The Arts

The dynamic Maya Angelou once said “all great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.” What better way to develop tolerance, build community and act as one entity than to be connected at the heart? And what better way to forge that connection than through the arts? One thing that every civilization has that even goes as far as to help define a culture is its own unique art. The arts play massive, influential roles in our everyday lives whether we realize it or not, and it only makes sense that Higher Ground Society taps into that resource to achieve its goal of building community.

Odetta and Nina Simone gave voice to the Civil Rights Movement through their music. Alvin Ailey told the story of various peoples through his dance. Elie Wiesel made the experience of the Holocaust a tangible, harsh reality through his writing the novel Night, and Pablo Picasso did the same for the Spanish Revolution through his painting Guernica. Higher Ground Society continues these trends by advocating the importance of the arts, and working to provide access to arts programming for members of small communities, particularly the youth. In doing so we hope to help communities discover and engage the beauty in themselves, the beauty in each other, and the beauty in the world around them.

Community Building & Civic Engagement

It is at the core of Higher Ground Society’s beliefs that people, common, everyday people, make the world go ‘round, that the upkeep and maintenance of this world is necessarily a collaborative effort among neighbors. Our lives are irretrievably interconnected, and because of this we depend on each other. Unfortunately age old ideologies and regressive traditions keep us from tapping into the strength found in our connectedness. It is more fashionable now than ever to push back on progress and new ideas, to choose hate and fear over love and tolerance. These actions raise walls that make moving forward into the future as a society nearly impossible; but hope is not lost.

The art of conversation has been lost in the riot of words, but Higher Ground Society is invested in helping communities discover what it truly means to be a united through deliberative discussion. We will first center discussions on issues affecting those around us who are oppressed and marginalized, the people of color, the women, the queer, the poor, with the hope of liberating them—an act that, in turn, liberates us all. The goal is then to reconcile our differences by forging a true understanding of each other as neighbors. Finally, as a mended community, it is our belief that we can pinpoint roadblocks to develop through revitalized civic engagement. With a united voice and concentrated effort we can improve the infrastructure of our communities and demand actual accountability from our elected leaders. In doing so, we’re not reinventing the wheel, just returning back to the basics. We’re determined to not repeat our past and to live ever-striving for peace.