Sunday, June 7th, 2020
It was about a year ago when Pattern was preparing for the next class of Fellows. The Pattern Fellows Program had completed its 12th year of training mid-career professionals to think regionally about a variety of issues of importance to the Hudson Valley. Over 250 people have participated in the program. Among the elements of the program are the group projects. We decided to try something different and announce the theme of the program in advance. The projects would be centered on tamping down the amount of polarized discourse in our society. Ambitious? Yes. But each year the Fellows as a group have proven to be more than up to the task of taking on difficult issues with a creativity that is both genuine and determined.
We enlisted the support of Josh Weiss, a negotiation expert and co-founder of the Global Negotiation Initiative at Harvard University. While his credentials are superb, his calm demeanor belies the intensity of his negotiation efforts in some of world’s most difficult conflicts. As we built the syllabus we came across a new series produced by Steven Spielberg entitled “Why We Hate”. We wove the five part documentary into the nine month agenda. We strongly recommend the series to learn what is at the core of the polarization in America and the world.
We then set about to recruit the Fellows for the 2019-2020 class. They can either apply or be recommended to participate by their organization or an alumni of the program. The recruitment takes place from June through September. We accepted 21 Fellows into this year’s class.
While we chose the overall theme in advance, we let the Fellows vote on the three topics that they wanted to see if they could bridge the divide. The topics chosen were:
The relationship between the Ultra –Orthodox and the rest of the Hudson Valley, Gentrification – where is the balance between investment and displacement and can communities talk about it and the third, how can Millennials and Baby Boomers find common ground in the workplace.
From October through Mid March the Fellows found their rhythm. Discussion groups, facilitated conversations with Josh, class debates and the Spielberg series. The three groups were fully engrossed in their projects and everything was going as planned.
Then the world changed. A Pandemic and an economy which was thrust into a tailspin. All around us programs were being cancelled. We decided to see if the group still wanted to meet. At first a tepid “yes”. But as the Pandemic unfolded and fear consumed them and everyday life unraveled, it became clear that the continuation of the program, albeit without the original projects was of growing importance.
The class meets every other week. We decided to try one “Zoom” session to check in with everyone during a regularly scheduled meeting slot. While the group projects faded in significance, the impact of the Pandemic upon the day to day lives of the Fellows created a greater urgency – holding each other’s hands.
Instead of meeting every other week the Fellows chose to meet every week from the beginning of April through the end of May via Zoom. Instead of mid-career professionals they were now a cohort of colleagues helping each other to weather the worst of the Pandemic. Several of this year’s group were front line healthcare professionals. The reality of the Pandemic was shared both from the pain of getting through their day jobs to the need for caring for their families. We never had a chance to learn so much about the participants in the program.
They were extraordinary individuals that became an extraordinary group. They helped each other each week through the worst of the crisis and quite frankly, their collective strength was comfort to the staff of Pattern as well.
Our last class meeting was on May 26th. The day prior, on May 25th, George Floyd died. The enormity of his death had not yet fully sunk in. Another horrific death of a black man while in the custody of the police. We have heard this story before. Our class had come full circle as Mr. Floyd’s death was to ignite yet another discussion – racial injustice – that needs to find a way to have a meaningful discussion with meaningful outcomes without hatred, without screaming.
While this discussion is only first finding its footing, if you have an hour on Tuesday from 4:30 – 5:30pm, come meet an extraordinary group of Hudson Valley residents, who are now equipped to participate in any conversation. And if you like what you hear, maybe consider joining next year’s class.
