ABSTRACT
Following the tragedy of 9/11, Dr. Feldman built connections among female religious leaders and their Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Latino Protestant, and Black Evangelical communities, along with corporate diversity groups. Together, they created the award-winning Ties That Bind video documentary. The documentary, video clips, and accompanying discussion guide were used at colleges and universities, high schools, book clubs, corporations, and interfaith groups to spark conversations about our fears and stereotypes of each other and how we can build trust to overcome those obstacles. The case study involves a college student connecting with prison inmates through a writing program, each learning from the other. At the beginning, the prison inmates didn’t trust Alissa, a young White, female teacher. However, when she identified and connected with the male group leader and asked him what he wanted to write, everything changed. Alissa started to engage issues of the “You vs. Us” environment, labels and stereotypes, and common family situations.
