From the Director

What gives you hope right now?

For me, my heart feels lighter every time I see the humanities making real, positive change in people’s lives. And of course, because we’re humanities folks, every change we make starts with learning and reflection.

This past year, we have been doing some deep thinking about racial equity and inclusion in our service to Wisconsin and asking ourselves what racial equity really means. What does history have to teach us? Where are we today as an organization? How can we expand upon this conversation about equity? I would love to hear your thoughts as we work on promoting equity as part of our long-standing commitment to serving everyone in Wisconsin.

When it comes to being inclusive, I find hope in our Love Wisconsin storytelling project where a multiplicity of voices is lifted through first-person stories. I find it above all in the Love Wisconsin community that gathers around stories of people from the breadth of racial and ethnic backgrounds, occupations, geographies, languages, cultures, and beliefs that make up our beloved state — from Sid Cook, a 4th generation European American cheesemaker in West Point, to Yasmin Nur, a 1st generation Somali American college student in Green Bay.

In this issue of ON, I’m thrilled to share research about how Love Wisconsin is evoking empathy and creating community from our human diversity. It makes me particularly hopeful that despite the negativity that can occur in a digital space, we are meeting each other in such a positive way.

I hope it gives you hope to know the many ways that the Love Wisconsin project has touched, engaged, and connected hundreds of thousands of people over the years. And I hope that you, like me, are one of them!