Brave space. You'll hear us talk about it all the time. It's the space where we know that the showing up is difficult, where we know the conversation will be a challenge, and it's the space we need to get into if we're going to grow. Growth can't come from being static. It can't come from surrounding yourself with the same people and the same ideas. Growth is uncomfortable.
The beauty of the journey that we're on to create and foster inclusivity is that variety of perspectives that make up the whole conversation. But....how do we navigate the room when we disagree? In this work, it can be easy to gravitate towards like minds, because you feel the kinship of working towards a common goal. And sometimes that can lead to a sort of inertia, where we end up in the best kind of echo chamber, where there's immense fellowship and positive reinforcement for what we're trying to achieve. Yet finding alignment with our values, isn't always achievement of our mission.
I think more than ever to fulfill our mission of confronting prejudice, bigotry and discrimination those spaces where there's a divergence in ideology are the crucial spaces that we need to be. It's not a popular space.
It will be VERY HARD to go and talk to someone who just stormed the Capitol about how to be inclusive and accepting, and how to develop the coping skills for when life disappoints you so you don't feel compelled to participate in an insurrection. And yet, we need to summon our own bravery to stretch ourselves to meet them and open a dialogue, so that brave space is created.
When I say we, I am not demanding everyone to practice this form of bravery, because for far too many personal safety could be at risk and the emotional labor that comes with this choice can be greater than you need to bear. As an organization we are ready to take on this challenge.
It's not just a brave space for the growth of others, I'm not intending to be that lofty. It's about us as an organization moving into a brave space where we really grow to meet the demands of our mission, and all the discomfort that can bring along with it.
ICYMI: It's the Highlights
We put together the highlights from our super awesome virtual book tour in celebration of Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar's new release, "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism." Check it out!
There's still time to register for Omaha Table Talk
February 23, 2021 at 6:00 pm CST. Don't miss our discussion on Reparations with:
KIOS FM showed Omaha Table Talk some love and interviewed our Programs and Faculty Manager Dominic Green about our Poverty and Living Wage discussion. Check it out here.
We're in the market...for a new website
We thought it was time for a makeover, so we're inviting interested parties to submit proposals for a redesign of our website. The request for proposals is active now and closes on March 10, 2021.
Change… “to replace something with something else that is newer or better; to substitute one thing for another.” Some people fear it or avoid it at all cost. Others have laid down their lives while attempting to secure our nation's commitment to liberty and justice for all. One thing is for sure Change is inevitable.
Recently I was reading a devotional that spoke of the principles of change. The story was narrated from a teacher-student perspective. The teacher was standing by a large rock in the shape of a wheel. In ancient times it could be used to seal the entrance of a tomb. The teacher encouraged the student to move the stone. After several attempts the stone did not budge. The encouraging teacher suggested one more good push, just a little more, to the exhausted student. With one more push, the stone rolled just a little. The teacher then asked, “what did that show you?” The student responded, “that I am out of shape.”
The teacher replied, “You were seeking to move an object at rest. It was a new action and required new momentum. You had to concentrate all your strength and power into moving it just a few inches into a smaller space to get things moving, a new law of momentum had to be established.” You may ask how this applies to us? Simply said, change means a new action, a new motion, a new direction, a new perspective, a new momentum, a first step.
As I reflect on Black History Month and the vast achievements of African American men and women, it was their first steps that led to their next steps which drove the momentum of innovation and the Civil Rights Movement. Many were unknown and often worked behind the scenes. Black Americans and their like-minded allies walked side by side to end institutionalized systemic racism and discrimination within our nation. They were the change agents of the civil rights movement. Small actions can create big impacts as noted from the timetable of the Civil Rights Movement: 1954: Brown v. Board of Education;1955: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott;1957: The Little Rock Nine and the Little Rock Central High School Integration;1960:The Greensboro Four and the Sit-In Movement;1960: Ruby Bridges and the New Orleans School Integration;1961: Freedom Rides;1963: Birmingham Demonstrations;1963: March on Washington;1964: Civil Rights Act;1965: Assassination of Malcolm X;1965: Selma-Montgomery March;1965: Watts Riots;1966: Black Panther Party founded;1967: Loving v. Virginia;1967: Detroit Riot;1968: Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Like our forerunners of change, focus your energy into the first step and apply the law of new momentum putting everything you have into it, step by step. Becoming change agents of the future by “Getting into good trouble, necessary trouble” -Rep. John Lewis.
Robbie Q. Summers, Continuity and Sustainability Manager at Inclusive Communities
