March 28, 2025
Our country is more divided than ever, with too many of us isolated from those who hold different views. This division harms our communities, disrupts our families, and prevents us from working together for the common good. Between April 2023 and September 2024, Root Change and The Carter Center launched an ambitious effort in Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia to confront deepening fractures stemming from identity-based violence and distrust in democracy. Through Social Labs, locally referred to as Hubs, we worked alongside grassroots leaders to bridge divides, restore trust, and strengthen our democratic republic. While the work is far from over, we may have uncovered an important way forward—one that offers real hope for rebuilding connections and resilience in communities struggling with deep social fractures.
39 experimentation design teams – made up of 186 members across the three states – developed and led projects that engaged more than 1,600 community members in meaningful dialogue and connection. The Carter Center, which operates state-based democracy resilience networks in each of these states, was instrumental in supporting the formation of the Hub teams and brought both credibility and reach to recruitment and community participation efforts.
Bridging Divides and Reducing Polarization
The Depolarization Hubs proved that small-scale, community-led efforts can drive significant change. Through activities ranging from cross-partisan dialogues to youth-led civics workshops, participants developed the skills and confidence needed to engage in meaningful, cross-partisan conversations.
- 92% of participants reported feeling better equipped to engage with diverse perspectives.
- 88% of participants reported gaining tools to address polarization within their communities.
- 90% of participants reported being highly satisfied with their experiences, demonstrating the program’s ability to create engaging and meaningful opportunities for dialogue.
One event organizer reflected, “Disagreement doesn’t have to be toxic. You can hold firm beliefs and still build each other up rather than tear each other down.” This sentiment echoes the program’s broader impact: empowering individuals to move beyond division and toward collective problem-solving.
What Are Depolarization Hubs?
Depolarization Hubs are collaborative spaces designed to bring people together across divides—whether ideological, cultural, or identity-based—to strengthen communities and reduce polarization. Unlike traditional interventions, these Social Labs create environments where diverse participants can engage in dialogue, build relationships, and co-design practical, community-driven resolutions to deeply rooted tensions.
Each Hub team followed a structured cycle of launch events, facilitated workshops, ongoing check-ins, learning exchanges, and hands-on activities, meeting regularly over a three- to four-month experiment. These cycles were intentionally designed to help participants understand and navigate trust fault lines, practice skills for constructive engagement, and build networks that spanned divides.
Through small-scale, community-led initiatives, teams applied their learning in real-world settings. Seed funding supported projects ranging from constructive dialogue training to youth-led civics workshops and model community debates. The Disagree Better with Waffles & Wine initiative in Atlanta, Georgia, co-hosted by former Republican and Democratic Party county chairs—including a sitting Democratic mayor—brought together over 100 community members for an evening of candid, respectful dialogue. The event showcased how political differences can be discussed without hostility, fostering a culture of collaboration over division. In Phoenix, Arizona, the Humanity Kitchen team brought community members from diverse backgrounds together over meals to explore their shared humanity. By creating intimate, small-group gatherings centered on storytelling and connection, the project aimed to foster understanding and reduce polarization without requiring participants to compromise their deeply held beliefs. By grounding depolarization efforts in local relationships and shared action, these and other labs helped strengthen the civic fabric needed for more resilient, connected communities.
See below for additional examples and find more details in this previous post.
Building Bridges
While the Social Lab program with the Carter Center has officially concluded, its impact is only beginning to take shape. The initiative has shown that when communities engage in deep listening, shared problem-solving, and sustained relationship-building—grounded in mutual respect and a commitment to understanding—real change is possible. Many of the grassroots teams have committed to sustaining their work, with some even formalizing their initiatives into ongoing programs.
But our country remains deeply divided, and the need for bridge-building has never been more urgent. Too many of us are insulated from those who think differently, and this disconnect weakens our communities, frays our democracy, and prevents us from working toward a shared future. The Social Labs model offers a promising pathway forward—a way to restore trust, rebuild connections and advance civic renewal.
