BRAVER ANGELS INDIANA

State Coordinator Don Byrd

September 4, 1946 - October 22, 2024

It is with a sad heart that I share with you the passing of Indiana State Coordinator Don Byrd.  It is largely through his efforts that Braver Angels got it’s start in Indiana.  He was the first Indiana State Coordinator and served in that role until his passing on October 22, 2024.

Don was known and respected as A Braver Angel throughout the local community and at all levels of Braver Angels leadership.  Here are a few memories about the impact Don had on the Braver Angels Community:

William Ellis, Indiana Red State Co-Coordinator

As many of you know, Don Byrd, our guiding star, has passed away.  It’s hard to find the words to ease this loss, and I don’t think Don will be easily replaced.  All I can do is share what Don meant to me and his Braver Angels family.

First, a bit of history.  Some of you have heard this before, while others may be hearing it for the first time.  Don approached me, as the Republican Party Chairman, looking for “Reds” interested in joining a group called Better Angels (later renamed for legal reasons).  He explained that it was a group where we could discuss our political views freely, not to change minds, but to understand the beliefs we share.  Intrigued, I volunteered.

A week or so later, Don and I met for the first time.  He didn’t judge me for being a Trump supporter and was genuinely curious about my beliefs and what led me to my conclusions.  We soon became friends.  In 2017, we had our first BA meeting and soon formed an alliance.  I served with Don as Co-Chair of the local alliance and eventually as Co-Coordinator of Indiana.

Don never lost hope in BA.  While it seemed the country was tearing itself apart, Don always believed that we, at Braver Angels, could be the difference between anger and hope.  If I ever got discouraged about our country, Don was always there to remind me that if we had hope, things could change for the better.  He, being a blue, and me, being a red, had tremendous discussions.  We were inseparable when it came to presenting BA at various places.  I was the comic goof, and he played the straight man.  It shouldn’t have worked, but it did.

Don kept things organized and recognized that those who come after us need to understand where we’ve been.  I learned about climate change and AI from Don, things I would have never learned otherwise.  I could never measure up to the man Don was when it came to having an impact on “depolarizing America,” and I could never match the love and compassion Don showed to everyone.  No matter if they were ANTIFA or MAGA, Don held no prejudgments and wanted to really get to know them.

Don will not be easily replaced, but we must not let his dreams pass with him.  We must honor his work in what we do and how we interact with others.  I’ve gone on long enough, but I’ll close with a quote Don lived by and we should all strive to do the same:

Abraham Lincoln: “I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.”

May Don always be remembered as someone who got to know us better.

 — William

Miles Eddy, Indiana “Other” State Coordinator

In 2017 Don was already talking about this new organization to get people talking.  Before I knew it, we were sitting at the table together with conservatives including the chair of the local Republican Party in a Red/Blue workshop.  Six years later, his tireless optimism and hard work led him, me, and William to work together as Indiana State Coordinators.  Always humble, his commitment to peace has been an inspiration.  He was my neighbor, colleague, and friend and I will miss him walking by with his dog and our talks about bringing people together.   

 — Miles

In lieu of flowers, the family has request that memorial contributions be given to Braver Angels in Don’s memory.

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Don Byrd’s passion for depolarizing Indiana CLICK HERE

From Don Byrd In 2020

Braver Angels has been in existence for only a few years, but in terms of our main goal -- depolarizing the country -- it feels like it's been a very long time! It's been said that the United States have been disuniting in recent years, and it seems like a symptom of that appears in the news almost every day.  Indiana is no different from the rest of the country.  I live in Bloomington, the center of Braver Angels activity in Indiana.

 Many people on both the Left and the Right are convinced these days that many people on the other side are either stupid or just don't care about the country; either way, talking to them is a waste of time.  But I've found talking to people on the other side incredibly enlightening:  so often they view things in a way that makes sense but which never would have occurred to me!  I'm firmly convinced that the overwhelming majority of people on both "sides" of the political spectrum are reasonably intelligent people of good will who sincerely want the best for the country.  If you're a Hoosier, welcome, and please give Braver Angels a chance to enlighten you.

