A City Chooses Unity: Colorado Springs with Reclaiming Civility Launch Movement to Reverse National Incivility Crisis
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 30, Mayor Yemi Mobolade, the City Council President, business leaders, and citizens across Colorado Springs will gather at the Penrose House Garden Pavilion to put their names to paper, launching a rising movement: the Inaugural Civility Pledge.
Spearheaded by Reclaiming Civility LLC, founded by Lori Leander and Lisa Brandt, the effort addresses a defining crisis of our era, the quiet exhaustion of a public weary of political contempt and the urgent need for courage to lead across differences. Mayor Mobolade and Council leadership will sign alongside the inaugural class following a keynote address by Alexandra Hudson, author of The Soul of Civility and contributor to The Wall Street Journal, CBS, PBS, TIME, POLITICO, and Newsweek.
The movement lands at a crucial tipping point. According to the Reagan Institute, more than 70 percent of Americans actively want to help restore civility to public life. The social and economic costs of division continue to mount:
- Workplace Cost: SHRM estimates $2.6 billion is lost daily in American workplaces due to incivility.
- Relational Fractures: Research by Cornell University sociologist Karl Pillemer reveals 27 percent of Americans are currently estranged from a family member.
- Public Exhaustion: A survey by More in Common shows 86 percent of citizens report feeling exhausted by national political division.
"Every signature on the pledge is a choice to see people rightly, hear people well, and engage disagreement honorably, one decision that has a ripple effect, inviting our region to choose civility together," said Lori Leander, Co-Founder of Reclaiming Civility LLC.
Demonstrating the enduring nature of this commitment, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum will preserve the signed pledges into perpetuity and will work to share them with the public through a variety of programs and exhibits. Attendance at the September 30 ceremony is required to be named an Inaugural Signer.
Strategic outreach for the movement is led by Paul Yankey, Outsourced Chief Marketing Officer for Reclaiming Civility LLC. To learn more or join the movement, visit reclaimingcivility.com or contact [email protected].
About Reclaiming Civility LLC
Reclaiming Civility LLC, founded by Lori Leander and Lisa Brandt, is a Colorado Springs-based organization dedicated to transforming culture by teaching corporate & organizational half-day workshops on the mindset and skills of civility, renewing hope & frameworks for constructive public discourse through community gatherings, and empowering citizens to communicate respectfully across differences. Learn more at reclaimingcivility.com.
Media Contact:
Paul Yankey, Outsourced Chief Marketing Officer
Reclaiming Civility LLC
+1 949-690-3433
General: [email protected]
SOURCE Reclaiming Civility
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