I traveled to Accra, Ghana in August of 2023. I recently interviewed the people who traveled with me on the Black and Abroad Tour. I also asked a friend to interview me. Before I release these interviews, I’m sharing their insights on my blog. Here are our comments on what surprised us about Ghana. Personally, I’d heard so many things about Africa. I didn’t know quite what to expect.
When I went to get my required Yellow Fever vaccine, the Montgomery County Health Department nurse told me not to drink the water. This worried me, but actually once in Ghana I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have any problem drinking as much clean water as I wanted, and I do drink a lot of water. Our hotel filtered their water at the buffet where we ate breakfast every morning. They provided bottled water in our rooms and also on our tour bus.
Another surprise came when we visited a memorial to Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. A book I read in preparation praised him for his early days in office, but faulted him for becoming a socialist dictator which led to a coup. Our tour guide told a different story. He explained that President Nkrumah focused on education and health care for all, building the infrastructure needed for industrialization and also claimed the natural resources for the people. This upset the American corporations who wanted control of the natural resources of Ghana. He told us they helped engineer the coup — a completely different story!
My fellow traveler, Selena Singletary, who had been to Africa before, didn’t have any big surprises, but told me she appreciated the whole experience of being there. My husband, Steve Schlather, did some research in advance, so he wasn’t too surprised either, except for the size and population of Accra with a population of 2.7 million people. However, my other traveling companions, found more surprise in Ghana.
Diane Sanders told me that what surprised her the most is that what is portrayed in our American media about Africa is not the total truth. She said she often sees appeals for money to help the children with pictures and videos of starving children with big bellies and flies around. But, she said, the capital of Ghana was a huge city, much like any capital city in the United States. And there we stayed in a five star hotel. Gauging from what she’d seen in the media, she wouldn’t imagine they even had a five star hotel.
Diane’s son, Cleavon Blair (Blair), agreed with his mom. Especially he said that the things we hear in the United States about Ghana and other African nations simply aren’t true. One example he gave was how welcoming the people were there. He’s still in contact with many people he meant there.
Blair explained that for him, as a person of color living in the United States or any of the Western nations, there’s always this a backdrop of stress that’s on him. Once in Ghana, getting there, getting off the plane, walking through the airport and arriving at the hotel something felt totally different.
Blair describes himself as somewhat of a snob. He likes to stay in the nicest places possible when he travels. He works hard for his money and he wants good experiences. In this country or other Western nations, as a person of color walking into a new place, he always knows racism will come, whether it’s direct or subtle. He didn’t have any of that in Ghana. He said it was a pleasant surprise and a good feeling. Blair said, “It allowed me to relax in the way I’ve never relaxed a day in my life.”
Adora and Keita also talked about the surprises they found in Africa. They noted that while their African American ancestors were enslaved, the Africans remaining in Africa were colonized, so both experienced trauma at the hands of the Europeans.
They have been told lies such as Africans don’t like African Americans. They experienced none of that in Africa. In fact the Ghanaians were actually kind and loving toward them. Keita said he’s experienced the same love from a Ghanian neighbor here in the US. Once he was putting some furniture together in his backyard shortly after moving in and a brother came over to ask if he could help.
Keita said, “So it’s not just the land. It’s not just the air or not just the food, it’s the people. And it’s obvious wherever they go, they’re the same. They were welcoming and loving to me and they didn’t have to be. We felt that same spirit when we got to the motherland. They were just so loving and welcoming to us everywhere we went. Everybody was so good to us. I didn’t feel afraid. I was not scared.”
Unlike here, where Keita explained, “I feel afraid every day of my life for 60 some years here in the United States, every single day.”
Adora added, “We have all these grandchildren and I fear for my grandsons and my great-grandsons, every day.”
Keita also said, “I did not sense at any time that we were in any danger or under threat from the police. That’s a fear here in America. I got locks in my hair. I’m not really big in stature, but, amazingly, whenever I have been stopped by the police here in America, it’s always been some drama. They always call about six or seven squad cars just for little old me. So I didn’t experience that fear. If I get emotional on this interview, I apologize, but wasn’t scared of the police in Ghana.”
