Campaign for
the new Civic Path
For two years, Rich Harwood has crisscrossed our nation on the Campaign for the New Civic Path. People’s enthusiastic response proves Americans are yearning for an apolitical message from an apolitical messenger. One that cuts through the noise. Provides a practical path forward. Calls us to rise to something better in ourselves. And offers a new sense of possibility and hope.
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That’s why we’re announcing the campaign is continuing through 2026. This is a crucial year. Such an effort is critical to our nation’s future. None of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. We must not surrender to the negative forces consuming society today. There is work to do.
Let’s be real. Too many politicians are mired in divisive politics, and too many leaders and groups are selling quick fixes to what ails us. There is no quick fix. But there is a practical, hopeful path forward: the new civic path. As we move ahead, this campaign will be guided by four main purposes:
We must address our “crisis of belief.” Our politics are broken; but at root, we face a crisis of belief—in our systems, institutions, leaders, even one another. We must act to restore our belief that we can get things done together. This is a cultural and human challenge.
We must harness America’s 250th to declare who we seek to become. This is a unique opportunity to examine who we seek to be as Americans and how we can make the next 250 years even better, for all of us, starting today.
We must rally around a new moral vision. Americans seek decency, dignity, belonging, and shared responsibility. And they’re ready to take action on a set of shared concerns—like youth, senior care, affordable housing, mental health, and others. We believe this is the foundation of a new moral vision that transcends divisive politics and has the power to galvanize us.
We must get on a new civic path. This starts in our local communities. Only by getting on a new civic path can we restore our belief and reclaim our shared agency by building on what we can agree on and taking real action together—not as Republicans, Democrats, or Independents, but as Americans.
Throughout 2026, we are going coast to coast doing more campaign events, holding virtual events, equipping you with practical resources to take action with others, and connecting you to The Harwood School’s deep learning experiences that enable you to catalyze change.
People all across America have joined this campaign. They’re hungry for a new path forward—a new civic path. We need each other.
Join us. Let’s go together.
5 ways to take your first step on the new civic path
Become an agent of hope by reading the Amazon bestselling manifesto, The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation
Activate yourself and others by watching our acclaimed documentary short film Selma, Beacon of Hope
Find inspiration in the story of how America’s poorest community transformed itself by getting on the new civic path—in podcast or report
Enlist allies and get in motion by hosting a New Civic Path Book Circle and attending our virtual National Book Circle on June 2
Unlock a new path forward for yourself and others by bringing Rich and this campaign to your community
A Manifesto for Change
Rich Harwood’s Amazon bestselling manifesto, The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation, boldly lays out a new path forward by which Americans might come together, amid our real divides, and create change.
Ready to get in action? Download our Discussion Guide and take a first step by starting a book circle in your community!
“Harwood refuses to give up on the American experiment. He reminds us what’s at stake is nothing less than our own future.”
Selma, beacon of hope
In 1965, Selma, AL, pierced the consciousness of the nation when civil rights’ marchers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They helped us see the work we needed to do in this country to move forward in a new, more hopeful way. Today—amid our crisis of belief and widespread societal turmoil—Selma can remind us once again of the work we need to do as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. It's time to go over the bridge again.
Download our discussion guide to use the film as a tool for getting in motion in your community.
Reading, PA’s NEW CIVIC PATH
The people of Reading, PA are coming together to do something remarkable. At a time of deep divides in America, when so many communities are beset by mistrust, a loss of hope, and growing inequities and disparities— when so many communities are in search of a new path forward—the people here are actively claiming greater control over their lives and futures.
The progress in Reading is a hopeful sign for other communities that want to know if—and how—they can get on the new civic path towards a future where everyone in the community can thrive.
It can be done. It is being done in Reading. Learn how in the report, Reading’s Ripples of Change, and on the podcast The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools.
Get in motion with our National book circle
America needs more agents of hope. America needs you.
That’s why we’re holding a New Civic Path National Book Circle on June 2 at 12:30 pm ET. This virtual event will help you step forward and be an agent of hope in these divided times.
Through small and large group discussion, we will explore how you can put the principles of The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation into action to address our country’s deep challenges, reclaim our shared agency, and take real action together.
This isn’t just about reading and discussing a book. It’s about reframing the challenge before us, rediscovering our shared values, and activating ourselves as agents of hope. That’s how we can take practical steps to make America’s next 250 years even better, starting today.
The event will also celebrate this bestselling book’s first anniversary by lifting up stories of what Americans are already creating in their communities by getting on the new civic path.
Bring your family, friends, and colleagues. Together, we can get this country moving in a more hopeful direction. Join us—let’s go together.
If you haven’t read the book yet, you can purchase it here and download the discussion guide in advance.
Unlock a new path forward for your community
Let’s work together to create an in-person or virtual engagement centered around The New Civic Path as a source of practical inspiration. The event can take any form that brings people together and jumpstarts your community. Let’s create something impactful together that meets your community where it is.
“Harwood empowers us to act as agents of transformative change in our local communities.”
Support THE CAMPAIGN
We’re self funding this campaign because we believe so deeply in the need for a new civic path. But we need your help to spread the message further. Make a one-time or recurring donation today in support of the new civic path.
Keep up with Rich and the campaign on social media