When the presidential candidates square off for their final debate on October 22 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, something more meaningful than political discord will penetrate the noise. The Unity Flag Project, an undertaking born from the vision of Dr. Meaghan Brady Nelson, Ph.D., assistant professor and program director of fine arts at Watkins College of Art at Belmont University, will serve as the backdrop to the debate stage. The series of hand-painted flags, representing over thirty states, symbolizes the idea of bipartisan unity.

Dr. Nelson conceived of the project to build what she has termed “purple empathy.” Nelson calls purple empathy “the action of understanding, being aware of, sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feeling, thoughts, and experiences of another’s political views, expressions, experiences, opinions, understanding, intentions and decisions.”

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