Community Building and Engagement

Community Building and Engagement

OneJax brings people together through meaningful programs that strengthen relationships and build community. Our Breaking Bread & Barriers: Civil Discourse Community Suppers offer a unique opportunity for individuals from all walks of life to come together, share a meal, and engage in respectful conversations about issues that impact our city.

By creating space for honest dialogue and shared experiences, these gatherings help build trust, foster connection, and encourage thoughtful engagement. We look forward to continuing this important work and invite you to join us for future suppers as we work toward a stronger, more connected Jacksonville.

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Community Building and Engagement

Event Highlights

Breaking Bread & Barriers:

E Pluribus Unum— “Out of Many, One"

This year’s Breaking Bread & Barriers civil discourse series is inspired by the national motto, E Pluribus Unum—“Out of Many, One.” Through four facilitated dinner conversations, participants will explore how our diverse identities, experiences, and beliefs shape both our individual lives and our shared community.

Session 1: Becoming American: Who Belongs?

October 26, 2026

This conversation explores immigration not simply as a matter of policy, but as a story of identity, citizenship, welcome, and the evolving meaning of the American experiment. Participants will consider how each generation has expanded—and debated—the boundaries of the national community.

Session 2: Freedom of Conscience: Can We Live Together with Our Deepest Differences?

January 19, 2027

This conversation explores how freedom of conscience, mutual respect, and genuine curiosity enable people with profoundly different beliefs to become good neighbors and engaged citizens without sacrificing their convictions.

Session 3: The Pursuit of Justice: What Does Equality Require?

March 30, 2027

Through conversations about race and justice, participants will explore how America has sought to extend liberty, dignity, and equal opportunity more fully over time. Together, we will consider what justice requires if E Pluribus Unum is to be more than an ideal—and how honest engagement with our past shapes the future we hope to build.

Session 4: The Common Good: What Do We Owe One Another?

May 25, 2027

If E Pluribus Unum calls us to become one people, what responsibilities follow? This closing conversation explores poverty, opportunity, and the common good, asking how communities create conditions in which every person can flourish. Participants will reflect on the responsibilities of citizenship and the ways individuals, institutions and communities contribute to a stronger, more connected society.

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"I AM Jacksonville" Media Campaign

The "I Am Jacksonville Campaign" demonstrates the diversity of the Jacksonville community and how we have much more in common than we have differences. Many thanks to THE PLAYERS Championship for a grant that made this campaign possible.

Thanks, too, to Mayor Donna Degan for lending her voice to this effort.