Community Dialogue & Advocacy

NCCJ St. Louis believes we can change the world by engaging in dialogue with one another and taking action in our corner of the community.

Dialogue 

Since our beginning, NCCJ St. Louis has brought people together from different groups to "clear up misunderstandings" and to "promote goodwill and cooperation." Interfaith dialogue groups, interracial dialogue groups, diversity dialogues; in the evening, over breakfast, in living rooms—NCCJ's commitment to dialogues for diversity and justice continues in its Building Inclusive Communities (BIC) dialogues, in talking circles held with our partners, and in the process used in our celebrated training programs.

Advocacy 

Action for justice is why we do the work we do. NCCJ St. Louis was active in the Missouri Hate Crimes Task Force and Missouri Health Care for All, a state-wide collaborative initiative. NCCJ St. Louis has been an advocate in many areas of the community. For instance, since before Brown v. Board of Education, NCCJ has been addressing issues in schools, and was active in seeking a constructive resolution to the St. Louis school desegregation suit prior to the advent of the 1982 Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation. We worked with area districts to dismantle racism in schools, and published the report on One School (PDF), work that continues today in our partnerships to support educational equity in the schools.