Action and Healing

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity."
- Amelia Earhart

"The love of the family, the love of the person can heal. It heals the scars left by a larger society. A massive, powerful society."
- Maya Angelou

Over the past week, personal statements against racism have sprouted like spring dandelions in the windows of my browser. From Joe Biden to the Rock, NFL to Ben and Jerry, organizations have either leapt or been pushed to make statements against systemic racism and specific racist acts in this country. At a personal level, I've been moved by my cousin's participation in New York City protests via bike, foot and surfboard.  Our neighborhood staged a mini-rally at the local park, and our high school principal sent a personal and thoughtful message to the student body and their families.

Daniel and William came with me to the rally at Willow Creek Park, which was attended by 150-200 masked individuals of all ages and backgrounds. The crowd proceeded slowly around the green space, periodically stopping to let bikers through or to acknowledge the cheers and supportive honks of passing cars. "Black Lives Matter" signs and "Think, then Vote" slogans bobbed above our heads as we chatted with neighbors and collected flyers recommending books, movies and websites to deepen our understanding.

Most moving were the comments after our parade. A young black woman spoke of how emotional the past month has been for her as she acknowledged for the first time the pain of racist comments and actions that she had previously swept under the rug. She said the first racist incident occurred when she was six, in first grade, when her white seat-mate refused to share books with her because she was black.  Her two small children clung to her legs as she thanked us for being present, for dealing with the truth of America's racism and for trying to do better. The group's (white) organizer spoke to her children afterward, telling them and all children of color present "they matter, they are important, they are loved." The two women embraced in the middle of our circle and my boys were silent and thoughtful as my sunglasses mysteriously watered.

Our principal's message, too, ventured into the deeply personal. Though our high school has made efforts to embrace diversity and create equal experiences for all students, Mr. Silva acknowledged that his incoming daughter would face different summer and school year experiences than her good friend, also an incoming freshman, who is black.  The young man has chosen to stay home over the past month, seeing friends only in an environment that he can control. He and his parents have determined that even casual trips to the gas station store or ice cream with friends could be fraught with peril.

Listening to the experiences of people of color and to the introspective admissions of friends and relatives about their guilt and angst and determination to do better has moved me to do more. My children and I have new books to read and discuss. We have new organizations to sponsor and new legislative priorities to support with our local representatives. We have new friends and neighbors to get to know - and to start to love. Loving actions done with tenacity can hopefully lead to healing.