Oklahoma conversations reveal opportunities to strengthen civic engagement.

Nearly 400 Oklahomans sat down this summer to talk about civic life, community and what it means to participate in democracy. 

What the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum heard was both encouraging and challenging: People overwhelmingly want to make a difference. Many just aren't sure how — or are increasingly hesitant to step into conversations where political differences may arise. 

The Memorial hosted 74 conversations as Oklahoma's participant in the American Conversation Project, a national initiative designed to capture Americans' perspectives during the country's 250th anniversary. With more than 4,000 minutes of recorded conversation, the Memorial led participating institutions nationally in the number of conversations hosted. 

Groups were intentionally small, generally bringing together four to six people at a time. Conversations took place at the Memorial and throughout the Oklahoma City area, with additional discussions outside the metro to capture geographic differences. Every generation was represented. 

Oklahomans want to engage 

Across those conversations, one message came through clearly: Oklahomans care about their communities and want to contribute. 

Volunteerism and helping neighbors were areas where participants felt particularly comfortable. Talking through difficult issues and political differences was harder. 

Stephen Evans, Director of Education and Public Programming at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, said participants described a gap between wanting to engage and knowing how to do it. Some expressed concern about entering spaces where they might encounter political hostility, while others worried people aren't learning the skills needed to participate effectively in civic life. 

Participants also frequently pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a fracture point. Many felt it fundamentally changed how people communicate and interact with others. The online world was another recurring concern, along with media literacy and its role in navigating information and division. 

Those findings are already giving the Memorial new areas to consider as it develops curriculum for its upcoming Civics Lab. Media literacy, for example, had not necessarily been at the forefront of that planning before the conversations. 

Rediscovering how to talk to each other 

Many of the themes also reinforced work already underway through the Memorial's Better Conversations program. 

The program focuses on skills and values including hospitality, civility and a willingness to be vulnerable — tools that help people engage across differences, build connections and better understand one another. 

Participants repeatedly expressed concern that those skills have weakened or been taken for granted. 

For the Memorial, that reinforces the need to continue investing in Better Conversations as a tool for strengthening civic engagement and countering political violence. 

Another theme appeared again and again: the Oklahoma Standard. 

The term became associated with the extraordinary response of Oklahomans following the April 19, 1995, bombing, but Evans said the standard was "revealed" in 1995, not created by the tragedy. 

Participants expressed pride in that history of Oklahomans stepping up to help one another. At the same time, they expressed a desire to carry that spirit into everyday life — without waiting for disaster to demonstrate what Oklahoma communities are capable of. 

Turning conversation into action 

The Memorial is now working through the qualitative information gathered during the project and considering it alongside quantitative civic health data as it develops recommendations. 

The work comes as the Memorial prepares for an expansion that will include a new Civics Lab. The story of 1995 provides an example of local, state and federal governments working together during an extraordinary moment. Today, the Memorial sees an opportunity to use those lessons to address areas where civic health and trust have weakened. 

The National Conference on Citizenship is also preparing a national report from the American Conversation Project, including a section examining Oklahoma's findings. 

As the Memorial looks ahead, its goal extends beyond teaching civics. It wants to serve as a place where students, organizations and the broader public can come together and practice civic engagement. 

Evans said the experience of recruiting participants for the project demonstrated why that work is needed. Asking established groups to participate was relatively easy. Convincing members of the general public to sit down and have a conversation with strangers was much harder. 

Something as seemingly simple as talking to one another can be difficult. 

But, as the Memorial heard from Oklahomans this summer, it may also be some of the most important work communities can do.