Central Florida Public Media is part of a partnership discussing how to bridge the divide and have conversations with family, friends, and strangers with whom you disagree. The One Small Step program was launched by StoryCorps in 2018 based on the idea that two people with differing political views could sit together, find common ground, start to understand each other, and that if enough people participated the ripple effects would begin to heal our divided society.
This year StoryCorps chose seven communities in the country to host these conversations. Our community was among them and Central Florida Public Media was chosen to lead this work. We convened face to face conversations in Orange, Brevard, Volusia, Lake, Seminole, and Marion counties. Central Floridians who participated joined us at our Building Bridges Together: One Small Step at a Time event December 7 at the Orlando Ballet to help others learn about engaging across differences.