Who Are Our Neighbors: The Race Story ReWrite Project
I remember sitting in the Young Adult Caucus room one afternoon during "Justice General Assembly" in the summer of 2012. Project Reflection. We had a guest speaker come in to help us reflect on the "Doctrine of Discovery," and its effect on the indigenous people in the United States. I remember how he challenged us that day. "Justice GA" that year was focused on the issue of immigration, and our tradition's presence there turned into one of social witness. That afternoon, we were given the challenge of thinking about where the conversation around immigration really starts. We were told that if we really wanted to have a full conversation around immigration, if we wanted to consider the whole story, we needed to first begin with the experience of the indigenous people of this land when European colonists first began to claim America as their own.
That challenge has stayed with me since that summer. And today's theme, which invites us to consider and rewrite the stories we tell of our collective history brought it to the forefront of my mind. When I think back to the stories I learned about our history, especially US History, I realize that they are usually told from one point of view. There's the expression "history is always written by the victors," and often those victors paint the story in such a way that ignores or discredits the suffering of their "opponents." Colonialism was a gift in history, the indigenous people were a threat to the growth of the colonies, the "founding fathers" fought for freedom with no mention of their participation in the horrors of slavery. When we look at those stories in a new light, we change the conversation, not just around history, but around the issues we continue to struggle with today. In reflecting on the words of Dr. King yesterday, one of the most powerful pieces of his speech against the Vietnam War was his acknowledgment of the suffering of the Vietnamese people because of the actions of the US military. He dared to tell the story from a different point of view.
In her reflection this morning, Dayna Edwards speaks about inclusion and inter-connectedness as the reasons why we must learn to rewrite the stories we tell. She tells us that in order to heal, we need to be more honest and willing to name the "atrocities of colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and current racism." But she cautions us to not just focus on the negative pieces, but to write stories of survival that can empower communities today. She reminds us that to move towards healing and forgiveness, we cannot rewrite these stories in a way that ignores the fact that "racism is a disease that afflicts and affects both the offender and the offended." That is not an easy task, but it is indeed a necessary one. The purpose of rewriting our stories, of bearing witness to the oppression in our past and present, is not to vilify. It does us no good to create new reasons to hate or divide. The purpose of rewriting these stories is to move towards wholeness. By using the gifts of forgiveness, humility, and love, we can begin to be honest with ourselves about what has happened to and through all of us in the past. By recognizing the effects of these truer stories on the present, we can begin to heal the brokenness that every one of us experiences in systems built upon discrimination and oppression.
That challenge has stayed with me since that summer. And today's theme, which invites us to consider and rewrite the stories we tell of our collective history brought it to the forefront of my mind. When I think back to the stories I learned about our history, especially US History, I realize that they are usually told from one point of view. There's the expression "history is always written by the victors," and often those victors paint the story in such a way that ignores or discredits the suffering of their "opponents." Colonialism was a gift in history, the indigenous people were a threat to the growth of the colonies, the "founding fathers" fought for freedom with no mention of their participation in the horrors of slavery. When we look at those stories in a new light, we change the conversation, not just around history, but around the issues we continue to struggle with today. In reflecting on the words of Dr. King yesterday, one of the most powerful pieces of his speech against the Vietnam War was his acknowledgment of the suffering of the Vietnamese people because of the actions of the US military. He dared to tell the story from a different point of view.
In her reflection this morning, Dayna Edwards speaks about inclusion and inter-connectedness as the reasons why we must learn to rewrite the stories we tell. She tells us that in order to heal, we need to be more honest and willing to name the "atrocities of colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and current racism." But she cautions us to not just focus on the negative pieces, but to write stories of survival that can empower communities today. She reminds us that to move towards healing and forgiveness, we cannot rewrite these stories in a way that ignores the fact that "racism is a disease that afflicts and affects both the offender and the offended." That is not an easy task, but it is indeed a necessary one. The purpose of rewriting our stories, of bearing witness to the oppression in our past and present, is not to vilify. It does us no good to create new reasons to hate or divide. The purpose of rewriting these stories is to move towards wholeness. By using the gifts of forgiveness, humility, and love, we can begin to be honest with ourselves about what has happened to and through all of us in the past. By recognizing the effects of these truer stories on the present, we can begin to heal the brokenness that every one of us experiences in systems built upon discrimination and oppression.
The prompt for this fourth day also included a link to the UU curriculum "Who Are Our Neighbors," describing it as a program intended to "heal racial divides." The name of this curriculum reminded me of a video for a sermon delivered at Middle Collegiate Church on July 14, 2013. Interestingly enough, this sermon re-entered my life just two days ago, after I followed a chain of links from Day Two's reflection invitation. In this sermon, titled "Are You My Neighbor?," Adriene Thorne spoke very poignantly and honestly about the recent "not guilty" verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Weaving in reflections on the parable of the Good Samaritan, words from Toni Morrison, and the paradoxical limitations yet potential of human nature, her sermon challenges us to consider not only "who are our neighbors?" but also how we respond to our neighbors when to love them feels like an impossible task. In one part of this sermon, she says:
"There's no artistry in hate. But there is great artistry in love. What if George Zimmerman had been an artist, like the Good Samaritan? What if we were? As creative beings made in the image of a holy god, we are capable of great artistry in love. When we consider the beauty, the sheer beauty, wrought with the human hand and voice - the literature, the music, the scientific breakthroughs, the business medical, and agricultural triumphs, can we not also consider the numerous creative human responses that have met hatred with love?"
On this day, as we re-imagine the stories we tell about race from our history, her message reminds me of the need to also consider the ways in which we view and tell the stories of today. How are we telling the story of Trayvon Martin's murder? How are we telling the story of the thousands of black and brown men who are unjustly targeted by "law enforcement" and "court system" officials simply because of the way they look? How are we telling the story of the thousands who have died in a senseless collection of wars and military attacks overseas? How would you tell the story of the child in a Philadelphia public school who does not have a nurse to go to when she has an asthma attack or a textbook for any of her classes? How would you tell the story of the thousands of people who are losing access to necessary healthcare because of Medicaid cuts? How would you tell the story of the families who are forced apart because of a corrupt and broken immigration system? How do we tell these stories in a way that bears witness to the injustices experienced, that demands changes to the systems and cultures that feed their continuation, but does not encourage hatred towards the groups or individuals who have contributed to them?
Are we brave enough to tell those stories in ways that are honest about the suffering experienced by our neighbors? Are we willing to take the risk of being criticized and rejected to show new windows into these unjust pieces of our present? And are we willing to recognize the brokenness that every person experiences within these stories? Are we creative enough to still show love for all of our neighbors? Are we creative enough to write new narratives, ones in which we heal with love, rather than continue the division of hatred?
“Are You My Neighbor?” :: Jul 14 @middlechurch from Middle Collegiate Church on Vimeo.
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