The National Civil Rights Museum, Facing History and Ourselves, and Bridges announce ‘Open Up. Spark A Connection.’

Courtesy: National History Rights Museum

Judge Less, Love More

“Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated.”  – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Three organizations today are partnering to foster unity, understanding and empathy in the face of the ideological divide in America.

The National Civil Rights Museum, Facing History and Ourselves, and BRIDGES have launched “Open Up. Spark A Connection.”, a digital campaign that prompts viewers to consider the proverbial saying, “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.”

Using social media and public service announcements to provoke empathetic conversations, the goal of the campaign is to encourage people to move out of their comfort zones, get to know one another, and initiate rational, compassionate conversations around topics including race, gender, equity and justice.

The idea “arose out of our coming together to talk about the state of this country and the cultural and the social tensions that were simmering, and because all of our organizations are charged with the notion of trying to bring people together of all walks of life.

I think we all felt a responsibility to do something,” said Cynthia Ham, President and CEO of BRIDGES, a nonprofit that reaches across racial and socio-economic divides to provide students an opportunity to find their voice through unique experiential learning activities that are adventurous, relational and transformative.

The organizations embarked on a creative journey with award-winning filmmaker Matteo Servente to develop a short film to inspire conversations in understanding.

Servente has won Indie Memphis’ Best MLK50 Short Film for “An Accidental Drowning,” and the Best Hometowner Narrative Short Film Award for “We Go On.”

“Open communication doesn’t allow us to hide behind our biases, because it exposes them. Differences in the way we think and look should be a resource, but are too often perceived as a threat.

The goal of the campaign is to show that the closer we get to each other, the less we have to fear,” said Servente.

Terri Lee Freeman, President of the National Civil Rights Museum, agrees, “As we were talking about empathy, we wanted to make sure that what we were presenting was something that didn’t push people away, but actually drew people in.  Matteo’s vision was one that was very positive, but also made you really think.  It was just a wonderful way for us to focus on thinking about the person next to you. Open up as you move forward, and talk to people, really get to know them.”

The campaign includes unscripted video of a diverse circle of adults appearing to participate in lively, amicable conversations using stringed tin cans when suddenly the strings turn into fire-sparked dynamite fuses.

The dialogue stops cold, and the participants stand isolated.

Then a child steps in their circle, whispers to them, and causes a chain reaction that gets them to open up and talk again, but with closer, deeper conversations.

“One of the things I really love about the piece, is there’s this moment of crisis, and people don’t know what to do.  They’re kind of paralyzed, and I think we all can relate to that feeling.  Then you have this leadership of this little girl who is the one who is willing to be vulnerable and step out to get a conversation going.  That’s what happens… Take a step.  Start a conversation,” said Marti Tippens Murphy, Executive Director of the Memphis location of Facing History and Ourselves.

The yearlong campaign will also include resources on each of the organizations’ websites and social media platforms with the hashtags #SparkAConnection and #OpenUp.

Viewers are encouraged to share their stories on how they’ve engaged in difficult conversations and their experiences in opening up to overcome differences.

For more information, visit sparkaconnection.org.

Daniel Quintanilla