How to Unite America at Scale
The Power of Service to Heal America’s Divisions
Peter T. Coleman
At a time when America seems hopelessly divided along political, racial and class lines — and when Americans are moving both physically and virtually away from those that are politically different from them — an unlikely coalition of organizations may have found a powerful way to reverse this trend: infusing connection into existing volunteer service programs.
Service has long been a core element of American life (see de Tocqueville, 1831), which is probably why volunteering remains among the few arenas in America that enjoys true cross-partisan collaboration (Go to any soup kitchen and you’ll find people of vastly different political perspectives and life experiences working shoulder to shoulder for the benefit of their community). While this might sound like wishful thinking, there’s compelling evidence that when people from different backgrounds work together toward shared goals, it can break down prejudices and build lasting understanding.
Two years ago, I participated in an initiative organized by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund that brought leaders from some of America’s largest volunteer organizations — including Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, YMCA, and AmeriCorps — together with researchers and experts to explore how to carefully, systematically weave intergroup contact into service programs that currently engage millions of Americans annually. Our conclusion? We’re sitting on an untapped resource for healing our nation’s divisions.
The research is clear: When people from different demographic groups work together over time as equals on shared tasks, it reduces prejudice and builds positive relationships. This isn’t just feel-good theory — it’s backed by decades of studies. What makes service programs particularly promising is their unique ability to create these conditions naturally. When people build a house together or respond to a natural disaster, differences in politics or background tend to fade as they focus on their common purpose.
But getting this right requires careful design. Organizations can’t just throw people together and hope for the best. The most successful programs ensure participants have equal status, sustained contact over time, and genuine interdependence in achieving their goals. They’re intentional in their paring of volunteers, and thoughtful about local community dynamics and power relationships. Most importantly, they integrate bridge-building organically into existing service work rather than creating artificial “kumbaya” moments. People don’t have to sign up explicitly for bridge-building — they can simply show up to serve their community and find themselves working productively with people they might otherwise never meet.
The potential scale of impact is significant. About 60 million Americans volunteer regularly through various organizations. If even a fraction of these programs thoughtfully incorporated bridge-building elements, it could create millions of meaningful encounters across society’s dividing lines each year.
Encouragingly, momentum is building behind this approach. Last April, bipartisan legislation was proposed in Congress that would provide $25 million annually to AmeriCorps specifically for integrating bridge-building into service programs. A new Trust for Civic Infrastructure also launched with $30 million in initial funding to support community bridge-building work. Last August, a report was released, No Greater Mission. No Greater Means. How National Service Can Advance Bridgebuilding, which shared grounded insights from this initiative that national service organizations are currently exploring.
Critics might dismiss this as naive — after all, can building houses together really heal deep societal wounds? But that misses the point. The goal isn’t to solve all of America’s divisions through service programs. Rather, it’s to create millions of spaces where positive encounters across difference can begin to counter the polarizing forces tearing at our social fabric.
The challenges shouldn’t be understated. Organizations need to be thoughtful to avoid superficial approaches that could do more harm than good. They need to build staff capacity and measure impact carefully. Some programs may face backlash from those who benefit from division.
But the potential upside is enormous. At a time when many Americans worry about losing our capacity to work together across differences, service programs could help rebuild our civic muscles for engaging constructively with those who see the world differently. They could help restore faith in our ability to solve problems together despite our differences.
This isn’t just about feeling good — it’s about the future of our democracy. A society that can’t work across lines of difference will struggle to address any of its major challenges, from climate change to gun safety reform and economic mobility. Service programs alone won’t solve this, but they could be a crucial part of the solution.
Peter T. Coleman is a professor of psychology and education and director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. He studies intractable conflict, polarization, conflict intelligence, and sustainable peace. His latest book is The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization.