Repairing the Breach: Restoring A Common Culture Through Kinship and Reunion

Conversation with Bobby Austin, Neighborhood Associates

“The currency of our evolved species, Humankind, is human kindness.”
-- Swami Beyondananda

"...you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in."
​-- Isaiah 58:12

There seems to be one thing everyone across the political spectrum can agree on – we are divided like never before.

So, can this breach be breached? Can we put the “civil” back in civilization, and find that sane and sacred space where we can gather as one?

This week’s guest, Bobby Austin, has spent more than a half century looking to repair the breach. Working with the Kellogg Foundation in a program for African American boys years ago, he realized that above and beyond all the problems and programs, the one thing that was absent – and needed most – is kinship. Since that time, he has promoted what he calls “public kinship”, which is really short-hand for the Golden Rule. Simple. But not necessarily easy.

Rather than offering a top-down prescription, Bobby says the key to creating a common culture is “self-leadership”, and surprisingly includes music and the arts. What has he learned over the years? What does public kinship look like in the “real world”? Where does he find the most hope for the future? Tune in and find out!

Live transcript: https://otter.ai/u/6pyXV9p9P2NGDHicq1ryWvg2G00

To find out more about Bobby Austin, Neighborhood Associates, and Public Kinship, please go here: https://www.neighborhoodassociates.org/about-us