Time - USA (2020-04-06)

79

JOSEPH

BUBMAN

Common ground

It’s possible to won-

der whether roads

still run between

the small towns and

farms that constitute

one America and

the suburbs and

cities that make up

another. “There’s

been a real sorting,”

says Joseph Bub-

man, executive direc-

tor of Urban Rural

Action, a nonprofit

devoted to bridging

this divide in U.S.

politics and society.

The group picks two

places about 100

miles apart—the

flagship pairing

is Adams County,

Pennsylvania, and

Philadelphia—and

searches for com-

mon ground on an

issue that matters in

both. In one session,

small-town gun-shop

owners sat down

with urban violence-

prevention activists.

The goal there wasn’t

consensus, Bub-

man says, but “an

openness toward

collaboration.” Urban

Rural Action has

late- summer events

planned in Gettys-

burg, Pa., Hagers-

town, Md., and Clare-

mont, N.H. Bubman

says, “We very much

intend to work in 50

states.” —Karl Vick

PALEE MOUA

AND MARILYN MOCHEL

Hope through healing

Gaps between traditional beliefs and main-

stream medicine can leave people without

care they need. That’s why Palee Moua, a

leader in the Merced, Calif., Hmong com-

munity, and nurse Marilyn Mochel started a

project that, for nearly two decades, has inte-

grated Hmong shamans into a local hospital,

Dignity Health’s Mercy Medical Center. “Before

the program, there was so much fear, because

nobody was allowed behind these closed

doors,” Mochel says. —K.S.

KENNY KING AND

WILLIAM MARSHALL

Together they pray

“Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning,” Martin

Luther King Jr. said in 1968, “is the most seg-

regated hour of America.” Even now, 80%

of Protestant pastors say their church is mostly

one race. So when Kenny King, 40, and William

Marshall, 41, pastors in Sikeston, Mo., decided

to merge congregations—one United Method-

ist with a largely black congregation and one

Southern Baptist with white congregants—

they expected some difficulties. But while the

church, now called Grace Bible Fellowship,

hasn’t shied away from tough conversations,

they’ve been meeting for six months and

they’re all still talking to one another. Their

secret for getting past differences, apart from

a belief in grace? “We ate a lot of barbecue,”

says Marshall. “It’s hard not to love someone

you’re really listening to.” —B.L.

EBOO PATEL

Belief in each other

In a crisis, Eboo Patel points out, we care less

about what others believe and more about how

they work together. That idea is the seed of the

Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), his Chicago-based

nonprofit. On over 500 college campuses, IFYC

brings people of different faiths together, shap-

ing leaders who listen to all sides. “I like to say

that diversity is not just the differences you

like,” says Patel, 44. “We fully acknowledge

that people have very different ideas about

creation and salvation. But we also know those

lead to shared values.” —Belinda Luscombe

STEVE

POWELL

Stylish support

Steve Powell pro-

vides the homeless

with the rare gift of

being fussed over.

The idea for his

mobile barber shop,

dubbed Personal

Enhancement

Mobile, came to him

after he fell asleep

praying. He dreamed

of people coming

toward him upset

and walking away

happy. “We give

them a haircut, clean

them up really good,

and we practice

job interviews with

them: “‘Pretend I’m

the boss,’” Powell

says. “So when

they come in and

sit beside you, you

don’t know they’re

homeless.” The

client pool is anyone

who’s struggling, and

the barbers include

people working off

community service.

A veteran, Powell

steers some to mili-

tary recruiters. He’s

hoping to continue

roaming Arkansas

providing comfort,

connections and

confidence—even

though the trailer

that functions as the

barber shop was just

stolen, chairs and all.

“The last time I saw

it was Wednesday,”

Powell, 41, said on

March 20. “We were

eight people from

10,000 heads since

WHITE: MAGGIE KELLY; HOUSKA: AYSE GURSOZ; BOYLE: COURTESY BOYLE; HARGINS: GIA TROVELA; BUBMAN: COURTESY BUBMAN; PATEL: COURTESY IFYC; MOUA AND MOCHEL: TATIANA VIZCAINO; POWELL: COURTESY POWELL; KING AND MARSHALL: KRISTINA WOODY—UNION UNIVERSITY2015.” —K.V.

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