Compassion. Empathy. Kindness. Those are words suggested for our use in interacting with each other during tumultuous or unsettling times, as in this pandemic. They are also ways we can engage with each other every day.
In recent times, we’ve noticed that some neighbors, friends, and even family members are struggling to have respectful conversations. They’re struggling to truly hear what the other person is saying. We’ve heard stories of disagreements, tension, and in some cases, complete disengagement from existing relationships. Friends who aren’t friends anymore. Family members who avoid each other.
We believe compassionate communities are effective communities. To build the future we envision – a future where every community is a place of promise with opportunity and justice for all – we must all learn to engage with each other. If we can’t talk to each other with civility and respect, we won’t be able to find the common ground we need to live and work together.
That’s why NCCJ’s board of directors (a diverse group of people from across our community) is inviting you to join us in an initiative that we’re calling Open Minds, Respectful Voices. It’s a set of 5 Community Practices that represent a commitment to engaging in more respectful dialogue and actively listening to understand others’ perspectives.
We hope you’ll take part in this shared effort to practice engaging with others to build community. Please join us in a common focus on these Community Practices:
I will practice:
1. Listening respectfully and with patience to people who have views different than my own.
2. Speaking with empathy and without malice.
3. Encouraging and supporting efforts to bring people of different points of view together in our community to have empathetic and respectful conversations.
4. Discussing the importance of these Community Practices with children and grandchildren and modeling respectful communications in my public and private actions.
5. And I will invite other people to join me in signing these Community Practices.
Sign Your Name
You can sign publicly (to add your name to the list of signatories, below) or anonymously (to make a pledge to yourself.)
Staff will review your submission and update the list below (once per day on weekdays.)
Whatever you choose, be assured that NCCJ will never share or sell your information. Why are we asking you to sign your name? Click here to learn more.
Let’s Practice Together!
The practices outlined below only work if we use them in our daily conversations. So, let’s practice! Mark your calendar and join NCCJ’s program director, Michael Robinson, for a virtual Open Minds, Respectful Voices community learning session. We have one of these hour-long virtual programs scheduled every month.
We invite you to choose a day and time that work for you, and be a part of the conversation. Click here to register for one of these FREE community programs!
We Believe in these Community Practices
A – F
1618 Concepts
Lynne Abramowitz
Heather Adams
Kathryn Adams
Elizabeth Akers
Cyndi Allen
Tammy Alt
Jill Alventosa-Brown
Peter Amidon
Sean Anderson
Carol Andresen
Susan Appt
Yubi Aranda Sandoval
Margaret Arbuckle
Luanne Arrington
ArtsGreensboro
Albar Arvizu
AuthoraCare Collective
Uma Avva
Backpack Beginnings
Pam Bacot
Elizabeth Bader
Adrienne Bailey
Patricia Bailey
