Alexandra Hudson is the author of The Soul of Civility (St. Martin’s Press) and the founder of Civic Renaissance, an intellectual community devoted to beauty, goodness, and truth. Civic Renaissance exists to revive the wisdom of the past and bring it to life in our time, helping us flourish across difference.
Gracious reader,
Shortly after The Soul of Civility came out, something unexpected happened.
Two women I had never met, Lori and Lisa, reached out to me. They had read the book and wrote to say they had a vision: They wanted to gather people around these ideas, to revive civility grounded in human dignity, and to build something real in their community around them.
At the same time, a city councilor in Carmel, Indiana, Jeff Worrell, had written to me with a different question: “I loved your book, but how do we embody it here?”
I was in the middle of a 150-city, five-country book tour. I had no margin for one more initiative.
So I did one simple thing.
I connected the three of them.
That connection became the Civility Summit.
More than 100 mayors, members of Congress, state representatives, and city councilors from 17 states and two countries gathered in Carmel around a shared conviction:
Civility is not politeness. Politeness is a set of manners and etiquette that smooths the surface of interactions. Civility is an inner disposition of the heart rooted in recognizing the inherent dignity of others.
Agreement was not the goal. The goal was learning how to flourish across difference.
You can watch the recap video of the summit here:
Something shifted in that room.
Leaders began saying, “We want to build this where we are.”
That was the beginning of the Civic Renaissance Tour.
This is a new season of my work. Not just speaking about the book, but co-creating with leaders across the country to bring it to life.
We have built in Carmel and Shelbyville, in the Texas state legislature, and now in Colorado Springs. Leaders in dozens of other communities are in motion, each asking the same question: what would it look like to live this out here?
What I have learned is simple.
When people encounter this work, two kinds of leaders often emerge. Those who want to gather others, and those who want to build something where they are.
When those people find each other, something real takes root.
Next month, we gather again.
At the Civic Renaissance Retreat, at my home and at an Italian Renaissance estate in Indianapolis, we will spend a weekend not just discussing these ideas, but embodying them.
A feast for mind, body, and spirit.
A place to think, to connect, and to begin building something real, together.
And then we will keep building.
If you feel the pull of this work, there is a place for you in it.
Join us in Colorado Springs! I’ll be in dialogue with braver angles CEO Maury Giles, and his vision of courageous citizenship.
Join us at the Civic Renaissance Retreat. (If you’d like to hear more about the retreat, you can watch the latest info session!)
Subscribe to Civic Renaissance to enter the inner circle and be part of what we are building.
Become a Civic Renaissance Ambassador and help bring this work to life where you are. (One of the ambassador perks is 50% off the Civic Renaissance Retreat. Submit your application and keep an eye out for your coupon, which will be sent soon.)
This is how a movement grows. Not all at once, but through people who choose to step in, gather others, and build something real together.
We hope you’ll join us. We are grateful you are here.
Warmly,
Lexi
Carlow Impact Series
Grateful to Carlow University for hosting the launch of the Civic Renaissance Tour in Pittsburgh!
It felt like pure, unmerited grace to be there. Here’s why: while this gathering had been months in the making, I nearly didn’t make it. The journey to reach it tested every assumption about what it takes to show up. Nearly sixty hours of travel from Tokyo to New York, multiple canceled flights, a night in Manhattan that ended with me locked out of my friend’s apartment and spending $600 replacing the locks, a rushed flight to Cincinnati to retrieve my car, only to realize I did not have the keys. My husband loaded our three children into the car in the middle of the night and drove from Indiana to meet me. After a few hours of rest with a friend, I drove to Pittsburgh and arrived just in time.
And then, after a few moments of stillness after arrival, the doors opened.
The room filled early. Conversations began before the program did. People lingered long after it ended, pulling chairs into circles, exchanging numbers, asking what this could look like where they live and work. Faculty, students, and community leaders sat side by side, not skirting disagreement but leaning into it with seriousness and care.
As one student was leaving, a Carlow representative shared something with me. They had overheard the student say, “I just became a better me.”
That is the point of this work.
We do not heal a fractured world by trying to control others. We begin by taking responsibility for how we see, how we listen, how we engage. Civility is not politeness. It is not surface-level manners that smooth over tension. It is an inner disposition, a way of seeing others as they really are, beings with dignity and equal moral worth, and choosing to engage them with honesty and respect.
That kind of work begins within, then moves outward into our homes, our institutions, and our communities.
Thank you to Carlow for your generous welcome and your thoughtful hospitality, a high and noble expression of civility in action.
I am humbled and grateful to serve as a vessel for these ideas, and to see them take root in rooms like this.
The Civic Renaissance Tour marks a new chapter. After travelling to 150 cities across six countries on book tour, The Civic Renaissance Tour is no longer about talking about the book.
It is about living it, practicing it, and embodying it.
We are not just gathering. We are building.
Let’s get to work.
In the news:
A media interview about The Civic Renaissance Launch in Indianapolis last week - Fox 59: 11th annual Fairbanks Symposium- Watch here
A podcast interview with Michael Lee of the University of Charleston, When We Disagree Podcast: The Soul of Civility, Tested
What does civility demand when justice is costly and deeply personal? Alexandra Hudson, author of The Soul of Civility and founder of Civic Renaissance, shares a raw story about how being scammed sparked both a lengthy legal battle and a profound disagreement with her husband over whether to fight or walk away. Through that conflict, Hudson wrestles with whether civility means politeness or principled confrontation, and what it costs our families when moral crusades take over our lives. The episode explores civility not as courteousness or softness, but as disciplined respect for human dignity even when the stakes are high and the gloves stay firmly on.
Review of The Soul of Civility in Indiana Capital Chronicle: With all due respect
Hudson is not alone in her pursuit for civility. A recent surveyshared by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s Center on Civility and Democracy reported that 72% of Americans want to see more civility in our nation’s politics. The same survey found that Americans are divided on their outlook for our nation’s future, split nearly in half over whether to be optimistic or pessimistic about our ability to come together.
Review of The Soul of civility in Bitterroot Star: Disagree better
Our community is full of independent people who don’t like being told what to think. That’s a strength. But independence only works if we can argue honestly without tearing each other apart in the process. This book doesn’t offer a program or a slogan. It offers a reminder of the habits that make self-government possible.
Year Ago on Civic Renaissance:
Paideia, Humanitas, Civility and Education
Thank you for being part of our Civic Renaissance community!
Can I ask why it is hosted in Colorado Springs? I am moving there in the summer and curious what groups are engaging in this city. Thank you! Also it doesn’t list the date or time when buying a ticket.