Event: Repairing Harm: How Communities Confront Difficult Histories
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2026
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM ET
Location: Virtual via ZOOM

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About the Event:

Join us on Thursday, June 25, 2026, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm ET for a free virtual event titled “Repairing Harm: How Communities Confront Difficult Histories”

Communities inherit difficult histories. Some choose to ignore them. Others confront them directly through truth-telling, remembrance, dialogue, and efforts to repair harm. What happens when communities decide to face the past rather than look away?

During this 90-minute virtual session, participants will explore a variety of real-world efforts that communities have used to address historical harm, strengthen relationships, and foster healing. Through a showcase of examples, stories, and discussion, we will examine a range of approaches, including truth-telling initiatives, community dialogue efforts, memorialization projects, restorative practices, and reconciliation processes.

Rather than focusing on a single model, this session highlights a diverse collection of community-based efforts from across the United States and beyond. Together, we will consider questions that communities continue to wrestle with: How do communities acknowledge painful histories? What role do truth-telling, remembrance, and accountability play in repair? How can communities move forward without ignoring the past?

Participants will encounter examples ranging from community dialogues and truth commissions to memorial projects, public acknowledgments of harm, and initiatives that bring together people affected by difficult histories. Together, these examples illustrate the many ways communities have worked to address historical harm, foster understanding, strengthen relationships, and support collective healing.

During the session, you will:

• Explore how communities have responded to historical harms through dialogue, remembrance, and restorative practices.
• Examine the roles of truth-telling, accountability, and community engagement in efforts to address difficult histories.
• Compare several approaches communities have used to address historical harm and foster reconciliation.
• Reflect on common themes, challenges, and opportunities that emerge across different approaches to community repair and healing.
• Identify practical next steps for supporting, joining, or helping initiate community-based efforts that promote understanding, repair, and connection.

Whether you are interested in history, community building, restorative practices, or peacebuilding, this session offers an opportunity to learn from real-world examples, discover a variety of approaches to addressing historical harm, and consider how similar efforts might take shape within your own community.