Our series tells five powerful bridging stories that impact individuals, communities and structures. Each case identifies the breaking dynamic, the bridging action and how it fosters belonging. Scroll through the stories below to read the synopses, download the case study, and listen to the podcast.
Belonging in Schools
El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice is a public school located in the Southside community of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York City. The case outlines how community leaders created and designed a school environment that fosters a true sense of belonging among all students and their families. This is a structural bridging case. Download the case study here.
Healing the Earth
The Wind & The Warrior are a collective that led a six-month Sacred Waters Pilgrimage along the Mississippi River to develop and strengthen relationships through ceremony and ritual with Black and Native culture bearers and activists. The case outlines how the journey fostered a sense of community among Black and Native peoples and Mother Earth. This is an interpersonal bridging case. Download the case study here.
Bridging Movements
Belong Circle is an intentional gathering of ten people who engage in genuine conversations that build relationships of trust, connect across differences, and create opportunities to take action together. The case outlines the curriculum, showing how readers can replicate Belong Circles. This is an interpersonal bridging case. Download the case study here.
Different Histories, Parallel Stories
Black Alliance for Just Immigration is a community organization that led bridging dialogues between African Americans and Immigrants in the Ironbound Community Corporations Environmental Justice Program in Newark, New Jersey. The case outlines the dialogue structure and stories from the outcome. This is an interpersonal bridging case. Download the case study here.
Building Bridges over the Hills
Hands Across the Hills is a cross-state bridging organization bringing together liberal residents of rural western Massachusetts and conservative residents in eastern Kentucky coal country. The project seeks to build empathy and unity between diverging perspectives through structured dialogue and cultural exchange. The case study describes the travels and dialogues of these two groups, and how they grew closer through bridging practices. Download the case study here.