“In Ghana,” Keita said, “I wasn’t scared of of any white supremacist coming out of the woods. I finally had found a place where I could be at peace.”
They explained that in America, they (African Americans) are still enslaved. We just don’t know we are. It’s redlining and the police, always something that’s happening. We just call it different stuff, but it’s never the same for us as for anybody else. Never.”
Adora said, “Yes, to go there and see the grandmothers (because I’m a great grandmother), and to see the older women very respected was something else again. Because here in this country older people were not really respected. And also you don’t expect to see elders living long lives. But there they said in some of the villages we visited that the elders live to 126 years. They live older because they’re living off the land, eating healthy food. The entire village takes care of the elders, yeah. That’s amazing.
“There were a lot of positive things that we don’t have here in the United States.” Keita said, “There was the best food ever for me. We felt better. We felt healthier. Our life was different, the food was doing some other things. Should I say that? And our everything and our our whole being, if you know what I mean, our whole being was different. Our husband and wife being, if you know what I mean. It was just something else again.”
Stay tuned to learn more about our trip. My next blog will be about the highlights of the trip for us all. Follow me on YouTube to listen to the interviews as they are posted.
As you may be aware, I traveled to Ghana in August of 2023. Recently I interviewed the five people who traveled with me on the Black and Abroad Tour to the capital of Ghana, Accra. Now, I want to share their stories with you as I prepare to release the interviews with them.
My friend, Chebrya Jeffrey, also interviewed me about the trip and I explained to her that I wanted to go to Africa to do research. As an author, I wrote a novel to explore race and political division. I believe that we’re all in this together, and as a Christian, I think we need to come together as a country and I want to write for justice, to plant seeds for change.
When I pitched the novel to my publisher, I promised to write three books. One about Ireland —Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle (All Things That Matter Press), a second about the Sea Islands, and a third about West Africa. To write that third novel, I needed to visit West Africa. When my friend Selena Singletary told me she was going to Ghana and that the trip would include the Cape Coast Castle, I told her that was where I wanted to go. She told me, “You should come, too,” and I did.
My travel companions chose to visit Ghana for other reasons. Here are their reasons.
My husband, Steve Schlather, joined me on the trip. He said, “My wife was going to Ghana and I wanted to go with her. I had never been to Africa. I was interested in seeing at least something in Africa. I didn’t have a particular interest in Ghana, but it seemed like a reasonable place to go. I looked into the tour group, the Black and Abroad group that Nancy arranged the trip through, and they seemed like they had a really good program, so I thought it’d be interesting.”
Another fellow traveler, Diane Sanders, said that she watched a guy on YouTube who talked a lot about black history, mainly where and how slavery started. This man decided to travel to all 54 countries on the continent of Africa and thought all Blacks who could, should also do this. You can watch this videos on his YouTube channel at: GoBlack2Africa54.
Diane explained that this man visited Ghana in 2019, the Year of Return. That year, the the President of Ghana invited descendants of slaves, the African diaspora, to return to Africa. As Diane watched many famous Black people visiting Ghana in his 2019 videos. They inspired her to visit Ghana, as well.
Diane’s son, Cleavon Blair (Blair), planned to visit Tanzania. But then his mother shared the GoBlack2Africa videos. She told him, “We should go to Ghana.” Blair agreed. In our interview he told me, “It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Another fellow traveler was Selena Singletary, my former boss at the City of Springfield, Ohio. She told me, “As you know, I like to travel. I was talking to Diane Sanders some time ago about traveling and she mentioned about going to Ghana. And I go like, OK, that sounds great.” Selena also said she wanted to go with a friend, to see a different culture, a different country, and to be immersed in another land other than the US. In addition, she went because of her curiosity and the appeal of Africa as her motherland.
Finally, the couple (Adora and Keita Thompson) who traveled with us had this to say. First Adora said, “I want to go to find my home. I know that United States is not my home, so I want to see people that look like me. Also, Eric (Black and Abroad Tour Company owner) is a very good friend of ours. So we said, when you go, we’re going… And so we went.”
