Still Healing After 58 Years
St. Augustine, Florida is over 450 years old but one of its most famous historic sites commemorates an event that happened only 58 years ago. In June 1964, Andrew Young, who would later become Mayor of Atlanta and a U.S. Secretary of State, led a peaceful protest in the town and was met by a violent mob.
President, National Civic League
5 Barriers to a Productive Conversation on Guns
Keeping the Peace in Danville
Public Safety: Thinking Outside of the Box
After another unspeakably tragic mass shooting, the topic of gun violence is once again at the forefront of national discourse. While gun rights versus restrictions is amongst one of the most polarizing issues, the status quo is both irresponsible and dangerous. We look back at this NCR article to get a better idea of the barriers to discourse and how we might overcome them so that the deaths of the children in Uvalde and in so many other places are not in vain. Read more
Police-community relations in Danville, Virginia, are getting a new look during the next month with the opening of a new police headquarters that the city is naming “1 Community Way.” The name and function of the new building reflects the city’s effort to work collaboratively with residents on public safety. The building has an outdoor community area for civic engagement as well as a large community room and other multipurpose rooms to better serve the community. Read more.
While discussions of public safety are often coupled with discussions about the effectiveness of law enforcement, there is significant research to indicate that public safety is substantially increased with changes and improvements to the physical environment of communities. Examples of this include increased lighting, the addition of sidewalks and stop signs, greening and tree canopy programs, and the repair and improvement of vacant lots and decaying homes.  Read more.
Juneteenth
Resource Guide
Climate Policy Meets
Civic Engagement
The ABCs of Inclusive and Equitable Engagement
Juneteenth, celebrated every June 19th and now a federal holiday, commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. by honoring the day in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas learned they were free. To support learning more about this important part of American history, NYC's Social Studies and Civics for All created a Juneteenth Resource Guide with links, materials, and discussion prompts, for individuals and educators alike.
This May, a group of 40 climate and civic engagement experts convened for two days in Washington, D.C. for CivicGreen's conference, Civic Engagement in American Climate Policy: Collaborative Models. Attendees pondered civic engagement and collaboration in an era of climate crisis. Proposed solutions were grounded in specific forms of public participation and policy design. Read more.

The League is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, June 22nd to discuss the myriad of considerations–convener, time, location, language, etc.–that need to be addressed to ensure engagement efforts are inclusive and equitable. Attendees will learn about strategies and best practices for equitable and inclusive engagement, with a few examples from communities successfully doing this work. Register.
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Additional Information and Upcoming Events

GFOA Annual Conference- Austin, TX
June 5-8, 2022

AASCU American Democracy Project
2022 Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement Meeting
June 21, 2022

GFOA’s Fundamentals Virtual Forum
July 11-15, 2022

ICMA Annual Conference- Columbus, OH
September 17-21, 2022

ABCD Unconference 2022
October 5, 2022

#ELGL22 Annual Conference- Phoenix, AZ
October 12-14, 2022

NCDD Event Calendar
The calendar lists upcoming events related to dialogue, deliberation, and civic engagement.

Now accepting article proposals for National Civic Review
We are interested in 1,200-3,000 word articles. 
The deadline for the fall issue is June 15th. 
Contact mikem@ncl.org for more information. 
What We're Reading
Thank you to National Civic League Sustaining Member Communities:

Algoma, WI
Asheboro, NC
Aurora, CO
Danville, VA
Decatur, GA
Delray Beach, FL
Denver, CO
Dublin, CA
El Paso, TX
Fort Wayne, IN
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Gladstone, MO
Hayward, CA
Illinois Municipal League
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
Miami Gardens, FL
Oakridge Neighborhood, IA
Pitt County, NC
Rancho Cordova, CA
Roanoke, VA
San Antonio, TX
Tallahassee, FL
Tampa Housing Authority
Tupelo, MS
Wheat Ridge, CO
Wichita, KS
Thank you to National Civic League Partner Organizations:

American Society for Public Administration
Bridge Alliance
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation
CGI
Comcast
Google
GrantWorks
Government Finance Officers Association
HealthONE
International City / County Management Association
Kettering Foundation
MissionSquare Retirement
Murray and Agnes Seasongood Foundation
National Academy of Public Administration
National Coalition on Dialogue and Deliberation
National Collaborative for Health Equity
National League of Cities
National Forum for Black Public Administrators
Next Fifty Initiative
Rawson Family Foundation
SolSmart
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Southwest Airlines
United States Census Bureau
United Way Worldwide
Well Being Trust
W.K. Kellogg Foundation