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About the Event

This year, for July 4th, the holiday that commemorates the United States of America’s independence from Great Britain, three leading civic organizations in Philadelphia came together to discuss the importance of civil society—that “third sector,” distinct from government and business.
 
What is the role of civil society in times of civil unrest? Do civic organizations have a deliberative role in peace-building and conflict resolution? And, if so, to what extent? How can these organizations work to bring people together to not only have the hard conversations, but also commit to the often more difficult challenge of listening and taking action?
 
This conversation featured R. Scott Stephenson, President and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution, Ivan Henderson, Vice President of Programming of the African American Museum in Philadelphia, and Craig Snyder, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.
 

A newspaper from July 2, 1776 displays text about the Continental Congress declaring American Independence next to an ad about an enslaved man who had sought his own freedom.
 

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