This article originally appeared in Good Day, Berks — Spotlight PA’s free daily newsletter for Berks County and your daily dose of Berks County essentials. Sign up here.
This week’s Community Spotlight honoree is Temple resident Alexander Civil, a community activist who leads the nonprofit Bring the Change.
The conversation, conducted by email, has been edited for length and style.
Good Day, Berks: Where do you live?
Alexander Civil: Temple. Prior to that, I lived in Sinking Spring.
Tell us a little about your family.
My family, that’s my backbone. That’s what I can always fall back on and count on. I grew up with a large family of nine kids. Unfortunately, the oldest, Nathalie, passed away during the big earthquake in Haiti in 2010. My daughter actually has her name, just to keep her memory alive.
The two most important values in my family are respect and love. We were taught to treat everyone with the same respect, regardless of socio-economic status. We have learned to embrace people who are different from us. Even within my family, you see differences in mindset and behavior. The six oldest ones were born in Haiti, and the youngest three were born here in the United States. We have managed to use love as a common denominator to fuse ourselves as a unit. I am blessed to have them. Mom and dad are my buddies, my best friends, and my sounding board for any major decisions I’m making in life.
Tell us about your work and what you like about it.
Bring the Change … is a culmination of personal experiences and the need I see in the communities where I have lived. We train and empower people to change their own communities. For too long, I saw people waiting for the government or some magical hands to move their community forward. I firmly believe that the true power resides within us. If we can create a community where we genuinely care for each other and embrace our differences, we will be able to solve most of our issues.
At Bring the Change, we focus on education and community engagement. We host our Agents of Change Leadership program for high school students. This program teaches students soft skills like table etiquette, time management, communication, financial literacy, and community connection. Students practice skills like networking, the elevator pitch, and others to help make them better students, but most importantly, better human beings.
We also run the Steps to Unity program, which has two components: Bring the Convo and Bring the Culture. In this program, we introduce our community to a local culture or discuss a taboo/divisive topic quarterly. This program encourages others to step out of their comfort zone to learn about other people who are sharing our community. Right before the last presidential election, we hosted an event about demystifying politics. We had representatives from the Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the Republican Party who were able to discuss each party's values and how we can move forward as a community regardless of our political party affiliation.
Tell us about the Berks Cultural Diversity Festival.
The Berks Cultural fest started because when I first came here, I thought there was no diversity in Berks County, since I didn't see much of it. There was no event that brought everybody together from different races, different ethnicities, faith groups, and backgrounds.
So, for me, it was about creating something inclusive where people can actually see themselves, regardless of their origin and background. In partnership with CICOP Ministry, which is my brother James Civil’s nonprofit organization, we launched the first festival as a big potluck and soccer tournament at Cacoosing Meadows Park in 2019. We held an online celebration in 2020 due to COVID, and then decided to move the festival to City Park in 2021 thanks to sponsorship from the Berks Community Foundation and UGI Utilities.
In 2021, we were able to add new partners like the NAACP Reading Branch, the Dominican Association of Pennsylvania, the Hispanic Center, and the Jewish Federation of Reading/Berks. We have been growing our collaborators each year, adding cultural groups from diverse communities like Costa Rica, Panama, Poland, Guinea, Gambia, Nigeria, Togo, Morocco, Romania, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador, just to name a few. Our goal is to include every culture represented in Berks County.
This is also a call to action to any cultural groups or communities who would like to participate. Our door is open. It’s free of charge. Come in, host a table, share your culture, share your food, and share your arts with everyone else watching this festival, because the whole idea is not just to listen to music and watch dances and singing, but also to educate people about all of the different communities that are present here in Berks County.
Tell us about a challenge you faced.
My biggest challenge recently has been finding the right balance in my life. I have been working my regular job full-time and working with Bring the Change full-time as well. The organization has been growing as we try to fill so many voids in the community.
Since we have no staff, it has been a struggle to keep up with our expansion. I refused to admit that I could not help everyone. I have to thank my current board leadership for their support as we have re-shifted our focus. We are now back to working solely on education and community engagement. This allowed me to realign myself with the vision, create more time for me and my family, and position Bring the Change for the right kind of growth.
I also refocused some of my energy on my Haitian community, connecting them to legal, job, and health care services. I have been working with the Reading School District and other local organizations to bring any available resources, including translation, to the Haitian community.
What are your favorite places to eat in Berks County?
This one is a tough one, because I'm a foodie. I love to eat, and because I also love culture, I go out with a couple of friends every month to try different cuisines in Berks County. There's this place, Olocuilta, a Salvadorian restaurant. It's a nice “mom-and-pop” on Ninth and Washington in Reading City. It actually has some really nice, authentic food. The Aladdin Restaurant (West Reading) is a good one as well; I enjoy the decor, plus it's BYOB. I love the B2 Bistro menu; I might be biased because I know the chef, and he is Haitian.
Where would you take a visitor to Berks?
Berks County is filled with a lot of charming places. The Pagoda is definitely a must-see for any visitors. Besides being one of the landmarks in Berks County, it also offers a beautiful view of the city of Reading. I have a soft spot for the Penn State Berks campus, my alma mater. I love their campus. It is small and peaceful. I still drive to Penn State Berks in the summer and go for a stroll on the Schuylkill River.
One of those other places that you don't want to miss is the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. If you like the arts, there is always an exhibition, or you can simply walk the second and third floors to see all of those artists' works for free. They have done some renovations; I like the new cafe area, which now extends to the outside. They have a small movie theater, which shows a lot of nice movies. It so happens to host the Bring the Change office as well; if you are ever at the GoggleWorks during the day, you can always swing by Room 533 to say hi.
What book, poem, song, or artwork is meaningful to you?
John Donne's “No Man Is an Island” is one of my favorite poems (or meditations). It truly describes humanity, how we are all interconnected, as “no man is an island.” Donne also emphasizes that everyone is valuable and that we all matter. Stating that “Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind” reminds us that we should always show empathy, even towards those whom we might not like.
Who in your life has had a great influence on you, and how have they influenced you?
I have been blessed to have my parents as my greatest influence. Watching their personal sacrifices to give me and my siblings the best opportunities in life is nothing short of heroic. They built a family based on faith, love, and respect. Sometimes I hope to be half of the parents they are to my daughter.
Aside from my parents, Nelson Mandela is one of my favorite heroes. He sacrificed his personal career and fought for what he believed in. He went to jail unfairly for 27 years, but decided to bury the hatchet for the greater good of his people. He didn't carry any hate or let his emotions control him. Mandela understood that a united and economically progressive South Africa was better than his personal feelings. Mandela’s action taught me that forgiveness is a powerful tool and that, most importantly, one should always put the collective above themselves.
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