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Harvey Ward: Commonalities Among Constituents, Florida

As told by Harvey Ward
Gainesville, Florida

Story Narrative:

A man with a short gray beard and glasses sits in front of a library case as he speaks with an interviewer.

In early 2020 (just weeks before the pandemic), Smithsonian staff and their storytelling partners at the Peale, Baltimore, traveled to multiple states in the U.S. to ask residents of those states about voting experiences, the current state of American democracy, what issues brought them to the polls, how they made a difference in their communities, and what Americans' civic responsibilities were, among other complex questions.

Harvey Ward: My name is Harvey Ward. I'm a Gainesville City Commissioner representing District 2. One of the things that I've learned in the process of going out and knocking on doors in campaigns, as well as the folks who come talk to us at City Hall is that everybody cares about the same thing. When you strip all the other stuff away from it, people want to know that they live in a safe place, that the community is a good place for them to grow, for their children to grow up. They want to know that things are okay. It's a hierarchy of needs thing, obviously, that they want to know that they're going to be okay, that their needs are met.

(00:50) I've never had anybody come to my office and say, "I'm only interested in my stuff." They want to know that the community is okay for the most part. There's stereotypes out there about all kinds of people, but when they come in and they sit down, regardless of what the topic is, what it really boils down to is, are things okay? How do we make things more okay? How do we make things more safe and better for me and for the people that I know, for my community?


Asset ID: 2022.38.01.a-b
Themes: Politics, Politicians, Campaigns, Issues, Safety, Community, Commonalities
Date recorded: January 28, 2020
Length of recording: 0:01:21
Related traveling exhibition: Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Originally recorded in Gainesville, Florida, in coordination with Florida Humanities

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