Where do we go from here?
The disciples on the road to Emmaus encountered the risen Jesus as they walked (Luke 23:13-35). They were so absorbed in their problems that they did not recognize Jesus among them. Our lives are a journey with places along the road where we encounter the risen Jesus in and through the eyes of all those we encounter along the way. The disciples’ eyes were opened as Jesus taught them, and then took bread with them. Our eyes will also be opened when we are willing to be taught and to break bread with the strangers who live among us.
As children of God traveling the same road on this journey that is life, all are at different places in life. There are those who live in homogenous communities where they rarely encounter individuals who do not look like them. There are those who are in mixed communities, consider themselves as finished with the work against racism, and see no reason to work anymore at changing the world. Yet there is the call to be ever mindful of the need to be engaged regardless of the experience or the time given to learning and being aware of race, because racism mutates.
There is work for all to do
There is much to be changed in global racial dialogue which begins with the need to engage this issue of race based on where individuals are, realizing there is work for all to do. Incidents of structural racism are rising in the U.S. even as explicit intrapersonal racism may be declining, for many of the policies and practices that produce disparities appears “race-neutral,” but they impact non-Whites disadvantageously.
Hate crimes continue to be present among us and abroad. Young men and women continue to be unfairly and unjustly incarcerated because of the color of their skin. Mothers and fathers are still denied the right to a proper education for their children because of their race and where they live. Parents are denied the right to care for their children because of immigration status.
We are a society of inequities, where we claim justice, but no justice abounds for many. Our conversations must continue based on where we are on this journey.
A call to action
In this next stage of Sacred Conversation on Race, there is a call to action beyond the scope of the many discussions we will have, as we look carefully at the intersections of race and many social issues (criminal justice, sentencing, medical care, education, immigration, economics, etc.), and advocate for those who have less than we do, are underrepresented and experience marginalization based on the color of their skin.
There is a call for individuals to reflect on where they are and actively engage in the continuum which does not bring us to a place of finality, but places us on a track of life-long learning and discovery of where we are at and how we can help make a difference in seeing racial justice for all. The call to conversation is not passive, but an active call to care and concern for all.