Engaging others with empathy, respect, and understanding is essential at a time when both national headlines and personal conversations have become louder, harsher, and more polarized.

The Library, partnering with the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, invites us to reflect on and talk about how we, as individuals within a community, can move forward to find common ground in this third installment of our Civil Dialogues series.

The evening’s panel discussion is moderated by Emmy Award-winning journalist and co-founder of Civil Dialogues, Linda Lorelle. Panelists include Jay Sexton, director of the Kinder Institute, and students working to foster civil discourse on college campuses, leading with vulnerability, openness, and the belief that dialogue — even if difficult — still makes a difference.