Today's #WednesdayWord comes from Joan Nelson...in the form of a letter/prayer.
Beloved friends,
In a country which has not yet reached the mountain top, this week we honor the leadership, teachings and sacrifice of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and see a transition of our Federal leadership. My heart goes out to all people of color who have and continue to suffer under the cruelty of racism and colonialism, but especially to Black Americas, who suffer from our heritage of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, mass incarceration, police violence, white privilege and more.
May our country stand free from Trump’s despotic grasp and face the reality of how close we came to unspeakable crimes. May we hold accountable those who would harm our country and any of its people.
May we look in the ugly face of racism and see in it the lies that cover a reality even the haters could not bear to own.
May those of us who wish to think of ourselves as above or separate from the ugliness of our system of racial discrimination, subordination and control find ways we can make a difference.
May we examine the excuses we have bought into that camouflage the painful reality experienced by our Black brothers and sisters… and our mixed-race children and grandchildren.
May we take a good look at the policies and practices of institutions around us and open doors of opportunity, encouragement and mentoring.
May we individually and as groups find ways to help persons in our community overcome centuries of intergenerational disadvantage.
May we reach out hands of friendship and love, acknowledging the amazing gifts and insights of people we have had little opportunity to know… people who know us, who have been hurt by our ignorance and misunderstanding of them and by our blindness and inaction relative to the policies and practices that limit their success in life and, indeed, threaten their lives, and who, yet, are so willing to forgive us.
May God bless us as individuals, as communities of faith and as a country as we embark on this path of self-discovery, transformation and healing.
With love and respect, Joan Nelson
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