Commentary: Racial Truth and Reconciliation Meet Civity in Omaha, Nebraska
14 Pages Posted: 19 Nov 2020
Date Written: August 14, 2020
Abstract
In this essay, I describe a current community-based racial justice and reconciliation initiative based in and focused on Omaha, Nebraska. This initiative unfolded so as to incorporate a dialogic, deliberative democracy approach into a community’s intentional connection of the commemoration of a specific historical incident of racial violence to continuing, present-day structural racial injustice. Reflecting on this initiative offers insights into the usefulness of dialogue and deliberative democracy for addressing structural injustices such as systemic racism. Additional insights reveal equity-grounded imperatives for deliberative democracy, and democracy more generally.
Keywords: Systemic Racism, Racism, Truth and Reconciliation, Civity, Dialogue, Deliberation, Deliberative Democracy
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