Keita said, “Africa is my mother, and so, more than anything else, I’ve wanted to go to Africa. I’ve been a few times on business, but this was strictly for the soul connection, getting back to my mom, getting back home, touching the hearts and minds and the souls of my people. So that’s what really motivated us and doing it together as one, with Adora.”
In future blogs I will tell you more about what I learned in these interviews with fellow travelers. Follow this blog and my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@nancyflinchbaugh for future postings.
I am going to Africa, and I want to invite you to come along. I planned this trip to learn about Ghana and the slave trade. I want to learn about the heritage of the Gullah people, about these people who were forcibly removed from their homelands to make money for southern plantation owners in the United State of America. It’s an important part of our history.
I’m also going to fulfill my commitment to All Things That Matter Press to write another sequel to my novel they published last year, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle. I’ve almost finished the first sequel, Revelation on the Sea Island, which explores the Gullah people through the eyes of the Magnificent and Marvelous Book Club, and their group home fellow travelers. The next book will emerge from this trip.
I’m going for one week. That seems inadequate on so many levels, but it is what is and I want to make the most of it. I decided today, I will blog about it to share my experiences, so that all of the money I’m spending might have some enduring value.
Some of my Facebook friends tell me they follow my daily escapades and travels. I like to take pictures. I like to celebrate people, experiences and nature. If you are my Facebook friend, you would know what I mean. Somebody recently told me, “You know we live vicariously through you, Nancy.” So, that gave me the idea to take you along on an adventure to the Old World, to the continent of Africa, to learn and explore. Let’s do together!
Today I’ve been reading a little book, The History of Ghana:From Ashanti to Accra by Adeoye Adekunle. My friend, Holly Wolfe, our local reference librarian purchased this for my husband and me. When she couldn’t find the right book in our library, she ordered one from Amazon, paying for it herself. Talk about going above and beyond! Thank you, Holly!
The book is perfect – with only 115 pages it condenses centuries of West African history into a quick read, with descriptions of some of the places our tour will visit. As I read, I try to fathom how such evil could take place. In the region now Ghana, millions of people were kidnapped, imprisoned in the slave castles on the coast then shipped to the New World like cattle.
I remember studying African civilization as a religion major in college, and again when studying history to become a social studies teacher. I even taught some of this history while student teaching. But now the history comes alive in a new way. I cry not only about what happened then, but for how it impacts Africans today, and all Americans. This is what I want to understand and explore.
I also want to experience the beauty and goodness of the Ghanaian African culture. I’m looking forward to eating, feasting with my eyes, appreciating the art and dancing! Our Black and Abroad Tour Company just sent playlists of Ghanian music on Spotify. As listen, it sounds strangely familiar as I suspect the Africans shared their music now expressed in the reggae, soul and the blues music on the American scene.
Do you think churches are becoming irrelevant? I hear this a lot. I know that many people find other things to do on Sunday morning. But me, I still believe. My church, my faith journey helps me so much to respond the challenges in our often difficult and changing world.
One thing I’m very concerned about is climate change. I think this is one of the biggest things on God’s agenda, too. What is more important than protecting this amazing environment on which we all depend for life? I want to tell you about a religious organization working on this, the very relevant and awesome Blessed Tomorrow.
Blessed Tomorrow is a coalition of diverse religious partners united as faithful stewards of God´s creation. Their mission is to inspire action on one of the greatest moral challenges of our era: climate change. Through Blessed Tomorrow, faith leaders work to reach 100% clean energy, prepare for a changing climate, and engage their communities, while maintaining the distinct voices of their traditions. They are committed to EcoAmerica’s vision and mission.
They recruit and train Blessed Tomorrow Climate Ambassadors. My husband and I took their online four-hour Climate Ambassador training recently. Listening to their educational presentations, I loved learning that many people of faith are working to protect God’s creation. I’m grateful to this organization for building a network and equipping us with resources to speak out and take action.
We are working in our local church as climate ambassadors where we became a Creation Justice congregation last year. You can hear a little about what we’re doing on this video. Creation Justice at FBC. We are exploring things we can do in our individual lives, in our church, in our community and in our governments to build a Blessed Tomorrow.
