Where Can We Go From Here?

Given our collective assets and challenges, Rhode Islanders can consider a number of critical next steps to strengthen the state’s civic health.

» Strengthening community well-being calls for greater investment in rectifying racial inequities across

Rhode Island.

Racial inequities affect many facets of community well-being, which, in turn, affect the ability of Rhode Islanders of color to fully participate in the state’s civic life.

» Strengthening social connection calls for tools and venues for civic dialogue.

Rhode Island’s greatest civic asset is also one of its greatest civic challenges: the strength of connections among family, friends, and neighbors. These connections can cause social insularity that reinforces inequities, polarization, and civic stagnation. If Rhode Islanders can access more tools to build trust and begin conversations about local issues, social connections may then translate into civic dialogue, and positive collective action.

» Strengthening public participation calls for greater acknowledgment of Rhode Island’s non-governmental

civic institutions.

Rhode Islanders frequent non-governmental civic institutions, including cultural organizations, local independent businesses, and public recreation sites, which strengthen their sense of connection in the state. Investing in these institutions, and their capacities for dialogue and exchange, will provide more opportunities for public participation and strengthen Rhode Island’s civic health.

» Strengthening collective understanding calls for greater attention to civics, history, and media literacy

education, and in inclusive monuments and historic sites.

Improving education in civics, history, and media literacy will allow students to more fully participate in Rhode Island’s civic life. Ensuring that the state’s monuments and historic sites accurately represent all facets of the state’s history—including the histories of Rhode Islanders of color—will inclusively reflect the stories of all Rhode Islanders.

» Strengthening collective understanding also calls for greater commitment to local independent media.

Rhode Islanders are hungry for thorough and holistic representation of their communities in the media, as well as information about how they might participate in local groups and events. Investment in local independent media will help to address this need and in turn bolster Rhode Island’s civic life

» Strengthening engagement with government calls for continued emphasis on government transparency.

Rhode Islanders are engaging with their governments at nationally strong rates both formally and informally. However, the state’s legacy of corruption and nepotism continues to undermine trust in government and belief in the possibility of positive civic change.