MARSHALL — A new series of community events is asking area residents to think about what it means to be American — and organizers say it will be a chance for people to learn from one another.

Paula Nemes, public services manager at the Marshall-Lyon County Library, said the events are about “Trying to find some common ground, and having a good conversation.”

Starting next week, the library and Southwest Minnesota State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be working together to present community discussions, including a showing of the PBS program “American Creed.” The film, which premiered in 2018, talks about American identity and ideals, from diverse points of view. Leading the conversation in the film are American historian David M. Kennedy and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Area residents will have a couple of chances to see “American Creed” and take part in a guided discussion on Thursday. One showing will be held at noon in the lower Conference Center at SMSU, and the other will be at the library at 6:30 p.m.

The “American Creed” viewings and discussions were made possible through an American Library Association grant. Nemes said MLCL was one of just 50 libraries around the country who were selected to receive the grant.

“This is something we’ve been looking to do,” Nemes said of the program.

The film and discussion session will be the first in a series of community events. Nemes said the next event, in February, will focus on a topic close to home — agriculture. The discussion will examine the experience of farming in America and having ties to the land, as well as how the experiences of agricultural and processing plant workers can fit into that picture, she said. A third event, planned in March, will focus on civic engagement.

Nemes said local event organizers hope the events will be the start of a continuing conversation. At the library, she hopes it will be a step toward a memoir project, where community members can record their families’ stories and diverse immigrant experiences. Another possibility could be working with the Minnesota organizations who brought last summer’s “Thriving By Design” conference to southwest Minnesota. The conference highlighted how Minnesota needed all of its communities, both urban and rural, in order to prosper.

There’s a lot to be gained from listening to, and sharing ideas with, other people in the community, Nemes said.

“We have so much more in common than not,” she said.