Somebody asked me to write a post about why I wrote Mariah of the Wind, so I’m thinking about that today. I keep writing books because I believe that God is still speaking. I believe God speaks through us. I believe God and I write together. We are writing important things for people to hear today.
Every morning, I begin the day in God’s presence in meditation, and then I write. I let my book unfold as I write, rather than plotting it out. I wanted to celebrate the beauty of God’s creation, and to speak up again about climate change.
I started this book with a young woman, Mariah, who loves the Earth like I do. You’ll see her walking among autumn trees, taking fall leaves back to the diner to share with her customers. You’ll watch her twirl through the winter snow. You’ll see her planting seeds in the greenhouse, and later transplanting them into the ground in spring. You’ll accompany her as she enjoys spring wildflowers, tulips and daffodils. Later, comes summer. I wanted to celebrate the miraculous transformations of the seasons with my words.
She meets a grieving wind scientist, a target of a troll from the fossil fuel industry. And the story continued to unfold from there, during the pandemic.
As a Christian, I believe I am called to be a good steward of the Earth. I invested all the time to write, rewrite and edit this book to join the cacophony of voices calling us to change our ways, move away from fossil fuel use and take better care of God’s miraculous creation.
One of my early reviewers started her review saying, “if you like happy endings, you’ll like this book.” I have to admit that I do like happy endings. I choose to remain hopeful. But as the Catholic priest, Thomas Berry, once wrote, we live in the Ecozoic Age in which we must come to terms with our relationship with Earth. We must make needed changes now.
Some of my readers tell me this is my best book yet. I hope you’ll read it and enjoy it and that it will inspire you to love and care for God’s magnificent creation!
You can read more about it on my website with links to purchase at: http://www.spiritualseedlings.com/mariah-of-the-wind/
In these troubled times, talking about race may bring sighs of relief or shouts of anger. For people of color who experience racism every day, more talk may bring hope, after much silence. But for white people, some get very upset talking about racism, and they also don’t want any discussion in the schools.
Some questions I wonder about are: Why is this so hard right now? Why are white people so angry, when they are the ones who benefit from racism? What would Jesus have to say about this?
First, why is this so hard? I think several things make this hard. One, our current political reality involves so much rhetoric and division. Two, racism is often invisible to white people who don’t experience it. Much of the institutionalized racism that creates disparity in how people are treated by criminal justice systems, by our schools, and by our financial institutions is subtle and difficult to see. Until images of George Floyd being asphyxiated to death by a policeman’s knee on his neck flooded our television screens, many white people doubted that racism still exists. Third, perhaps some don’t want racism to be dismantled.
Now, let’s look at the next question. Why are white people upset when talking about race? What I’ve experienced in diversity workshops is that white people become defensive and uncomfortable talking about race, because they feel accused. They usually don’t think they’ve done anything wrong, yet are being blamed for racism in our society. Some things they might say are: “I’m not racist,” “I believe we are all the same,” “I’m color blind, when it comes to race,” “I didn’t have anything to do with slavery,” “It’s not my fault,” “I believe everyone should be treated equally.”
On the one hand, I agree with these statements. And if we look to the scientific community, they assert that race is a social construct. It does not make sense as a genetic classification. Human gene diversity is attributed to geographical and environmental realities. The color of the skin results from the environment in various geographical regions.
American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois spoke against the idea of race as a biological explanation for what he understood to be social and cultural differences between different populations of people, (The Souls of Black Folk, Penguin Press, 1903). Others point out that race theory was developed by those selling slaves to justify the use of Africans as chattel.
Scientists confirm what Du Bois wrote over a hundred years ago, when they tell us that there is very little difference in the human race, genetically. In an article “Unraveling the Human Genome: 6 Molecular Milestones”, published in the journal Science (2/4/13), four scholars say racial categories are weak proxies for genetic diversity and need to be phased out. Svante Pääbo, a biologist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, explains: “What the study of complete genomes from different parts of the world has shown is that even between Africa and Europe, for example, there is not a single absolute genetic difference, meaning no single variant where all Africans have one variant and all Europeans another one, even when recent migration is disregarded. It is all a question of differences in how frequent different variants are on different continents and in different regions.”
