The (not) Fighting Illini
There’s a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address in 1861 that the East Central Illinois Alliance of Braver Angels likes to remember as it works to bridge partisan divides: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory … will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely, they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Over 160 years later, his words (which are also quoted on the exterior of Lincoln Hall) continue to inspire the Braver Angels, an organization that promotes civil conversations that bridge America’s political divides. The Braver Angels consists of more than 113 alliances and 15,000 members nationwide, with the goal of bringing together Americans from every part of the political spectrum to have civil conversations through workshops, meetings, and debates, both in-person and online.
The East Central Illinois group, which includes several U of I alumni and current and retired faculty and staff members, including at least a couple of LAS alumni who serve in leadership roles, conducts various events to promote dialogue across the political divide. While their meetings vary, there are roughly between 30 and 40 who regularly attend.
The organization operates through workshops, partnerships, public meetings, and other methods to reach people. Some recent Braver Angel events on campus, for example, include speaking at the University YMCA, hosting sociology professor Ilana Redstone at a public meeting to speak about her book, “The Certainty Trap,” and partnering with the Cline Center for Advanced Social Research to facilitate The Richard G. & Carole J. Cline Symposium, an annual event that invites prominent thought-leaders to address the campus community on topics of public significance. The topic shortly before last fall’s presidential election? Political polarization.
Along with the aforementioned activities, over the past year the group has engaged in a variety of events such as their “Skills for Disagreeing Better” workshop held at churches, libraries, and on campus. The group also holds public meetings every month.
Braver Angel co-chair Craig Chamberlain (BA, ’83, history) has had a passion for history since he was a child and spent his 36-year long career as a journalist, writer, and communicator. Before retiring in 2021, Chamberlain had worked for the University of Illinois News Bureau, often covering stories out of the Departments of History, Communication, Political Science, and other units.
“In retirement, I was looking for significant things to do,” Chamberlain explained. “Then around the end of 2022, I saw a CBS story on the Braver Angels and the work they were doing to bring together equal numbers of Blues and Reds [which is how the group refers to people leaning liberal and conservative] to complete these workshops in the wake of the 2016 election.”
From that moment on, Chamberlain knew he wanted to be a part of the movement, and he completed online workshops and attended meetings. He became one of the two co-chairs of the Braver Conversations committee, which writes columns under that name for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette about different topics key to the Braver Angels’ cause. After about a year, Chamberlain became one of the two co-chairs helping lead the local group.
“Our goal is to spread the message, because there’s a lot of what Braver Angels talks about that can be very useful and some of it is very basic,” Chamberlain said. “You don’t even have to be political or concerned about politics. They teach you basic skills about how to have difficult conversations with people.”
Chamberlain emphasized that Braver Angels is for anyone who is willing to try to communicate with people different from themselves, regardless of background or experience.
“The joke has been made in the local group that we should be called the ‘Not Fig,hting Illini’,” Chamberlain said. “Really, to me it’s about thinking practically. The yelling and screaming doesn’t work and you have a choice. You could go down this hole that leads to nowhere or we could try to talk to each other.”
Similarly to Chamberlain, Marc Ansel (BS, ’71, psychology; JD, ’74) found his way to the Braver Angels after retiring in 2024. During his 50-year career in law he worked in many courtrooms across the state, as well as the Illinois and United States Supreme Courts. He attended a Braver Angels panel in Champaign soon after retirement and felt moved to contribute his expertise in law and debate to the organization.
Ansel served as a workshop moderator before becoming a debate chair to help bring to light the country’s political divide, which has concerned him for many years. As workshop moderator, Ansel facilitated and guided conversations within groups trying to resolve their own corner of today’s harsh political climate. As a debate chair, his job is to “facilitate better listening skills and civil communications across the divide about contentious issues,” he said.
“The most important thing is that the Braver Angels are trying to increase and encourage dialogue and communication for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of those on the other side, humanizing them,” Ansel said. “It is not to change minds. It is not to persuade. It’s just to understand the person across the table from you better.”
He added: “When I walked into my first meeting, I thought I would go in with my skills from being a lawyer and be able to do anything and everything (they) asked for because I knew so much about communication,” Ansel said. “But I was wrong. I have learned so much and that is one of the lessons Braver Angels tries to teach. Nobody knows everything and you learn to listen and talk.”
Editor’s note: For more about Braver Angels nationally or in Illinois, including information about the group’s Chicagoland Braver Angels Alliance and the Statewide Zoom Alliance, visit here.
