BATTLE CREEK, Mich.,
Aug. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Prior to the displays of hatred and the tragic loss of
Heather Heyer, a young woman who
seemingly embraced the virtues of healing, a transformation was
taking place in Charlottesville,
Virginia. This college town, where roughly 80 percent of the
residents are white, culminated a lawful process in February when
its City Council voted to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee from a city park.
Passionate acts came from opposing sides, as opponents filed
suit to stop the removal and the city changed the name of Lee Park
to Emancipation Park. But there was honest dialogue and
truth-telling, the ingredients for healing. Neighbors learned more
about one another, their culture and motivations. But the progress
was derailed.
The protesters who converged in Charlottesville were largely white men often
perceived as privileged in our society, and among their slogans was
"We will not be replaced" by immigrants, blacks, Jews, or
homosexuals. Instead of feeling empowered, they were
threatened and seemed in pain. Their hearts and minds needed
healing.
But racial healing doesn't begin until you intentionally,
respectfully and patiently uncover shared truths, as Charlottesville residents had begun to do
before the violence and turmoil. Shared truths are not simply the
removal of physical symbols, like monuments. While it may begin to
change narratives, it doesn't reach the level of healing that
jettisons racism from the land or creates equitable communities.
Racism has persevered because remedies ranging from public
accommodation laws to Supreme Court rulings are limited in scope
and reach: They fail to change hearts and minds.
A new approach is needed that penetrates the full consciousness
of our society, draws in all communities and focuses on racial
healing and truth-telling.
Racial healing can facilitate trust and authentic relationships
that bridge vast divides created by race, religion, ethnicity and
economic status. Once the truths are shared, racism is acknowledged
and hearts begin to mend, only then will communities begin to heal
the wounds of the past and together move forward to address the
bias in employment, education, housing and health that causes
widespread disparities, and denies opportunities to our
children.
To be sure, racial healing is predicated not just on an
emotional encounter, such as saying, 'you're sorry,' rather it's
predicated on a truth-telling. But who's truth? We all have
our own truth and we need collective conversations to help us in
reaching a common truth and a vision for the future, based on what
we decide together.
And while sharing each of our individual truths requires sharing
stories, reaching a common truth is more than a blending of
stories. It's about co-creating a common set of morals, principles,
wisdom and guidance that is written on our hearts, captured in our
faith and in how we treat each other as human beings. It is
developed by all of us in the courtyard, in town halls, in living
rooms with family and neighbors, all in the crucible of human
goodness. That's where we develop "the" truth.
At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), we promote racial healing
because it moves people to act from their hearts. Real change
happens when people work together and build relationships. Rarely
does it occur when it is forced upon communities by laws and
rulings. Last January, WKKF coordinated an annual National Day of
Racial Healing, which inspired civic, religious, community and
philanthropic organizations to collaborate on activities to
facilitate racial healing. But we can't wait until next January to
embrace racial healing.
Today, with the threat of unrest billowing through communities,
our country needs to heal. All sides must air their pasts, fears,
and anxieties, and articulate their visions for a future where all
children can thrive.
After centuries of racial hierarchy, all sides have been
wounded: Whenever a policy or decision gives privileges to some and
not others or perpetuates injustices, the collective community
suffers, and part of our common humanity is lost. It leaves some
wounded and unable to work towards our collective interest.
What is inspiring is the healing that is happening around
the country.
Earlier this year, 200 people gathered at the Chicago Theological Seminary for an extraordinary
day of racial healing. People of all races, genders, religions and
ethnicities, gathered in healing circles to share their "truths" on
the racism they endured or consciously or unconsciously unleashed
on others. The healing circles were sanctuaries for truth-telling,
and helped people see one another, acknowledge differences and
begin to build authentic relationships.
WKKF, through our Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation
(TRHT) framework, is supporting racial healing in the 14 places
where the TRHT is being implemented. Since 2010, when our
America Healing initiative launched, WKKF has actively promoted
racial healing and supported racial healing practitioners who are
available to help communities, concluding that:
- Racial healing accelerates human capacity for resilience, truly
embracing one another and reconnecting many people who previously
had their identities denied back to their roots, culture, language
and rituals.
- The focus of racial healing is our "collective humanity," and
lifting up that which unites us rather than that which divides us,
while discovering, respecting and indeed honoring our unique
experiences.
- Racial healing will facilitate narrative change, which will
help everyone in communities articulate the truth about their
collective histories and be exposed to full, complete and accurate
representations of themselves and their communities.
Communities must heal so they can grow. Let's heal and build
sustainable progress neighbor by neighbor, community by community
to transform America so all children can have a brighter future.
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SOURCE W.K. Kellogg Foundation