Anthony and Charlos Banks
Deborah Barnett
Pam Barrett
Marsha Basloe
Neil Belenky
Robert Bell
Sylvia Berkelhammer
Brigitte Blanton
Allie Blosser
Mark Bochkis
Ed Boenisch
Briane Boger
Ebone Baker
Deborah Bost
Elizabeth Bostian
Louis Bouvier
Bouvier Kelly
Hannah Boyd
Elizabeth Brooks
Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard PLLC
Chris Bryan
Bruce Buchanan
Brandon Buck
Julie Buie
Kaila Bullock
Shannon Burghart
Terri Burleson
Rebecca Cage
Megan Callahan
Don Cameron
Jayne Cameron
Ivan Canada
Fara Captain
Captain & Co. Real Estate LLC
Carol Carkin
Anne Carter
Pam Cash
Kelly Caudle
Rebecca Chandler
Barbara Chadwell
Michelle Chapin
Child Care Services Association
Brent Christensen
Griselda Clark
Mary Kristen Clark
Kimberly Clarke Turner
Tinker Clayton
Ashton Clemmons
Bryan Collie
John-Edward Comer
Ann Comfort
Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro
Communities of Greater Greensboro/Dudley High School Program Site
Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
Tom Cone
Cone Health Foundation
Congregational United Church of Christ
Kris Cooke
Amy Cortese
Jennifer Cross
John Cross
Patricia Cross
Jennifer Cross Green
Wendy Cumberland
Sylvia Curtis
Lawrence Czarda
Jessica Dalton
Dancing Dogs Yoga Greensboro
Heather Davis
J. Michael Dawson
Melissa Tuemler Dimock
Mitch DiMond
Christina Dobson
Manley Dodson
Casey Donahoe
Cheryl Donahue-Wright
Abby Donnelly
Jim Donnelly
Jada Drew
Russell DuBois
Jasmine Dulin
Timothy Dumont
Alan and Pam Duncan
Neil Dunnavant
Caroline Durham
Karen Dyer
Mona Edwards
Theresa Egan
Thomas Ehlers
Lawrence Eisenberg
Inez Elliott
William Ellison
Elon University School of Health Sciences
Cindy Emrey
Tracy Ennis
Equinox Leadership
Jeanine Falcon
Laura Fairley
A’Va Farrior
Jennifer Feather
Deborah Leiner Fields
Lisa Finaldi
Beth Fischer
Ellen Fischer
Marilyn Fish
Linda Ann Fitts
Betty Foh
Lauren Forbis
Marilyn Forman Chandler
Carlvena Foster
Kathryn Foster
Kelsey Fox
Sheryl France
Monica French
Catherine Froelich
Rachel Furci
Sherell Fuller
Wanda Furguson
G – M
Christina Garcia
Patti Gasparello
Robert Gasparello
Beverley Gass
Gate City Candy Company
Kimberly Gatling
LaDaniel Gatling II
Kelly Gaulden
Beverly Galyean
Jasmine Getrouw-Moore
Get Ready Guilford
Jane Gibson
Meg Gibson
Paul Gibson
Isabel Gill
Michelle Gill-Moffat
Dori Goebel
Lamoura Gohi
Brian Goldberg
Laura Gonzalez
Maria Gonzalez
Suzanne Goodell
Stephanie Goodson
Gary Grandon
Kelly Graves
Kevin Gray
Paige Green
Renica Greene
Greensboro Chamber of Commerce
Greensboro College
Greensboro Jewish Federation
Devin Griffith
Arlene Gutterman
Tab Haigler
Mark Hale
Gin Reid Hall
Karel Hall
Kirstie Hall
Wendy Hallman-Zeigler
David Hammer
Terry Hammond
Risa Hanau
Maria Hanlin
Tim Hanlin
Kelsey Harris
Charrise Hart
Bryle Hatch
Vern Hawkins
Brad Hayes
Debbie Hayes
Sandra Hayes
Vanessa Haygood
Diane Heath
Jenny Heaton
Stephanie Henderson
Amanda Henry
Cindy Hensley
Ruth Heyd
Beth Heywood
Gina Hicks
Amy Higgins
Courtney Hilton
Rodney Holcomb
Randy Holden
Hugh Holston
Gloria Hoover
Emily Howell
Hudson’s Hill
Gloria Hughes
Christina Hurley
Judith Hyman
Hillary Irusta
Kelly Irvin
Leslie Isakoff
Terri Jackson
Tiffany Jacobs
Gail Jacobson
Karen Jeffries
George Johnson
Kristi Johnson
Olabisi Johnson
Alison Whitman Jones
Frank Jones
Frankie Jones
Jennifer Jones
Tanisha Jones
Joyce Richman & Assoc. Ltd.
