*Pulling over my car to weep while listening to the audio book of A Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. Tears. Heaviness. Overwhelmed. Grief.
*Walking through the Lynching Memorial and the Peace and Justice Museum in Montgomery, AL, walking over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL, with my neighbors from Iowa, experiencing the intensity and the actions of the oppressor and the oppressed through time in the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Walking through the National Underground Railroad Freedom Museum in Cincinnati with friends. Tears. Heaviness. Overwhelmed. Grief.
*Kneeling in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and considering the depth and levels of dehumanization present in a man's mind that he could casually have his hand in his pocket and his eyes resolutely looking into a camera while George Floyd begged for his life under the weight of the officer's knee on his neck. Tears. Heaviness. Overwhelmed. Grief.
*Being asked by a black friend, "Do you ever cry tears over this injustice, trauma, and racism?" after we listened to John Perkins describe being tortured in a Brandon, Mississippi jail in 1970. Tears. Heaviness. Overwhelmed. Grief.
*Listening to Richard Twiss tell attendees at a CCDA conference about history from a Native American perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGw7AU6VDOs Tears. Heaviness. Overwhelmed. Grief.
Racial Oppression works in such a way to try to keep the oppressing people group from feeling compassion and empathy for the oppressed. Racism has organized for 400 years to dehumanize, criminalize, blame, and internalize the idea of inferiority of the oppressed. Racism has also organized for 400 years to internalize the idea of superiority of the oppressor and to keep the oppressing group in denial, defensiveness, and justification.
Deconstructing and dismantling racism is more than an intellectual effort. Yes, justice is needed and laws and policies have to be changed. Yes, critical thinking and education is an absolute must. Yes, we need to create different structures going forward so that we don't maintain and perpetuate racist systems. But, we must also feel the feels. And they will be uncomfortable feels. The emotional world must be integrated into the work for peace and justice.
What hooks you emotionally as you listen and learn about racism? What feelings can you identify? Who can you talk with about these emotions? What opportunities for healing and growth are you finding through this journey?
Resource: Pete Scazzero's "Emotionally Healthy Leader" Podcast this past week (June 15, 2020) is "Why We Must Learn to Grieve to Address Racial Injustice" It is 30 minutes long, and I recommend this podcast, as it talks about the necessity of grieving for healing and growth.
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