“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in “Letter from the Birmingham City Jail,” 1963

This quote appears on the home page of Inclusive Communities Project (ICP) a nonprofit working in Dallas, TX.

I wrote this post just hours before the shootings in Dallas last night. I almost decided to scrap it thinking that we are too raw to hear about ICP’s work right now. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I am convinced it is a fitting part of our reflections today as we mourn the recent shootings in towns and cities across our country. We can be fearful. We can be angry. We can cover our eyes in an attempt to shut it out. But the fact remains: we are tied in a single garment of destiny.

Single Garment of Destiny: Making the Best of It

So what can we do to make this mutual destiny a whole lot better than we’re living it now?

ICP has an answer that is simple to say, challenging to live out. ICP works for the creation and maintenance of thriving inclusive communities. What does this boil down to? The elimination of segregation.

The Supreme Court Agrees

Before you dismiss this goal as pie in the sky, listen to this. The Supreme Court agrees with ICP. I won’t attempt to outline here all of the legal issues that are part of the June 2015 decision. If you are interested, you can read the Supreme Court’s full decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs et al. v. Inclusive Communities Project, et al. Here’s the impact. Affordable housing must be distributed in a way that gives low income and minority families access to high opportunity, high growth areas.

Building Inclusive Communities

This legal case arose out of the advocacy component of ICP’s program. ICP uses the LEGAL TOOL only when cooperation isn’t working. For those who want to build inclusive community, ICP acts as a RESOURCE.

• • ICP researches to find out where racially and economically inclusive housing opportunities exist and then shares this key information with cities, other non-profits, and individuals.
  • ICP works with individuals looking for high opportunity housing.
  • ICP works with high opportunity communities: those that are looking to become more inclusive; and those that are already inclusive but are looking to become more vibrant

Here is what ICP says about its mission:

There are many things that cities, organizations, and individuals can do to promote and support inclusiveness, fairness, and opportunity in the community in which they live and work. The work can begin with understanding the value of inclusiveness to the overall health and well-being of communities in 21st century America. There are models of success and people willing to work with you to achieve the benefits of such communities. But you have to make the effort. Separation by race/ethnicity and class has historically been an organizing principle of our economy, politics and social circles. It won’t disappear overnight, but you can make a difference.

It won’t disappear overnight, but you can make a difference.

Share information about other people and organizations building vibrant inclusive communities.

It’s the beginning of summer. Temperatures are inching into the 90s. Fresh fruits and vegetables are everywhere. Kids are out of school. Lemonade stands are popping up. In honor of summer and some of the great things it brings, I’m reprinting one of my very first blogs.

Last summer, one lazy afternoon, I was sitting out in the strong Montana sun amidst vacationing golfers and tennis players and swimmers…oh! and beer drinkers (incidentally I noticed several orders for Goose Island — shout out to my hometown Chicago brewery!) Eventually, I gave in to the heat and, drenched in sweat, began my walk back to my townhouse there.

The Pitch

A short ways down the path, I could see three little girls – the oldest looked no more than ten – with the typical lemonade stand set-up. Table, sign, money jar, big pitcher of lemonade, small paper cups…you get the picture. But as I got closer and could hear the girls hawking their wares, I was in for a surprise. Not the usual 25 cents for a cup of lemonade. Instead, their pitch was:”Donate to Cure Type I Diabetes; Get a Free Cup of Lemonade!”

Now, first, I must say, I was impressed with the marketing strategy – tapping into our openness to giving for a good cause; and our obsession with getting a “free” gift – both at the same time. Brilliant!

The Impuse to Give

But I digress. I wondered what had led these girls to their decision to “give back.” So I asked. At first, they explained, they were just going to have a “regular” lemonade stand and collect money for themselves. But their cousin has Type 1 diabetes and they hit upon this as a way to help her.

Developing the Giving Habit

I began to think: What if every kid who sets up a lemonade stand – and there must be hundreds of thousands each summer – chose some cause near and dear to their hearts to receive the proceeds.

