What’s so unique about the Myers Center?

• The coming together of so many insights -- that of journalists, academics, community organizers, helping professionals, ordinary people.
• The Myers Outstanding Book Awards is in its 24th year of an important, eclectic review of what is being learned about our past, present and future possibilities.  Civil society "translated" into usable language.
• It is a connecting place, facilitating multidisciplinary information and analyses getting to real people living in communities in North America. And it is a connecting place that facilitates civic dialogue and action.
• It is not an academic ivy-towered venture. Relevant usable information comes from many sources beyond scholars.
• We encourage the publication and promotion of books that have distributive justice at their core.

• Because we as a people of the U.S. do not yet know enough about creating a fair and equitable society.
• Because too many people fear difference, rather than see difference as an asset.
• Because hate and violence too often surface in this country in both individual actions and in systems.
• We cannot give up. We need greater clarity about racism, bigotry, human arrogance -- and about ways to walk authentic human rights into existence.
• We need vision and strategies for co-creating a better world.
• At the Myers, we help bridge the gap between front line folks working for change, and those who have taken the time to look at, and learn from, what ordinary folk, and extraordinary folk, have done or are doing.
• Within the vast array of books being published each year may be a process, a strategy, a history, an analysis (true or false), a tool that will make a difference in our communities and world.

• Walking the talk of diversity is not easy. With our website and printed analyses we offer access and connection with others walking a parallel path.
• We analyze patterns such as "Workforce 2000", changing demographics -- what do institutions need to know about equitable treatment? What do populations of color, previously marginalized, have to say about the present, and the future?
• Our website will continue to expand as one accessible resource. Since many do not have easy access to Internet, we also offer print resources and context-specific trainings.