Our communities are convulsing with grief.  It is a grief expressed as rage and despair, born of centuries of traumatic injustice, devastating greed, and complicit silence.  While we do not each claim to share in the suffering such lived experience wreaks, we know the wounds of our own traumas and losses, and as fellow humans we affirm your inherent dignity and mourn the unjust loss of life and crushing absence of daily peace caused by the systemic racism that permeates our nation’s civic, cultural, economic and academic institutions.  

We know that a few words of solidarity will do little to ease your burden.  We seek to hold space with you to acknowledge and honor your grief, your loss, your suffering.  

You are seen.  You are loved.  You are worthy. 

 

We kneel with you. 

        We stand with you. 

                We march with you. 

 

We weep with you

        We rage with you.

                We yearn with you.  

 

And while we have no simple answers to address the current suffering, we have learned from our own limited experiences that “if you don’t transform your suffering, you’ll transmit it.” (Richard Rohr)  To that end, we would like to offer resources for transformation and highlight those among us doing this important work.  To remember the nearly 9 minutes that George Floyd was mercilessly held down, we will share these resources for the next 9 weeks in the hopes that others might be lifted up.  Many of these resources are specific, actionable ideas primarily supporting an antiracist approach to life and will be most helpful to those willing to acknowledge their own space for growth in this area.   May they equip you to join us as co-conspirators, allies, and peacemakers.

We hope this blog will allow us to share valuable resources, spotlights and insight to promote social change in your community.