Stories of Local Activism #8
Coming Together Virginia
A Dialogue-Based Model for Racial Healing in Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Founded in 2014 by Danita Rountree Green and Martha Rollins, Coming Together Virginia (CT-VA) convenes people in Richmond and beyond, often over a shared meal, to engage in difficult conversations and community-building activities.
CT-VA works to build a racially healed Virginia where communities are thriving, fair, and just. The organization hosts events throughout the year that bring people together across racial and sometimes economic divides to speak their truth and hear someone else’s story. These conversations seed new opportunities for personal growth, strengthen relationships, and support community transformation.
CT-VA also does this work by connecting faith-based organizations, community advocates, and corporate partners with neighborhood needs.
Hear What They Do and How
Source: Virginia This Morning, CBS6
Mission
To connect people from diverse backgrounds through education and constructive facilitated dialogue, opening their hearts and minds to the lasting impact of systemic racism. Inspire them to enter into new relationships and engage together in actions that lead to a healed world of thriving, equitable, and just communities.​
Get Their Message
Source: CT-VA Instagram channel
What They Do
1. Truth Telling
Researching, acknowledging, and sharing personal, family, community, state, and national histories of race with openness and honesty
2. Connecting
Connecting to others within and across racial lines in order to develop and deepen relationships
3. Healing
Through dialogue, reunions, ritual, meditation, prayer, ceremony, the arts, apology, and shared action
4. Taking Action
Actively seeking to dismantle systems of racial inequality, injustice, and oppression, and working together toward the transformation of our nation
How They Do It — Five Touchstones
1. Dinner and Discussions
A facilitated program that uses a circle-based conversation format to help participants talk openly about topics ranging from major social issues to personal experiences
2. Book and Movie Circles
Small-group gatherings, held in person or online, where participants read or watch selected books, documentaries, or films and then join guided discussions
3. Linked Descendants
Brings together Black and white Virginia families who are connected by blood to explore the histories and beliefs passed down through generations
4. Pilgrimages and Tours
Offer immersive outings where participants visit significant sites, confront historical truths, and engage in guided conversations
5. Good Faith in Action Series
Invites faith communities to examine how Christian teachings were historically misused to justify slavery and uphold racial hierarchy, and how those distortions still shape institutions and beliefs today
Theory of Change
Facilitated Dialogue + Shared Learning + Building Relationships Across Differences → Healing, Trust, and Action
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CT-VA’s model is built around creating safe enough spaces for people to share lived experience, listen for understanding, and build relationships that can support broader community transformation.
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Their five “touchstones” are central to their work around having difficult conversations in a way that builds relationships and understanding.
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These principles guide how participants communicate the respect that allows people to be vulnerable and honest, to share from the deeper parts of themselves, and to listen with open hearts, thus allowing people to learn from each other.
What They Say
The CT-VA experience was inspiring! The concept is profound, proactive, and professionally executed. The questions, in my opinion, were easy to engage in and prompted introspection. ... A new experience of intergenerational dialog. Their approach creates a safe space to engage in challenging conversations, address complicated concerns and dissect historically convoluted conceptions.
P. Branch, Virginia Commonwealth University, Arts in Healthcare
Your organization’s vision is ... absolutely healing at this terrifying time in our world history.
Lisa Holden, Thriving Communities, Seattle, Washington
Take Action
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Share this story with your network.
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Join programs such as Dinner and Discussions and Book/Movie Circles
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Attend upcoming events or subscribe for updates
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Volunteer to support programming and community outreach
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Donate to make this work possible
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Connect with CT-VA
Website: comingtogethervirginia.org
Instagram: @comingtogetherva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comingtogethervirginia/
YouTube: @comingtogetherva
Contact AAPD Team: info@comingtogetherva.org
