By Dr. Vincent Gaddis
In Fall 2020, Study Circles Illinois launched its first round of dialogue groups through the Aurora Public Library as host. March 9, the Gail Border Library was host to its kick-off for its first dialogue groups in Elgin. The second round in Aurora will begin with a kick-off event Thursday, April 8.
As we move forward, it is important for the community-at-large to understand what Study Circles Illinois is, and what it is not.
First, some background:
In 1996, community members, with the support of the Aurora YWCA launched Aurora Community Study Circles (ACSC). The goal was to get citizens to engage with each other in a facilitated dialogue on the issues facing Aurora and our community. In more than 11 years, ACSC involved more than 6,000 residents in dialogue groups, which included myself and my wife, Cathy Gaddis, who worked directly for ACSC.
In May 2020, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, Cathy and I, believed it was time to re-start the dialogue process in Aurora. We already had created a for-credit class at Benedictine University, and we began organizing support for a community based model in Aurora.
Early on, we gained the support of Aurora Township supervisor, Bill Catchings, the Aurora Public Library, the Gail Borden Library in Elgin, Aurora Police Department, and the Elgin Police Department. Denise Crosby of The Beacon News highlighted Study Circles Aurora in several articles. Over the Summer 2020, deep into the pandemic, through Zoom, we began training facilitators and recruiting participants through our websites. By September 2020, 63 participants, across seven groups, began to engage in our six-week dialogue process.
• What Study Circles is:
We use the same, proven, Dialogue to Change Process used by ACSC and developed in 1989 by Everyday Democracy. This process believes in helping individuals connect public dialogue to real solutions with a racial equity lens.
We believe that change begins with personal dialogue between people of different backgrounds, sharing their stories while examining structural racism and its effects on our society and communities.
Participants discuss how their ideas frame and create the social, historical, political, and economic contexts in which we live. It happens in facilitated, safe, spaces which allows the participants to give voice their perspectives, concerns, fears, and hopes without fear of judgment. Then, we talk about how individuals can work to move to action in the community-at-large.
• What Study Circles is not:
It has been suggested that Study Circles is part of Aurora’s C.H.A.N.G.E. initiative and that we are a part of the mayor’s listening sessions. It is not the case.
Although it is true that Aurora mayor Richard Irvin, a former participant with ACSC, does support Study Circles Illinois/Aurora/Elgin as an individual, the city government of Aurora does not provide funds for Study Circle Aurora nor does it determine our path. The same is true for the City of Elgin. Mayor Dave Kaptain supports Study Circles Elgin by encouraging his citizens to sign up for our dialogue groups.
Study Circles Illinois/Aurora/Elgin is not an official program created by, or for, any governmental entity. We are grassroots, citizen-based, not-for-profit organization. We are partners with the Aurora Public Library and the Gail Borden Library to do outreach to our communities. To assist in shaping the future of our communities, we will share the ideas of our participants with our communities. At this point, all funding has come as small, individual, donations, from private citizens, desiring to see dialogue groups reestablished in our communities and who believe that: Together, we can make a difference!
Those interested can get involved in the change at: www.studycirclesaurora.org or www.studycirclesillinois.org.
For more information about the dialogue process go to: www.everyday-democracy.org.
Dr. Vincent Gaddis is the professor of history chair, Department of History, Philosophy, Theology, Benedictine University; and president of the Board of Directors, Study Circles Illinois.