The Common Ground Initiative

Am I A Patriot?

Anthony Payton’s Common Ground Podcast, aims to highlight the diversity of  New Hampshire communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community. 

In this week's episode, Anthony tackles the misconception that people of color hate America and that criticism of systemic injustice is unpatriotic.

Read his companion Q&A with Cordan James Haveron at https://www.collaborativenh.org/common-ground-initiative

S1 E9 A City’s Change-Maker, My Personal Inspiration

Writer Anthony Payton discusses how one troubleshooter inspired change in his city and himself. 

Anthony Payton is a freelance writer and father living in Manchester. He can be reached at anthony.payton@collaborativenh.org. This story is part of his project, The Common Ground Initiative which aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community.

The podcast is produced by Payton in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative and the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications at Franklin Pierce University.

S1E8 ‘Unruly,’ ‘Coarse,’-- Gorgeous

There’s more than what meets the eyes regarding Black hair. It’s an expression, it’s pride, and it’s a showing of our culture. Most of us aren’t born with the silky texture that blows in the wind like those shampoo commercials on television. What we have, we wear with pride; through it, we display the heritage and roots we were born with.  But the topic of our hair too often is the source of office gossip and bias in professional settings.

Anthony Payton is a freelance writer and father living in Manchester. He can be reached at anthony.payton@collaborativenh.org. This story is part of his project, The Common Ground Initiative which aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community.

The podcast is produced by Payton in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative and the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications at Franklin Pierce University.

 

S1 E7 The view from outside my comfort zone

In this week's episode, recorded in front of a live audience at Franklin Pierce University, writer Anthony Payton discusses coming to grips with his hyper-masculine upbringing and embracing his stepson's identity and the LGBTQ+ community.

Anthony Payton is a freelance writer and father living in Manchester. He can be reached at anthony.payton@collaborativenh.org. This story is part of his project, The Common Ground Initiative which aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community.

The podcast is produced by Payton in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative and the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications at Franklin Pierce University.

Ep. 6 Own Worst Enemy

As we step foot into this new year and I continue crafting my goals for the year, I decided to reach back to a few young men from my past to get an update on where they are in life. I wanted to see if there was any advice that I could offer to them, or possibly have an exchange of ideas that could benefit us all. It turns out that they were doing well, but that wasn’t the case for some of the younger generation. 

Listen to Anthony Payton's message to Black Youth in this episode of The Common Ground Initiative.

 

Anthony Payton is a freelance writer and father living in Manchester. He can be reached at anthony.payton@collaborativenh.org. This story is part of his project, The Common Ground Initiative which aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community.

The podcast is produced by Payton in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative and the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications at Franklin Pierce University.

Ep. 5: Stay tuned...this comeback story is just beginning.

In this episode, writer Anthony Payton reflects on his two year journey of re-entering society after a six-and-half year incarceration. 

Anthony Payton is a freelance writer and father living in Manchester. He can be reached at anthony.payton@collaborativenh.org. This story is part of his project, The Common Ground Initiative which aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community.

The podcast is produced by Payton in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative and the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications at Franklin Pierce University.

Ep.4:The part of incarceration that mattered: the rehabilitation

Imagine walking into a secured prison yard. One so secured with the walls so high that when you look up, all you see is the sky. You go back to your cell. It’s so loud and the potential for violence so ripe, you’re always on high alert. It’s easy to succumb to that culture. How do you cope? How do you pass the time in a place like that?  

Many years ago, I was faced with that question. In regards to doing my time, I had a choice to make: I could continue being angry and feeling helpless, or, I could find a path to improve my situation. To do the latter, I knew it meant removing myself from the negative influences that surrounded me. I’d have to separate myself from the violence that manages to permeate through those prison walls. After all, prison is just a microcosm of the outside world.  

I sought refuge in furthering my education.

In Ep. 4 of The Common Ground podcast, host Anthony Payton discusses the value of investing in education behind bars.

Anthony Payton is a freelance writer and father living in Manchester, NH.  This story is part of his project, The Common Ground Initiative which aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community.

This podcast is produced in partnership with The Granite State News Collaborative and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. For more information visit www.collaborativenh.org/common-ground-initiative

Ep. 3 - Black women: the hardworking heart and souls of the community

"Whether implied or said outright, the myth of the Black woman who’s a drain on society persists. I’m talking about the stereotype of a woman who’s holding a toddler while flanked by 10 more kids with her hands out. This myth, as untrue and unfair as it is, has shaped the perception of Black women in this country."

Writer Anthony Payton’s Common Ground Initiative,  aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community. 

 

Not everything is as it seems, sometimes it‘s better

Writer Anthony Payton’s Common Ground Initiative,  aims to highlight the diversity of our communities with stories of people the average Granite Stater might not get to see or meet. The goal is to clarify misconceptions and find the threads that bind us all together as one New Hampshire community. In his first episode, Payton explains the conversation that led him to create this project.