We are at a place now where every civil engagement can default into a battlezone. Neighbors are wary of each other; public interactions spark verbal or physical assaults or silent dismissiveness.  One person’s belief is another’s poison. Inclusion, openness, and a sense of shared purpose wither in environments where fear, mistrust, and exclusion dominate the discourse, stifling collaboration and growth.

Three years ago, Washington College students Stephen Hook and Zach Affeldt met as Freshman and determined that while they held opposing political beliefs, they could maintain a friendship. With that dynamic in mind,  the two founded PoliTalks, a student group now with eighty members whose mission is promote respectful political dialogue.

“We founded PoliTalks on the fundamental belief that students deserve a safe and respectful forum for political education and conversation,” Hook says.

Last week PoliTalks invited former state delegate and candidate of Congress Heather Mizeur to talk about setting a new course in civil engagement by connecting on a more fundamental plane: our shared humanity.

Hook and Affeldt say their decision to partner with Heather Mizeur came from an appreciation for how Heather campaigned for Congress in 2022 and her non-profit work on coalition building through community partnerships.

“Showing civility toward people we disagree with isn’t just about being nice or polite. It isn’t only about having better and more productive conversations. It is about the very survival of our cherished democracy,” Mizeur says. “PoliTalks promotes a campus culture at Washington College where honorable civic engagement is encouraged to thrive; where differing opinions are explored with curiosity and compassion; and where new solutions to our toughest challenges are found within courageous conversations. My life’s work has been dedicated to these same principles.”

Mizeur says she plans to continue her work to bridge political divisiveness with WeAreOneAlliance. Workshops for 2025 will be announced by the end of the year.

Event partners were Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, The Holstein Program in Ethics, and Phi Beta Kappa

This video is a seven-minute snapshot of the complete video available here.

In September, Bethel A.M.E. Church in Chestertown was honored with a ceremony and memorial to honor its place in Kent County history.

Rev. Robert N. Brown, Jr. presided over the ceremony. In attendance were Alan Cephas, Nina Cephas, Rev. Monique Upshur Davis, and Melvonna Wayman—grandchildren of the late Rev. Frederick Jones, Sr. Reverend Jones, who served as pastor here from 1953 to 1969, co-founded the local NAACP chapter and played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights era, including hosting the Freedom Riders in Chestertown.

The marker is a project series directed by the Black Historic Signage Committee, chaired by Chesapeake Heartland Curation Fellow Karen Somerville, with the support of private donors and Hope Fellowship Church.

Monuments already erected in Chestertown to commemorate local Black history are on Cannon St. at the harbor, College Ave. and Calvert St. to recognize Charlie Graves and the famed Uptown club, and Emma Grason Miller at Henry Highland Garnet Elementary School.

In the works are two memorials to honor the local Negro League Hall of Famers Ralph Deaton, Jr. in Chestertown and Rock Hall with one commemorating Ralph Deaton, Jr. at Washington Park, and a marker honoring James A. Jones, the 18th Century entrepreneur who famously beat the unjust voting laws by selling small parcels of land from his lot to provide property ownership (and a vote) to Black men.

African American churches have played a pivotal role in American history, serving as more than just places of worship. These institutions emerged during slavery as rare spaces where Black people could gather, fostering community and preserving African cultural traditions. After emancipation, churches became centers for education, political organization, and social services.

During the Civil Rights Movement, Black churches were crucial hubs for activism, providing meeting spaces, mobilizing supporters, and producing influential leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. They offered community in the face of oppression and violence.

To support the Black Historic Signage Committee, contact Karen Somerville here.

This video is approximately five minutes in length.