Loading...This summer I became a member of the Diocese’s Racial Healing Commission. I am learning about a variety of initiatives and goals as determined by both the diocese and the commission through experiences and training offered in the Diocese of Kentucky.
A year ago, Jeff and I went on the diocesan pilgrimage to Selma and Montgomery, AL to learn more about the slave trade and the Civil Rights Movement.
Last weekend I went on a one-day diocesan pilgrimage to Russellville, KY to the SEEK Museum to learn about the slave-owning Bibb family, their slaves, and about the life of the African Americans living in the “Bottoms.”
In each of these experiences I have found that there is much I both think I know and realize I do not know at all. And I want to know more, have a deeper understanding, and a path to true racial healing, throughout the Church, our communities, and in myself. No matter how I feel about my own progress along my journey exploring racial issues, I know I have more to learn, more stories to hear, more history to be exposed to.
I recognize the broadness of racial healing. Coming from Minnesota, I learned about racial injustice toward our indigenous neighbors. After spending time on a reservation, I better understand how some white people caused immense, generational harm. I witnessed the impact of drug and alcohol abuse. I heard stories of and saw some of the results of a culture of both rape and suicide. I was embarrassed by my own privilege when I could see the financial disparities while driving into the reservation “projects,” compared to our stay at a lakeside resort just across the highway. All these and so much more are part of my experience of recognizing the breadth of racial injustice—and the need for more education to lead us toward racial healing.
Jesus taught us to see the impact of injustice on the most vulnerable of people. It is up to us to understand the history of how our lives are entwined with that injustice. Once we have more awareness of the history that led us to racial injustice, we can change the future.
You have upcoming opportunities to become a part of this education. Please read about the Alexandar Hamilton McNeil Commemoration (10/11) and two Dismantling Racism Training opportunities (10/25 & 11/1) in the newsletter.
Peace, Rev. Debbie+
SEEK=Struggles for Emancipation and Equality in Kentucky
