Reflections on Racial Equity this Lent
by Barbara Wysocki
After 2020's many compelling events including the death of George Floyd, 26 parishioners gathered virtually this past fall to learn about our nation's history and current concerns about racial inequity. We met for ten weeks during ZOOM sessions. These workshops were developed by JustFaith Ministries, a national, ecumenical Christian faith-based justice education organization located in Lexington, KY. They work in conjunction with United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services.
Our parish sessions were facilitated by Tom Sacerdote and Claire Dalidowitz. Together we read and discussed three books: White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown and 40 Days of Prayer: For the Liberation of American Descendents of Slavery by Cheri L. Mills. We also viewed national and local video covering topics such as racial identities, as well as inequities in education, incarceration, healthcare, housing and employment. All of this was set in the context of catholic teaching on social justice. While it is not possible to relate all we discussed, a few participants kindly shared their thoughts.
My first thought on all that we learned in this racial series is that it is all overwhelming. There is so much information that we are trying to absorb. It is like we took a 10 week journey to another planet where we did not know the history of the people who lived there. As we are learning the history for the first time we are shocked, we are saddened, we are in disbelief that this mistreatment of entire groups of people could have occurred and that no one did anything about it.
As white people are raised in a white world, they have a deep seated blindness to the actual plight and lives of black Americans living under a heavily, racially conditioned and influenced reality that limits and disadvantages them in a wide range of ways based on skin color. Lynchings are heinous crimes against humanity. And the really disturbing thing is that they were carried out in this country by Americans.
I found it amazing how pervasive racism has been from the beginning of our country to the present. We began with slavery followed by reconstruction. That was followed by Jim Crow laws and redlining. Today it is housing zoning rules. I think we need reparations, but not by payment to individuals. We need to repair the schools damaged by racism.
I have always believed that guilt is a non-productive emotion that robs us of the embrace of God’s love. My lack of knowledge and understanding is no longer a barrier. I pray God will guide me to move forward in wisdom and compassion and perhaps bring others on this journey.
For workshop participants, this is one step in our community's journey as a parish that is "unwaveringly committed to social justice and a compassionate outreach to all." We continue to reflect on the words we heard from poet Maya Angelou, “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
