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Podcast: KKKrossing the divide - A Black man talks to white supremacists

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Today marks the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's death. His killing in police custody in Minneapolis reverberated across the country, but this was just one of a long series of deaths of Black men during altercations with police.

To gain some insight on what can be done to address tensions between races, the Common Ground Committee spoke with musician Daryl Davis, a Black man who has spent the past 35 years on a remarkable quest to speak with members of white supremacist groups to help them renounce their racist ideologies.

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Why understanding the ‘other side’ is more important than ever

For some of us, just reading the title of this piece may be irritating — even maddening. If you’re scared about Trump’s election, being asked to understand the “other side” can seem a distant concern compared to your fears of what might happen during his presidency. If you’re glad Trump won, you may be tempted to say, “We’ve won; we don’t need to listen” — or maybe you’re angry about the pushback you see on the “other side.”

As was true before the election, many of us fear what the “other side” wants and what they’ll do. But even in the midst of our fears and anger, we must see that understanding each other is more important than ever. When we fail to understand each other, we push each other away and amplify our divides.

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Tents in a park

Tents encampment in Chicago's Humboldt Park.

Amalia Huot-Marchand

Officials and nonprofits seek solutions for Chicago’s housing crisis

Elected city officials and nonprofit organizations in Chicago have come together to create affordable housing for homeless, low-income and migrant residents in the city’s West Side.

So far, solutions include using tax increment financing and land trusts to help fund affordable housing.

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Woman holding a sign that reads "This is a time to roll up our sleeves."

A protestor holds up a sign with a quote from Vice President Kamala Harris at the Women's March rally outside the Heritage Foundation on Nov. 9.

Shannon Finney/Getty Images

Dems blame everything but themselves for losing

It’s tough sledding for Democrats, as they try to wrap their heads around Donald Trump’s improbable-but-also-foreseeable sweep of all seven swing states and winning the popular vote.

This wasn’t supposed to happen, after all. Democrats genuinely believed — as they did in 2016 — that Trump’s many odious qualities would be enough to keep him far away from the White House again.

And if for some reason that wasn’t enough for most Americans, they had in Vice President Kamala Harris a woman of color who, apparently, by virtue of her identity alone, would help seal the deal among those voting demographics.

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