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American Future: Preparing to meet you

American Future: Preparing to meet you
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Debilyn Molineaux
By Debilyn MolineauxNov 06, 2023
Debilyn Molineaux

Debilyn Molineaux is the catalyst of JEDIfutures.org , a global initiative that helps people imagine and create just, equitable, dignified, and inclusive futures. She is best known for her pioneering work in civic innovation, having co-founded Bridge Alliance, Living Room Conversations, and National Week of Conversation. She formerly acted as co-publisher for The Fulcrum. Across these efforts, Debilyn has brought together unlikely allies to co-create solutions for democracy, governance, and social transformation.

Her work lives at the intersection of strategy, systems change, and spirit. A long-time practitioner of personal and collective growth, she brings a deep commitment to the inner dimensions of change that are often overlooked but essential to transformation. Debilyn speaks of the “interstitial spaces” — the connective tissue between people, institutions, and movements — where new possibilities take root.

She also hosts the podcast Terrified Nation, which helps audiences move from fear and despair into courage and action. Her voice is sought by impact investors, changemakers, and visionary leaders who want to align resources, imagination, and human growth toward a thriving future for all.

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Debilyn Molineaux serves as the catalyst for the American Future project to help everyday Americans discover and believe in a future that will be "worth it" to work together for the sake of our nation.

My new weekly column, American Future, will report on the desired future of everyday Americans as I interview a few people each week from across the nation. The four week journey begins on November 9, 2023. Zoom interviews will be ongoing.

For a few years now, I’ve been wondering about the future of our nation. With alarm, I have experienced friends and family look at the same situation and come away with vastly different interpretations. As I flip through cable news channels or scroll through social media feeds, it’s like we are sharing the planet and only taking in dystopian possibilities. Are we heading towards fascism or socialism? Are we heading towards chaos or order? Will our elected officials ever work together again? (No, says the media.)

At the same time our divisions have (seemingly) deepened, I have witnessed an exponential increase in the number of people concerned about and working on our nation’s future. The Bridge Alliance was formed in 2015 with 30 organizational members and grew to 110 in 2022. A new project called Healthy Democracy Ecosystem has cataloged organizations working on democracy across the nation and identified over 6,000. In other words, Americans are already at work to correct or heal what ails the nation.

As I see levels of despair, resignation and tuning out amongst my friends and family, I also see amazing people doing extraordinary work. How then, can my friends and family, or any everyday American, get connected? And why would they want to? That is what the American Future project is all about. Helping people connect to what they want for their own future and consider steps they can take personally and in their community to make it happen. This is my thesis about how we co-create a better future for all of us.

First of course, we, the everyday people, need to know what we want, and what future will be “worth it” to work for it.

As I prepare to meet you and other everyday Americans, I’ve been conducting practice interviews. I’ve created and ordered some information cards to “leave behind.” I’ve set up an online interview tool. The AmericanFuture.us website is constantly being updated. I’m writing nearly every day.

Where I feel unready for this adventure is in how I will tell your stories. Should each person have their own story? Should I do composites? What form will it take - written, video, audio? How would videos and audio stories get produced? Who can help? What is the right balance of fixed locations yet allowing time for spontaneous and synchronistic meetings? How will I ask people to spend 30-45 minutes with me? Will there be too much background noise to record? And of course, how will this project be supported, financially?

I share these open questions with you, for the sake of transparency about my own insecurities. I’m as scared to take this journey as I am excited to meet you. Preparing for the journey is as daunting as the journey itself. I think you are worth it.

Let’s roll.


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Welcome to Trump’s lame duck presidency

It's been a while since we saw a lame duck presidency — long enough in politics to maybe forget what one looks like.

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Academic Tracking in K-12 Schools: Improving Achievement or Widening Gaps?
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Academic Tracking in K-12 Schools: Improving Achievement or Widening Gaps?

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

Key Takeaways

  • Tracking is widespread and begins early. Currently, 75 percent of eighth graders nationwide are affected by tracking and the process begins in first and second grade.
  • Successful detracking requires adequate support. Districts that detrack with enough support and resources for both teachers and students can narrow achievement gaps without lowering performance.Successful examples often come from communities with extensive resources.
  • Research on the impact of tracking on achievement is mixed. Some studies show tracking benefits advanced students at no cost to others, but other studies have shown the opposite; minimum educational gains with significant costs in equity.

What is Academic Tracking?

Academic tracking is the practice of assigning students to different classrooms based on earlier academic achievement or perceived ability. It affects approximately 75 percent of eighth graders nationwide and begins as early as first and second grade. Unlike temporary ability grouping, where a teacher might divide students into small groups for a single lesson on fractions, tracking sorts students into specific pathways such as remedial math, regular Algebra I, or honors Algebra I, with math being the most heavily tracked subject in American schools.

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