And yet, our history is replete with social and political actions in which race determines how people are treated. In the United States, the mistreatment of Africans as slaves continued for 300 years, followed by the Emancipation Proclamation, only to lead to Jim Crow laws, keeping African Americans as second-class citizens. Eventually, the Civil Rights Movement led to integrated schools and laws protecting people from discrimination in employment, housing and finance. Yet, years of abuse make it difficult for African-Americans as a whole to take advantage of the opportunities offered to whites in our culture.
As a Christian, I don’t think that racism is permissible, according to the teachings of Jesus. Jesus prayed that we might all be one. He taught to love your neighbor as yourself, and to illustrate, told the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. It seems clear to me that Jesus told us to love and refuse to treat others with racism. I also believe it’s important to teach the truth about our history and to teach children to not discriminate.
As a white person in America, I also feel a responsibility to take action to try to end racism. I choose to talk about it, so we can work to change the situation.
As an author, I work to incorporate the issues of our day into my writing. My most recent novel, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle, (All Things That Matter Press, 2022), explores mixed roots in this melting pot of America. Some of the white characters learn they have African DNA, while some of the African-American characters learn they have Irish DNA. The story explores our racial and political divisions on a tour of Ireland, lifting up the teachings of Jesus to love another.
I think it’s so important to talk about race and see what we can do together to bring about a more just society. What are your thoughts on talking about race?
“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5: 21-24 NRSV)
Jesus sets the bar high for Christians when it comes to anger, name-calling and conflict. In this passage, part of his “Sermon on the Mount”, he offers his followers guidelines and suggests harsh punishment for those who don’t measure up. He tells us anger will get us judgement, while insulting another person leads to appearing before the council and/or the hell of fire. He instructs that before we offer our gifts to God, we should first be reconciled with our brother and sisters.
What I’m wondering today is how Christians read this passage. Particularly, I’m thinking about the two-party system in the United States. Our political scene has reduced many Christian people to anger, name-calling and ongoing conflict with those in the other party. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, I encourage you to ask yourself and your leaders whether you are following in the footsteps of Jesus in this regard.
I think that the polarization that has occurred is judgment unfolding in our modern times, even as I write. The anger and insults in our political process are leading to a colossal logjam in our federal governing process. Neither party seems able to cooperate enough with the other to get the needed business done.
Most of us are aware of this problem. Most of us also throw our hands up in despair, believing that there is nothing to be done to stop the problem. We stay comfortable in our own political perspective, which we know is correct, while the other perspective is dead wrong. Many churches solidify this kind of thinking when they promote one or the other political party.
One of the principles on which our country was founded is religious freedom. To maintain this freedom, there must be a separation between church and state. Yet in many cases, churches have become rubber stamps for some politicians. As nonprofit organizations, churches must maintain a high standard of not endorsing political candidates.
In some churches, membership in one political party or the other is expected. I’m aware of friends who prefer evangelical churches where their Democratic party membership is not accepted. Likewise, more progressive churches may frown on Republican party membership.
Do you think that when we maintain a posture of anger, name-calling and entrenched conflict with members of a differing political party, we are refusing to follow in the way of Jesus? If so, what would it look like to be reconciled with those in a differing political party before we offer our gits to God?
One of the issues that deeply concerns me is climate change. As I write this, in Ohio, where I live, we are currently experiencing the warmest December on record. Christmas Day brought downpours instead of our dreams of a white Christmas. Two weeks earlier, Kentucky experienced the most destructive storm in their history when a tornado, over 200 miles wide, destroyed buildings and houses in its path. During 2021, wildfires burned in the west, decimating forests and buildings in California, Oregon and Washington. I could go on, but the reality of our changing climate is wreaking havoc with our planet, making it increasingly unfriendly for humans and other living beings.
