter of journalism and the arts.

“Their whole thesis is that if you want economic growth and development, the best tool is to make people love where they live,” Morrill said. He sees that principle as more reason to support the collaboration project. “If we’re successful with this, people are going to love this community more. And that’s going to become a virtuous cycle of more growth, more jobs, more opportunities. That’s why I’m so committed to helping make this work.”

The group announced their aims in these pages on June 26 (“Project asks you to take the Collaboration Pledge”), advocating for mutual respect in the public square and against toxic divisiveness. The project founders asked readers to take the Collaboration Pledge, the tenets of which are worth repeating in full:

I will treat others with respect in my public discourse both in person and online and will not hide behind anonymity.

I will recognize that people are more than their points of view and have feelings, just as I do.

I will seek to understand those with different points of view before asking to be understood.

I will not allow uncivil behavior from others to lead me to respond in kind.

In the week since the collaboration project’s commentary appeared, more than 100 have gone to the group’s website and taken the pledge.

During that same Thursday meeting, William Fralin — president and CEO of Medical Facilities of America and a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2004 to 2010 — described the process of drafting that commentary, itself a collaborative effort. “I’ve learned a lot, just in my little short time, about language and attitude and thinking about unintended consequences. I found it eye-opening, to tell you the whole truth, and I think everybody will, as this group hopefully grows,” he said.

Ackley said that taking part in the project has helped him better understand life in Roanoke outside of the bubble of his community. “This is the beauty of diversity, and this is the beauty of bringing people together that don’t usually get together.”

The project has opened to public participation not a moment too soon. To learn even more, visit CommunityCollaboration.us. It’s well worth your time and consideration. Certainly, as we prepare to honor the founding of our nation, it’s sensible to explore how the rifts that separate us can be mended.