Unify America

At first glance, this might look like nothing special. A bunch of people sitting around tables, reading some papers, talking with their neighbors.

But what's actually happening in this photo is a civic innovation.

These are Akron residents taking part in a Civic Assembly: a group of community members, chosen by random lottery to reflect the makeup of the city, who come together to work through one shared challenge. In Akron's case, that challenge is housing.

Delegates learn from local experts and neighbors with real-life experience, listen to perspectives different from their own, and deliberate on practical recommendations that city leaders will respond to.

It isn't a debate. Nobody is here to win. They're here to figure things out together.

The idea that everyday people can gather to deliberate on the issues that shape their lives is as old as ancient Athens, but it's one the United States has rarely put into practice at this scale.

The Akronites in this photo are part of a growing movement to change that, by showing what happens when you give regular Americans the time, information, and support to tackle hard problems together.

See Unify Akron's progress in real time, and learn more about how Civic Assemblies work, at unifyakron.org.

A Democracy League is a new kind of civic institution built on an old idea: regular people can solve their own problems, together.

Akron is in the middle of one right now. A Civic Assembly of residents, selected by lottery and supported to participate, is working on the city's housing challenges. Their recommendations will go to local leaders who have committed to take them seriously.

"Dialogue is great, but action is even better." That's Dreama Whitfield, an Akron resident in the middle of the work.

Learn more about how a Democracy League works: www.unifyakron.org

Unify Akron

What if the cure for political polarization was something as simple as sitting down and actually talking, with real information, real listening, and real give-and-take?

That's the argument at the heart of a compelling new column from Colorado Politics editor Vince Bzdek. He highlights research showing that when everyday Americans are given balanced information and structured space to deliberate, they consistently move away from extreme positions across party lines.

It's not just theory. We saw it firsthand.

In 2023, Unify America hosted its first Civic Assembly in Montrose, Colorado, one of the very experiments Bzdek points to as evidence that this approach is working. 64 community members from across the political spectrum spent 12 weeks deliberating together on local childcare challenges. The result wasn't just a set of recommendations. It was a community that felt heard, empowered, and capable of solving problems together.

This is what democracy can look like when we invest in it.

👉 Read the full column and share it with someone who needs a reason for hope today:
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/03/07/can-deliberation-save-democracy-vince-bzdek/

Can deliberation save democracy? | Vince Bzdek In September 2019, 523 Americans traveled to Dallas for an experiment called “America in One Room.” The gathering was designed to test a theory: Could representative citizens deliberate productively even in an era of intense polarization? The event focused on policy proposals in five polarizing ...

A new report from Harvard asks a critical question: what does it actually take for public deliberation to lead to real change?

The answer, according to researchers at the Ash Center, is institutional commitment. When people are given a voice but no follow-through, it can leave them more disillusioned than before.

We took that seriously in Akron.

Right now, Unify Akron is running the city's first Civic Assembly, focused on housing. A randomly selected group of Akron residents are meeting weekly, learning from multiple perspectives, and developing real recommendations for the city. And the Mayor and City of Akron have signed an MOU committing to consider and act on what the assembly produces.

That is not a suggestion box. That is democracy in action.

The assembly runs through May 2026.

Want to follow along or get involved?
👉 https://www.unifyakron.org/

📖 Read the Harvard piece that puts it all in context: https://ash.harvard.edu/resources/the-ecosystem-of-deliberative-technologies-for-public-input/

The Ecosystem of Deliberative Technologies for Public Input – Ash Center Ensuring public opinion and policy preferences are reflected in policy outcomes is essential to a functional democracy. A growing ecosystem of deliberative technologies aims to improve the input-to-action loop between people and their governments.