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Thank you for sharing in what Chip called, ‘A Soul Ache,’ last Thursday evening. We were all feeling it and came together to listen and ask ourselves what can I do to stop racism? Many perspectives were shared. Deep appreciation to our MEA Alums Eric Johnson, Bruce Dixon, Linda Grubbs and Masharika Maddison and guest speaker Barbara Vacarr for sharing their words of wisdom around how we can harness our personal transformation experiences and practices as tools for social revolution and impact to protect vulnerable populations.
Here are the highlights…
1. Eric Johnson: “When you ask a better question, you get a better answer. When you get a better answer, you get a better result. I invite you to ask yourself a better question and that is, Why would a police officer, a white police officer, lynch an unarmed, handcuffed, black man on a public street in front of witnesses, all the while knowing his act of murder is being video recorded so that others can see? When we can answer this question, the solution for what we can do will come to the surface and be evident.”
2. Bruce Dixon: “The biggest surprise, I wasn’t surprised. This is a narrative I’ve grown accustomed to. A narrative that has repeated itself for many years. I didn’t feel hate for the perpetrators, rather deep sadness for everyone involved. I practice loving kindness.”
3. Barbara Vacarr: “I haven’t been this hopeful in quite some time… What we need to own is that humans have designed systems of oppression and they have been maintained and sustained by human beings. It will take humans to dismantle those system and to acknowledge they do not exist separately from us. The one’s with privilege should take those risks to dismantle the systems now.”
4. Linda Grubb: “You have to really reach out to those of us that are other, just say hello, we want to be seen, engaged and acknowledged to make us feel inclusive.” Linda suggested a good read, “The White Fragility” by Robin Diangelo. The book provides an Inside look to the kinds of things people of color deal with on a day to day basis. “In this moment, saying something as simple as I am here and I stand with you is powerful.”
5. And let’s not forget David, tearing up, “What I have control over is my mind and I can choose to go into the world with openness, optimism and curiosity. To me, the change happens in little bits at a time. It’s a lot of people doing little stuff to make a BIG change.”
We’ll be back in two weeks with a surprise guest on Thursday, June 18 at 5:00pm PT.
If you have any feedback to our programming or any questions, please reach out: partners@agei.st. See you in two weeks!
Until then, remain optimistic,
David + Chip