Ellen Julian
Karen Kahn
Karen Kaplan
Danielle Kaynor
Stephanie Keaney
Denny Kelly
Amy Kemp
Candace King
Magz King
Scott Kinsey
Nyla Khan
Savannah Knoble
Lauren Koble
Stacey Land
David Landers
Mary Landers
Lina Landess
Kathryn Larson
Marian LaSalle
Latino Community Coalition of Guilford
John Lauritzen
Jessica Lauten
Patti Learman
Evelyn Leathers
Gail and Gene LeBauer
Wanda Legrand
Tim Leisman
Catherine LeMere
Pat Levitin
Liberty Hardware
LIFT Coaching and Consulting
Indira Lindsay Roberts
Al Lineberry
Mark Livingston
Angela Lloyd
Derek Loikits
Jodi Lorenzo
John Lucas
Mary Luckhaus
Shane Lukas
Rev. Holly Lux-Sullivan
Kathy Manning
Matt Manning
Christy Manry
Kara Hodge Marshall
Dawn and Stephen Martin
Jennifer Martineau
Michelle Mason
Alex Maultsby
Terri Maultsby
Louise Maultsby Bristol
Mark Maxwell, PhD
Bonnie McAlister
Ella McCollum
Emily McCollum
Laura McDuffee
Margaret McEnally
Sarah McGuire
Palmer Mcintyre
Kelly McKee
Adrienne McKinney
Erin Mecum
Jack Michka
Marissa Milstein
Ron Milstein
Victoria Milstein
J. Brooke Monaghan
Juan-Carlos Monguilod
Ged Moody
Frank Moore
Gary and Alice Moore
Richard (Skip) Moore
Wanda Moore
Christine Murray
N – Z
Sandy Neerman
Rebecca Neiduski
Robert Newton
Next Ascent, LLC
Tracy Nichols
No Evil Foods
Aprille Noe Black
North Carolina African Services Coalition
Chris Nuckols
Betsy Oakley
Mindy Oakley
Sandra O’Conner
Jill Ogburn
Ayesha Oglesby
Ursula Dudley Oglesby
Justin Outling
Laura Oxner
Kate Panzer
Parents as Teachers Guilford County
Elizabeth Paul
Susan Pedaline
Julie Peeples
Suzanne Pell
Lisa Pennington
María Perdomo
Samuel Perkins
Reid Phillips
Amelia Phillips Hale
Paula Pierce
Alisha Pittman
Planned Parenthood
Chad Plass
Miles Poole
Mildred Powell
Wanda Pritchett
Project Genes1s
James Pruitt
Jay Putnam
Julie Pyrtle
Jay Ramasamy
Libby Ramsey
Katy Randhawa
Ruth Ray
Sheri Raymer
Ready for School, Ready for Life
Teresa Reed
Kelsey Reedy
Linda Reese
Jack Register
Lyndon Rego
Elizabeth Reinecke
Mike Renn
Joyce Richman
Kim Richmond
Freddy Robinson
Michael Robinson
Ursula Robinson
Kit Rodenbough
Jason Rose
David Rosenstein
Patrick Rush
Paul Russ
Arthur Samet
Leonard Samet
Samet Corporation
Donna Samuels
Sanctuary House
Tara and Steve Sandercock
Dabney and Walker Sanders
Jeff Sapp
Kristina Schwartz
Susan Shore Schwartz
Sue Sciabbarrasi
Nicole Scullion
Stefanie Seligman
Caroline Sell
Catherine Sevier
Chamu Shanmugam
Jane Sharp
Morgan Sharp
Aaron Sheehan
Hollie Shelton
Kirstin Shepperson
Butch Sherrill
Marian Sherrill
Anne Shoemaker
Lisa M Shoffner
Adam Shull
Susan Shumaker
Richard Sigler
Gary Simmons
Susan Simmons
Louise Skillman
Sharon Smiley
Baylee Smith
Gail Smith
James Smith
Jonaa Smith
Julia Smith
Lynn Smith
Patricia Soenksen
Christie Soper
St. James Presbyterian Church
St. James Social Justice Ministry
Tamara Staehler
Myra Stanley-Key
Tracie Strader
Aaron Strasser
Mark Stull
Jessica Sullivan
Sarah Kathryn Sullivan
Graham Summerlee
Meredeth Summers
Claudia Sur
Mary Swantek
Kristin Sydnor
Syngenta Crop Protection
T. Wingate Andrews High School
Hilda Tajalli
Jeanne Tannenbaum
Willie Taylor
The Social Impact Foundation
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Jennifer Thomas
Julia Thomas
Cecelia Thompson
Sheila Thrower
Maria Thurlow
Tammi Thurm
Triad Financial Advisors
Leslye Samet Tuck
Lynn Turnage
Sam Turner
UNC Greensboro / Leadership Greensboro
Amber Valentine
Carolyn Velez
Ashlee Wagner
Dr. Betsy Walker
Ashley F. Wall
Julie Wall
Ginger Walton
Sandy Walton
Karen Watts-Yehudah
Laura Way
Daniel Weatherington
Weaver Foundation
Marilyn Weiler
Lori Welch
Tabatha Wells
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Jill White
Parker White
Jeri Whitfield
Clint Whitlow
Jennifer Whitney
Erika Rain Wilhite
Ashley Williams
Lea Williams
Natalyn Williams
Ann Marie Wilson
Nick Wilson
Cate Riley Wineburg
Jon Wolfsberger
Womble Bond Dickinson LLP
Melanie Woodward
Lynn Wooten
Sasha Wright
Kristen Yntema
Jeanne Young
Crystal Zellous