Mission of Bridge the Divide

Erica will explain that racial reconciliation and repair are not easy, but “ Bridge the Divide" believes it best to start with community conversations.

We consider ourselves multilayered.  Since the assumption is that residents of Ozaukee county are not aware of or in tune with many of issues affecting people of color, we spend a lot of time learning historical basis of segregation and unconscious bias. We have many speakers that share perspectives that are eye opening for our community.  We also try to spend time viewing videos and films using talkbacks as a way to spark discussions and tie them in with current events.  Our desire is to take actions steps- civic, government, and education- to continue to engage the community and provide actionable solutions for issues that we see.  By March we are hoping that those action steps will become more defined and that we will have more community members engaged and willing to participate. We also desire for people to spend time together and develop relationships with folks they would not have previously, this proximity helps us create community that expands beyond simply those in our neighborhoods or county.
Our monthly meetings usually have 30-35 people in attendance and our email distribution is up to about 180.  We publish a bimonthly podcast and our highest count was about 200 listeners.

Erica and her husband  Greg were recently recognized by the Oz Co Branch of the NAACP with the “Game Changers of Youth Engagement” award.