For the recipients of the donations, every little bit helps. But, maybe more important, our children would be having a positive experience with giving at a very young age. They would be involved in the choice of charity, which would require them to think about what means most to them. And they would experience the joy of making the world a better place while doing something fun. You know how children who are read to at a young age often get the warm fuzzies later on when they think about reading? Well, same concept here. Wouldn’t it be great for children to develop the warm fuzzies for giving, starting them on their way to becoming lifelong givers.

Pass it on!

On this Memorial Day, I stop to honor the soldiers who have given their lives in service of our country. I do not stop to honor war itself. But I pay my respects to the soldiers – those who volunteered to fight and those who were drafted, those who fought in “good” wars and those who fought in wars later deemed “wrong.” These men and women were members of our community – sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends. Each, in his or her own way, graced our world.

Share your Memorial Day stories.

How many lawyer jokes have you heard in your lifetime? Other than light bulb jokes (sometimes these include lawyers, too). I can’t think of any others that pop up more frequently. And, whereas the light bulb jokes elicit a laugh, lawyer jokes are more likely to result in rolled eyes and shaking heads.

Some Lawyers are Super-Heroes

Maybe some of the disdain is well deserved. There are shysters out there, to be sure. There are also lawyer super-heroes aplenty . Disclosure: I have a law degree :I But this is not just my opinion. It doesn’t take much looking around to find evidence of inspiring lawyers using their training, smarts, and passion to fight for people in need.

Fighting for the Innocent

In my hometown of Chicago, the Innocence Center has literally saved lives – lawyers working day and night to win freedom for wrongfully convicted prisoners, some who have been languishing on death row. The similarly named Innocence Project based in New York does the same type of work nationally.

Fighting for the Disabled

When I was a law student I worked in one of many university connected legal aid clinics, assisting people with mental disabilities, helping them to navigate the labyrinthine systems that make it very hard to actually receive the benefits they so badly need.

Donating Time

Then there are the thousands of lawyers who primarily serve paying clients, but volunteer their limited “extra” time to provide pro bono services for those who cannot afford to pay for representation.

Super-Hero Lawyers Are Everywhere

To give a more concrete flavor of the super-hero lawyers you can find in city and country across the U.S.: There’s the lawyer who protects Native American rights to trust funds. Another lawyer who provides free legal assistance to wrongfully evicted tenants. Another who manages adoption cases for family members who want to protect and take care of children of abusive relatives. There are those who stand up for the legal rights of immigrants. And those who protect the environment. The list goes on.

So next time, you hear a lawyer joke, go ahead and laugh. But remember that in real life, good lawyers are doing amazing things to make the world a better place.

Share your stories about super-hero lawyers!

If you’ve read any of my recent posts, you’ll know that graduation is on my mind. Today I direct you to an article in the New York Times about a handful of colleges that are going the extra mile to support students – not just to enroll – to GRADUATE from college.

The Dropout Rate is Depressing

The statistics are depressing. Only 53% of college freshmen graduate within a six-year period. For community colleges, the numbers are even worse – only 39% graduate. For those of you who are interested in cost – the current college dropout problem is estimated to cost us $4.5 billion in lost income and taxes.

Turning it Around with Data

That’s the bad news. The inspiring news is that some colleges are taking action. How? One big piece is data analysis. It turns out, grades are important predictors: A student who gets a C, is fairly likely to spiral down into Ds and Fs. A students who gets a B is likely to continue to get good grades. The first student is a candidate for dropping out. The second student a candidate for graduating.

Proactive colleges are crunching the data to find those C students quickly, before it’s too late. They follow up with extra tutoring and other supports to raise grades and get the wobbly students on their way to graduation. Another interesting innovation is the effort at some schools to tailor curriculum format to assist student success. We want to encourage students interested in STEM, right? Our country needs it. That’s where many of the jobs are. But coursework in math and science can be a bear.

Turning it Around with Innovative Course Format

Proactive colleges are introducing innovative teaching formats – replacing lectures with online teaching that includes immediate feedback. At one university, the changed format brought the percentage of Ds and Fs down from 43% to 19%. Whopping!

We all Benefit

Based on the NYT article, here’s a shoutout to North Carolina State and Georgia State for making a huge dent in the dropout rate. I’m sure there are others. Inspiration for all colleges to make the effort. Students, universities, society –All will benefit.

Share your stories of organizations that make a difference in keeping students in school!