One Small Step, an initiative that facilitates conversations between people with opposing views, is trying to tackle political polarization.
Alton Russell is a white, 85-year-old toilet paper salesman from Columbus, Ga., where for years he was the chair of the local Republican Party. Wane Hailes is a Black, 68-year-old newspaper owner from Columbus, where he formerly served as the president of the city’s chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.
Until last year, the two had never met. About all they had in common was that they had both lived for years in Columbus, Georgia’s second-largest city, on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.
Then, one morning last fall, the two were introduced to each other in a local church, where they received a simple instruction: to have a conversation about anything except politics. So they chatted amiably for 50 minutes about their lives, their families, their jobs.
As they talked, they discovered that they did have one important thing in common: They liked each other.
“Wane is just a regular-old person,” Mr. Russell said. “The more we talked, the more I realized he didn’t have slanted ears or horns or anything like that.”
“There ain’t nothing wrong with Alton,” Mr. Hailes added. “How can you be mad at somebody who sells toilet paper?”
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