The Radical Middle

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Lawry Chickering Empowering Women by Educating Girls

"What can you say about a society that can't do things everybody agrees about?" asks Lawry Chickering. In 1993 the one-time assistant to conservative icon William F. Buckley wrote Beyond Left and Right: Breaking the Political Stalemate (ICS Press), in which he argues for a shift in focus from the national level to local and regional institutions that can involve people directly in the decisions that affect their lives. Now, he says, "I describe myself as not on the political spectrum."

Five years ago, Chickering decided to dedicate himself to something everyone can agree on: educating girls in the developing world. His organization, Educate Girls Globally (www.educategirls.org), is working very much at the local level, in 300 village schools in the northern Indian state of Uttaranchal, encouraging parents to be more invested in their daughters' education by involving them in the governance of their schools. "The most important factor in educating girls is parental 'ownership' of the schools," he says. "And when you educate girls, you empower women." Within three years, he hopes to expand the program to some 15,000 schools in India. Meanwhile, he is working with colleagues to bring a similar model into the San Francisco public schools.

Joel Kramer Pushing for Economic Growth and Justice

"What if I could prove to you somehow that school vouchers were the best approach to giving every kid in Minnesota a quality education? Would you still oppose them?" That's the question Joel Kramer posed at a recent breakfast meeting of Minnesota Democratic activists. The former publisher of the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, a self-described liberal, says he doesn't necessarily believe vouchers are the answer to our education woes, but he revels in asking questions that challenge a group's orthodox beliefs. And he's not afraid to ask similarly challenging questions among conservatives. "Nobody has a monopoly on the truth," he says.

In late 2002 Kramer founded a group called Growth and Justice (www.growthandjustice.org) -- part of a wave of new local and regional progressive think tanks across the United States -- dedicated to the idea that Minnesota can have an economy that is prosperous, fair, and ecologically sustainable. But this is no ordinary think tank. Rather than starting with an economic theory, writing a report, and walking the halls of the state legislature, Kramer hit the road, convening roundtable discussions with locals in cities and towns across the state, including public employees, academics, politicians, and business leaders. He asked them one question: "What can we do to ensure that working people in Minnesota can provide for themselves and their families?" After nine months and hundreds of conversations with people from across the political spectrum, Kramer and his team published a report that proposed a bold legislative program for improving workforce education and skills training.

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