Welcome

As essential as political activism is to stimulate change and challenge the dominant cultural narrative, it is ultimately storytelling that changes hearts. Over and over, we see that it is the movie, the book, the raconteur who captures the attention and elicits curiosity. And it is in the fertile ground of curiosity, of interest in another’s experience where the seeds of empathy take root. Once we have compassion for those we consider different, we can begin to listen to their stories. And the storytelling expands in ever widening circles. It is the genius in the Truth and Reconciliation process. Healing requires that the story be taken in through genuine listening. And then change becomes possible. 

Faith’s Reckoning is a storyteller’s book, with the long breath and flowing cadence of a Southern voice. I hope the book, and this blog, will invite the reader to explore the painful legacy of slavery, to question how reparation for racial injustice is possible. But I also hope we can find respite in some of the other themes of the book, such as sensual nature of the South. The tastes, the way a summer day stretches toward infinity, the music that sets a soul to moving. And to enjoy learning about the history of the Pullman Porters and their pivotal role in the Civil Rights movement. So I suggest we read W.E.B. DuBois The Souls of Black Folk. I especially love the first and last chapters, Of Our Spiritual Strivings and Of the Sorrow Songs. Let’s start there. 

Until next time….