When the Founding Fathers sought to unite Great Britain’s colonies in America, they dreamed of creating a nation based on the principles of freedom and equality – the first such modern country of its kind. In the over 200 years of its existence, the United States of America has genuinely stood steadfast in its foundational beliefs, leading the world by its example in no small measure.
As the epicenter of all kinds of activities and domains of human life, such as sports, human rights, entertainment, international commerce, and education, America plays a vital role in a globalized world that is increasingly becoming closer. Even so, America has some way to go before it actualizes its true potential. Standing in its way of becoming a pinnacle of human excellence are many social and systemic problems, many of them with their seeds in history.
For one, as a melting pot of cultures and myriad ways of living life, America needs to embrace its diversity rather than fight against it. As long as specific systemic issues that actively function against targeted demographics remain stubbornly in place, it will be difficult for the country to evolve and work towards greatness.
“For America to truly live up to its potential, we need to change the way we see each other,” says Durell Coleman, founder and CEO of DC Design, a leading social impact strategy and consulting firm focused on coming up with measurable solutions to the most significant social problems plaguing America today. Having been born in Nebraska, raised in rural Texas, Educated for College at Stanford University in Northern California, and then living for 4 years in Connecticut on the east coast, Durell has come to see the different sides and perspectives across the spectrum – White, Black, Latino, liberal, and conservative, and everything in between. As a result, he penetrates through people with empathy, familiarizing himself with opposite perspectives and trying to understand what he can agree with and where it is limited. “That lets me step into situations where everyone does not agree, help find common ground, and focus on what is truly going to help fix the problems we face as a nation and as a world,” he says.
Coleman advocates adopting a people-focused approach to create real impacts and change corrosive social systems. “True transformation in America can start when we begin to recognize the genius of everyday people.” For instance, to bring about change in Black wealth inequality, one could start talking to low-income Black people to try and understand where the system has failed them. “If we truly want to solve our social problems, we need to listen to those who have lived through the worst of them. Their experiences hold the key to building the nation we all want to live in,” Durell Coleman says.
Often, the problems swarming America have their roots in the past, so it might prove beneficial to hold a flame to it. For a way forward, America must take a peek at its history. Durell Coleman believes that history, in many ways, is still playing out today.
“The social problems we see around us are the natural consequence of what has come before us,” he says. “To change the status quo, we must understand what created today’s current challenges.”