In 2021, a small group in Virginia launched the Richmond Racial Equity Essays, inviting diverse area leaders to engage in a multimedia conversation. Michael Smith, an urban planner and philanthropy leader, contributed an essay that described an unexpected encounter he had with a seasoned organizer who asked him powerful questions about his personal formation in the midst of an affordable housing conference: What about you do you bring to this work? Where do these values you carry come from? In this recorded conversation, Michael brings together a small, intergenerational group of fellow activists where he lives (Richmond, VA) to offer them the gift of these questions. In doing so, an intimate and powerful conversation unfolds, offering these leaders a different kind of introduction to one another.

This conversation is part of the Cogenerational Social Healing collection. For more information, please visit the submission page.