-- Don Byrd
-- Braver Angels State Coordinator for Indiana

In Loving Memory of Don’s Passion

Don’s Last Message - Rating Our Candidates
 

Don’s last act as Braver Angels Indiana Blue State Coordinator was the following he article he wrote for the October Indiana newsletter.

 
From the Desk of Blue State Coordinator Don Byrd

What if there were well-thought-out principles for politicians, principles that would help people make decisions about what candidates and policies to support?  The Better Angels Founding Convention of 2018 approved sets of specific principles for politicians and the media.  We approved principles for other groups, too; the ones for citizens are the basis of our ground rules.  But I’ve never seen any besides ours, and ours have been almost forgotten.  The document is at https://braverangels.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Principles-and-Program-designed.pdf 

 But principles like this won’t help the country without a way to encourage politicians and media to take them seriously.  As a step in that direction, I’ve made the BA principles into a rating form to help you rate the person/medium on each principle and overall: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gyC1EvOXYDGubiNJ9p_LuFRXA745e2Xz 

Please take a look at the form and see for yourself if it agrees with your concept of what the country needs.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, but I’d love to hear from you either way ( [email protected] ).

Don Byrd's Obituary

Donald Alvin “Don” Byrd, age 78, of Bloomington died Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at IU Health Bloomington Hospital after a three week-long battle with pneumonia.

Born September 4, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, he was the son of Gene and Charlotte (Klein) Byrd.

He attended Mather High School and went on to study music composition at Indiana University, graduating in 1968.  He then received a PhD in computer science in 1984, with a dissertation on music notation by computer.  His advisor was Douglas Hofstadter, who became a lifelong friend.

Using his own music-notation program, one of the first of its kind, Don created the musical examples for Hofstadter´s book, Godel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid.  He had numerous careers including software engineer, visiting research musician at Princeton University, and GIS researcher, which brought him and his family to Massachusetts.  He was passionate about organizing and creating music with computers, and helped organize the International Symposium on Music Information Retrieval there in 2000.  He moved to Bloomington with his family in 2001 and was involved with the Variations2 digital music library project.  He then served as senior scientist and visiting adjunct professor in the IU School of Informatics.  Later, he became a high school math teacher through the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in Indianapolis.

Don loved almost any form of physical activity and was an avid rock climber, mountaineer, and hiker, having just returned from a two-week hiking trip in Iceland prior to his illness.  He deeply loved classical music and played flute and piano.  He was also a composer.  As a cancer survivor, during his battle with multiple myeloma, one of his life goals was to complete a violin concerto.  His concerto was performed in Bloomington on September 24, 2017, conducted by his dear friend Paul Nadler.

Don was the Indiana state coordinator for Braver Angels, an organization committed to depolarizing American politics.  In recent years, he also became passionate about advocating for the regulation of artificial intelligence.  He was an active member of the Bloomington Quaker Meeting.

Above all, Don was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother David. He is survived by his cherished wife of 36 years, Susan Schneider, daughter Torrey (Mati) Sharaf, son Alec Byrd, two grandchildren, Lucie and Benjamin Sharaf, brother Richard Byrd, and many loving nieces and nephews.  

There are no words for how much he will be missed by his friends and family.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the Bloomington Friends Meeting House.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Braver Angels in Don’s memory.

Online condolences may be given at www.DayDeremiahFrye.com

Posted online on October 23, 2024

Published in The Herald Times

In Loving Memory of Don Byrd 

Indiana State Coordinators

Don Byrd, Indiana State Coordinator (Blue) Email: [email protected]

William Ellis, Indiana State Coordinator (Red)   Email: [email protected]

Miles Eddy, Indiana State Coordinator (Other) Email: [email protected]

South Central Indiana Alliance

Robert Pribush, Alliance Blue Co-Chair Email: [email protected]

Vanessa Roberts, Alliance Red Co-Chair Email: [email protected]

Central Indiana Alliance

Thomas Boyle, Alliance Red Co-Chair Email: [email protected]

Matthew Russell, Alliance Blue co-Chair Email: [email protected]