The week ahead will mark the first anniversary of the Charlottesville, Va., white nationalist rallies that shook the United States. Staff writer Jessica Mendoza is there now, and staff writers Christa Case Bryant and Patrik Jonsson are teaming up with her for a series this week on the legacy of Charlottesville. The first story is in this issue. 

In reflecting on her reporting so far, Jessica suggests that the legacy isn’t any one thing. “Where you’re coming from really informs what you see afterward,” she told me.

That’s one reason we’ve decided to focus our series on a kaleidoscope of people. In looking at how different people’s lives and outlooks have changed, we hope to examine these different perspectives through compelling stories. From police shootings to politics, different perspectives have shaped how we see news events and revealed fault lines. Exploring these perspectives, while sometimes uncomfortable, helps to reveal why people see the world the way they do. Without that, finding a common way forward is almost impossible.

“I hope there is a possibility to knit these threads together,” Jessica says, “not just to understand what happened, but how we got here in the first place.”

Now on to our five stories for today, which include stories on Israel’s sense of identity, China’s model for global influence, and one French town’s commitment to the world around it.