This Juneteenth, what will it take to create an America that works for all of us?

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, when the Civil War was still raging. But it was nearly two and a half years later, on June 19, 1865, before the Union Army arrived in Galveston, TX, to emancipate all enslaved people. 

That gap in time is a constant reminder of the gulf that still exists between our nation’s stated ideals and the practical reality so many of us experience daily. 

As we mark Juneteenth this year, our country is under enormous strain as we are confronted by a series of deeply human questions. Will we see and hear one another? Will we afford one another dignity regardless of race, income, geography, or what God we pray to? Will we work to create an inclusive America when we are being pulled apart?

The coming midterm elections are important. Each of us should vote. But more politics as usual will not save us. Indeed, there is something deeper happening in our country, and to each of us, that calls our attention. We suffer from a pervasive and crippling crisis of belief—in our leaders, institutions, systems, even one another. 

We desperately need an alternative to politics as usual if we are to move forward together. This alternative is a new civic path that starts in our local communities because that’s where we can see and hear one another and build together, brick by brick. 

This new civic path asks us to turn outward toward one another, find what we can agree on amid our real differences, and get in motion together to take action that is rooted in what matters to people in their daily lives. It’s the very act of engaging in this way that can help us restore our belief that we can get things done together.

In community after community we’ve seen this approach unleash a chain reaction of change that grows, spreads, and creates communities that work for all of us, not just some of us. Now we must spark a nationwide chain reaction that enables us to live up to this nation’s ideals.

For inspiration, we can look to Selma, AL. On March 7, 1965, hundreds of footsoldiers from all walks of life marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, determined to forge a more hopeful path in this country. Their courage and resolve galvanized the nation and ultimately led to the Voting Rights Act, one of the most important pieces of legislation of the 20th century, which is now under attack. 

That change didn’t start in Washington, DC. It didn’t start with then-President Johnson. It started with everyday people stepping forward in a local community—adamant that we could do better and be better. They didn’t wait. In fact, they led our leaders.

We believe Selma can lead the way again. 

It’s why The Harwood Institute has been partnering with the Selma-Dallas County NAACP and other local groups to unleash a new civic path in Selma that can once again ripple across the country. 

As part of that ongoing effort, just last year the Institute released the acclaimed documentary film Selma, Beacon of Hope. As one young resident interviewed for the film said, “We’re due for change. Generations before us, they made their difference. It’s our time.” 

In Selma, we must see the Edmund Pettus Bridge as more than a symbol of past struggle and progress. We must also see it as a bridge we must cross again to our shared future. A future where we are more than just Republicans or Democrats or independents. A future where we are Americans.

It’s time we closed the gap between our nation’s stated ideals and people’s daily reality. A new civic path can help us restore our belief in one another and the nation and create the change we need today. To mark this Juneteenth, let’s recommit to making this country work for all of us, not just some of us.

Rich Harwood is the President and Founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Bethesda, MD.

Lawrence Wofford is the Chair of the Selma-Dallas County NAACP.