Before Anything Else, Say Hello

Civil rights attorney, mediator, and Ubuntuworks founder Eric Sirotkin believes justice begins by recognizing the humanity we share.

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Eric Sirotkin entered the legal profession prepared to fight—and to win. But experiences representing sanctuary workers and witnessing conflict resolution in South Africa gradually changed his understanding of what the law could accomplish. Instead of deepening divisions, he began to see it as a potential healing practice.

That transformation came into focus through his involvement with South Africa’s transition from apartheid and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There, he encountered ubuntu: the understanding that our humanity exists through our relationships with others. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu explained to him, what we do to another person, we also do to ourselves.

One small exchange with Tutu stayed with Eric. Arriving with his recorder and questions, he was ready to begin an interview. Tutu placed his hand over Eric’s and said, “Yes, but first, let’s say hi.” In that moment, professional roles fell away and two people met on equal ground.

Eric carried that lesson into his legal and mediation work. Clients often arrive hurt, frightened, and eager to defeat the person who harmed them. His role is not to erase accountability, but to help people listen, recognize one another’s humanity, and seek resolutions that do more than declare a winner.

Through the Ubuntuworks Project and Common Ground 101, Eric now invites people to name ten things all human beings share. The answers often include good health, clean air, peaceful moments, thriving children, and the desire to be heard and cared for.

His message is especially urgent in a culture shaped by “us versus them.” Doing good, he reminds us, does not always require changing the entire world at once. Small acts of courage, practiced every day, build the strength needed when larger moments arrive—and, together, can begin to dismantle even the mightiest walls.