“I’m on a mission to change the culture I’m a product of – the culture of the American white male.”
Can science help us reshape a flawed culture? Can it help us achieve the societal changes many of us are striving for in a post-George Floyd world? Can science help us become more aware of our privilege as members of a dominant/majority demographic that knowingly and unknowingly discriminates against those who aren’t members? And can it help us make society equitable and inclusive for all?….read more…
Steve Slocum – Award-winning author, social architect, thought leader
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Steve Slocum is an award-winning author and the founder of SalaamUSA.org. Slocum’s book, Why Do They Hate Us? Making Peace with the Muslim World, is a 2020 silver medalist in the prestigious IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Awards, and was named a Top Book of 2019 by both Booklist and Kirkus. Slocum is passionate about bringing highly diverse groups of people together, and loves talking about what we can learn from science about changing culture. He has appeared on the KTLA and CBS8 morning news programs and been invited to speak at international conferences in Qatar, the UN headquarters in Geneva, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto.
How groups of trees communicate
Using DNA analysis of both trees and fungi, Simard was able to create a network map of a small patch of Douglas fir forest showing that all of the trees, with a few isolated exceptions, were indeed linked together. Using that map, she has been able to establish kinship recognition between a “mother” tree and its offspring, and that these mother trees are even able to nurture their own kin. Read more about the fascinating biology of groups.
Key topics for Steve’s upcoming book:
Helping majority/dominant cultures understand what life feels like for minority/marginalized groups living within that culture, and changing themselves and their culture.
- Becoming aware of privilege.
- Becoming aware of structural discrimination.
- Becoming allies of marginalized groups in reshaping society to be equitable for all.
Developing science-informed principles to guide the adaptation of groups of all kinds to the global society we have created.
- Human groups across the planet no longer live in isolation from one another but are connected and intermingled on a global scale, whether geographically, economically, or via the global Internet network.
- What do human groups need to look like in order for them to serve their purpose in a global society?
- There is a delicate balance between the individual and the collective on all levels, and this balance should be factored into our understanding of individual autonomy.
- We can learn from the social behaviors of all organisms.
- Much more to come here.
I’ll also be:
- Amplifying marginalized voices.
- Finding ways to make transformational insight go viral.
- Appreciating the reciprocity between humans, animals, other living things, and the planet.
- Learning the non-whitewashed version of world history.
- Respecting the value of science and learning.
- Participating in the process of evolution, which happens very, very slowly. Each generation has a role to play even if it is infinitesimal.
How a single-celled organism joins a group – FASCINATING!
see 15-27 secs
“When the amount of the chemical surrounding an individual cell reaches a certain critical level, the scientists found, the cell starts to pulse rhythmically, firing off more chemicals into the surrounding area that prompt other cells to pulse, an effect that cascades through the population. Ultimately, the cells grow in sync with each other and eventually move together as a massive group.” Read more about the fascinating biology of groups.
Get your copy today!
Meet the woman on the cover.
Why Do They Hate Us? Making Peace with the Muslim World
In Why Do They Hate Us?, author Steve Slocum takes the spotlight off the extremists and instead exposes the heart of the everyday Muslim.
"In an era of rampant Islamophobia, Slocum’s book is essential reading."
Todd H. Green, author of The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West
Silver medalist: IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Awards
Named a best book of 2019 by Booklist and Kirkus.
Available in paperback and ebook
More info →
MAKING PEACE WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD