Yet I Am Hopeful

I worry.  I am fearful.  My chest is heavy with it.

I worry that everything will fall short.  The protests will come to an end.  Society will have its attention diverted elsewhere.  Then what?  Will we see another African-American human being killed and all this restarts again?  The very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  I think when you turn on the news, you are not only seeing peaceful protests as a result of the senseless murder of a man.  You are also seeing humans that are driven to the point of insanity either of not being heard, or worse, taking advantage of an already tense and chaotic situation.

I am fearful that for my friends of color.  Great educators, coaches, advocates, caretakers, nurses, community servants, and the list goes on.  I look up to them for their struggle and bravery.  I pray for them when I think of them because I have also heard of stories from them that are gut wrenching.  Stories of being pulled over, discriminated, looked over, not hired, etc.  For many, it has motivated them to push even harder.  I hope they never tire out.  And when they do, I hope they find allies that will lift them up and help them carry on. 

I am fearful for my students.  I am fearful for my students of color who see the riots as a way to get a message across.  This is not the way.  Riots and destruction are the way of individuals who do not seek solutions to systemic issues. I hope I am teaching my students daily on ways to make their voice heard that cause ear, mind, heart and soul damage rather than damage to physical property.

I am fearful for my students of other colors.  Their cultures are not understood.  I saw someone say recently that nothing will be fixed in this country until we stop having culture specific months of historical remembrance.  To that I say, WRONG!  Sorry, not sorry.  More than anything, I believe these weeks and months are of grave importance.

I am fearful for my students that are white.  Some students see the issues and are beginning to understand the impact that they have.  However, I have seen the other side.  My classroom has always been one open for conversations.  Where life happens, education can happen.  I will gladly shutdown class to talk about anything students need to vent or want to debate about.  One day, a white student wanted to talk about the kneeling protests during national anthems.  We started the conversation with the ground rules that every voice matters and will be heard. Our classroom was real and raw that day.  My students loved it.  After, I had a white student come to me and thought I was mad or other students were mad at him for having different opinions from his own.  I told him I loved him.  I told him that different opinions are okay.  However, be able to argue your stance and argue it calmly and tactfully.  I also talked to him about guilt.  Sometimes when we feel that people might be mad at us, it may be because we feel guilty about something we said or something we feel.  I taught him how to journey through those feelings and implored him to sit and have conversations with people about what their lives are like.

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I say all of that to say this: “Yet, I remain hopeful.”

I have always tried to stay moderate, to be able to talk to all people about anything peaceably, and be able to shine a light of hope into a dark situation.

I remain hopeful.

I am hopeful, apart from the riots and destruction, that we might actually see change birth from these moments.

I am hopeful that the peaceful protests are seen and heard.

I feel this hope as I see people of all colors peacefully protesting together.

I feel this hope when I see former students using their voice and even their money to raise awareness and make change in the community around them.

I feel this hope when I see police officers laying down weapons and joining protestors to raise awareness for the need for change in our systems that are supposed to serve, protect, defend and provide justice for the citizens.

I feel this hope when we see peaceful protest not only on the streets carrying signs, but also carrying cans of paint and rollers to cover graffiti and make room for art.

The question in the next few weeks will be what do we do now?

There was a list released by medium.com about 75 things people can do to raise awareness and support for equity and equality.  I cannot do 75 things.  However, I can do at least one thing.

My church, Storied Church appropriately, we changed course Sunday May 31 from talk about forgiveness, to talk about the current events surrounding the protests and such.  We talked about what we as a church can do going forward.  These included:

1.)   Educate and Listen- Hear voices and read the words of people than can inform us to grow toward equity, equality and reconciliation and redemption.  We want to focus in on trainings that are offered to us locally on racial equity.  In our area, there is group called Alamance Racial Equity Alliance (A.R.E.A).  They provide and execute resources that work across disciplines as volunteer community organizers to bring together residents of Alamance County for events to advance racial equity.

2.)   Support Local-  Organizations like A.R.E.A. are great and we have other places as well that advance racial equity.  However, in all of our cities, we have areas that are looked over and left behind.  We desire to partner with these communities, hear their stories, make their stories heard (because they matter) and do anything we can to help them.

3.)   Support Diverse Leadership-  Some towns and cities have never had leaders of a different race elected to offices and chairs of leadership.  We wonder what would happen if these people were elected. 

I implore you, as a white guy who is trying to figure all of this out and find voice and plan, to find your own voice and ways of acting for the future weeks, months and years.
Read.

Hear.

Listen.

Eat with.

Walk with.

Link arms with.

Provide space for.

Protest and petition for change.

As I have learned in equity training, we as a country have had MULTIPLE CHANCES to get this racial equity thing right.  Do not let this chance go by either.  May we all rise up to the moment set before us to bring about a better way of living and thriving on this Earth together.  WE CAN DO THIS!