KARSH INSTITUTE PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS THE POWER OF CONVERSATION OVER DIVISION
In one conversation, two men, one older and one younger, talk about how people of different races are perceived.
In another, two young women talk about their experiences of religion, faith and politics at the University of Virginia. Other conversations cross ideological divides or find unexpected common ground in careers and hobbies.
These conversations are part of the “One Small Step” project, a partnership between the UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy and StoryCorps’ national One Small Step initiative. Started in October 2021, the UVA One Small Step project has since recorded more than 80 conversations, both virtually and in-person, with participants from around the Charlottesville area.
“We have seen a significant amount of ideological difference between participants and a significant amount of diversity in general – generational diversity, racial diversity and religious diversity,” Samyuktha Mahadevan, project manager for One Small Step at the Karsh Institute, said.
When potential participants sign up, Mahadevan and her team work to pair them based on both differences and commonalities.
“It is not a process we take lightly,” Mahadevan said. “It is time-consuming, but we really try to understand who people are.”
Then, participants meet for an hourlong conversation, with a moderator present to facilitate.
In one conversation, a gulf of several decades separated two participants: Bob Pearson, an Air Force veteran, and Carlos Rodriguez, a third-year UVA student at the time of the recording. However, they connected over similar feelings of isolation and culture shock, either when joining the Air Force or going to college.
The pair also discussed racism. Pearson talked about growing up in a nearly all-white farming community in Connecticut. As he experienced more of the world in the Air Force, Pearson said, he realized that some of the things his family and community members said about people of other races truly bothered him.
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