Study Circles - "Moving from Words to Action":
The City of Riverside's Experience,
by Marvin Lea, City of Riverside Office of Neighborhoods & Community Services

In response to Propositions 187 and 209, the OJ Simpson trial, the Million Black Men March on Washington, the main newspaper in our town, the Press Enterprise published a series of articles on race entitled, "Through the Prism" beginning in January 1996.  The City of Riverside Human Relations Commission responded by deciding to sponsor a forum on race relations and opted to work with the Study Circle Resource Center, founded by the Topsfield Foundation in Profret, Connecticut, to develop community-wide Study Circles.

Study Circles are grounded in the U.S. town meeting tradition and in the Study Circle of the Chautauqua era at the turn of the century.  Groups of 5-15 people meet several times to grapple with a social or political issue in a democratic, nonpartisan and collaborative manner.

The Commission created a committee comprised of representatives from various city departments, community based organizations, and the clergy to plan the Study Circles.  Following six months of planning the City Council proclaimed the week of October 14, 1996 as "Study Circle Week".  The Press Enterprise ran articles about Study Circles and letters were sent to 150 churches, civic groups, schools, and businesses seeking Study Circle sponsors.  The Riverside City Police and Fire Departments, the YWCA, North High School, the University of California at Riverside, California Baptist College, the Unitarian Universalist Church, Allen Chapel AME Church and the First Christian Church all signed up as sponsors.

The sponsors recruited volunteers to serve as discussion leaders and people to participate in the Circles.  Sally Campbell from the Study Circle Resource Center and Stephen Thom from the U.S. Justice Department Community Relations Service trained 32 volunteers to lead the discussions. Over 150 participants were assigned to one of the ten study circles depending on their availability, their ethnicity, and their relationship with the sponsor. 

Each group met independently in four two-hour sessions and came together in the fifth and final session to develop action plans to present to the City Council.  The two primary recommendations of the participants were to involve and partner churches of different denominations in study circles, and to develop race relations curricula for the middle and high schools.

Overall the Study Circle Program succeeded in reaching residents who normally were not involved in city-sponsored activities.  They are remaining involved and are planning additional Circles this spring. The activities opened up opportunities for people to come to the forefront and new leaders are developing.  We look toward collaborative efforts such as that provided by Study Circles as a step towards making Riverside a world class city.