“The most meaningful presentation I have ever seen on race, power imbalances, and the exercise of authority.”
– Circuit Court Judge, State of Oregon
The Evolve Experience is a unique arts-based workshop built around first-person narratives from police officers, judges, and Black community members describing their lived experiences at the intersection of race and the justice system.
By providing a framework to witness these true stories and engage in open dialogue, The Evolve Experience inspires participants to connect with their common humanity across difference, discover shared values, consider alternative views, and see multiple truths.
Witnessing personal stories lays the foundation for empathy and compassion, which opens a willingness to adjust thinking and behavior, creating the possibility for transformation at the individual, institutional, and community levels.
The Evolve Experience decreases polarization and increases capacity to hold complex, nuanced viewpoints through examination of the relationships between law enforcement, the communities they serve, and the broader justice system.
Evolve performances are supported by facilitated discussion and activities that teach the skills needed to successfully navigate conflict, bias, and change, including self-awareness, flexibility, and curiosity.
This approach lowers people’s defenses and allows them to engage each other in a deeper, more sympathetic way, which opens up more meaningful, solution-oriented discussion.
Since its premiere in May 2019, Evolve has engaged 3,237 individuals including over 1,600 criminal justice professionals, through 50 events. Recent partners have included police departments in Beaverton, Forest Grove, West Linn, and Lake Oswego (Oregon), the Nevada State Supreme Court, Alaska State Courts, the South Dakota Unified Judicial System, the Mondavi Center at the University of California Davis, and Central Oregon Community College.
This 3.5-minute video explains our systems-theory approach to change.
The Listeners Podcast is a show about the craft and power of listening, produced by the Agora Journalism Center, the gathering place for innovation in communication and civic engagement at University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication. Kevin and Lesli chat with host Andrew DeVigal about closing the gap between racial divides by taking center stage.
An interview with the Red Door Project founders discussing the power of stories to engage audiences and facilitate dialog.
TEDx Talk
Kevin Jones’ 2019 TEDx talk digs deep into the philosophy that led The Red Door Project to the development of The Evolve Experience.
The Portland Mercury’s Steven Humphrey explores the Red Door Project’s journey from Hands Up to Cop Out to Evolve and how all of this work connects with our mission: to change racial ecology through the arts.