Sometimes, I see this as a form of judgment on all of us. God gifted us with an incredible planet, a miraculous place that evolved over billions of years. And now, in just a few hundred years since the industrial revolution, we are quickly on a collision course with God’s creation. Human activity creates the changing climate. 99% of scientists are in agreement about this and most of us also know this now.
For the past 10 years, I’ve been a member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a group working to influence our government to address climate change. The one thing they know is that this must be a bipartisan solution. With our divided political system, a solution recommended by only one side or the other is doomed to fail. Anger, name-calling and insults will not solve the problem. No, the only way we will solve this problem is if we can be reconciled with one another, across party lines, and work together.
The clock is ticking on climate change. In the United States, I think that God is calling us to follow Jesus and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters so that we can address this problem together.
I wrote my book, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle, with the need for this reconciliation in mind. The story ends at a peace center in Northern Ireland where the characters find common ground and reconciliation with each other, despite their differing political views.
Who is looking for a second chance in my novel? Well, mainly you’ll find members of the Magnificent and Marvelous (the MAMs) Book Club’s group homes seeking to turn over a new leaf. Reagan, a white nurse in recovery got hooked on opioids after a bad traffic accident. She stole drugs from the hospital where she worked to support her habit. When caught, she lost her job and got sent to rehab for three months. And another character is Welby, an African-American, went to prison for five years after being pulled over for a traffic stop, with drugs in his glove compartment.
As the book begins, Reagan arrives at the MAMs recovery group home for women: the FARM (Farming and Restoring with the MAMs). Welby moves into the MAMs Sun Power House for men in recovery where they learn to install solar panels.
I think it’s very important to give people a second chance, and even more. As I read Jesus’ teachings, he sets the bar very high on forgiveness and second chances. He tells us to forgive not once, but 70 times 7. (Matthew 18:15-20) When a woman is caught in adultery and the people want to stone her, he suggests whoever is without sin should cast the first stone. (John 8: 1-11) In other words, we all sin. We all need mercy.
When I visited the Big Island of Hawaii several years ago, I was impressed with the Place of Refuge, now a tourist site, it once provided a place of restoration for those who made mistakes, committed crimes or what we might call sin. If they visited the site, and swam in they could be absolved of their wrongdoing. They were cleansed and could return home with a clean slate and a second chance to begin again.
In what ways do we provide second chances for people in our society? When they have served time in prison, do we really give them a second chance, or do we stigmatize them with labels that make it difficult to change? If someone has a history of drug abuse or alcoholism, do we encourage them to heal and welcome them into our churches?
Much of the rhetoric of “getting tough on crime” is touted by Christian groups that perhaps have forgotten the message of the gospel. How do we build second chances? Are our churches at the forefront of welcoming those in recovery and re-entry? If not, how can we all get more involved in this work?
As a Christian, the racial divide in the Christian church disturbs me. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of Christian America.”
In Springfield, Ohio, I am so impressed with a group of evangelical pastors who have developed “Simunye”, a Christian effort to bridge the racial divide. As leaders of both white and African-American churches in Springfield, they started by building relationships among themselves, taking a civil rights trip to the South together and then began planning events to call their congregations together. They envision churches modeling God’s vision for peace, oneness and biblical unity. Their strategies are:
Interconnection. They seek fellowship among people who look different from one another.
Instruction. They want to teach and understand in safe environments where they can learn from one another.
Intercession: They want intercession and prayer to be part of the unity that binds them together as God’s people.
They believe the church should lead the racial discussion, because racism is a theological problem of sin that must be addressed. They assert only the gospel can fix that.
How do you respond to the racial divide in the United States? If you are a white Christian, do you take time to educate yourself and examine yourself? Are you calling yourself to a higher standard and speaking up for racial justice in your community, in our institutions and country? Are you following the lead of Simunye? I know many of you are, throughout your lives and in the aftermath of George Floyd.
But on the other hand, there are some Christians and churches leading the fight to keep “critical race theory” out of our schools. They don’t want our schools to teach about our common history of racism anymore because it might hurt the feelings of our youth.
As a Christian, I believe that this is the wrong approach. Some of us need to personally repent of our racism, yes. But more importantly as a society, we need to repent of the institutionalized racism that mars the conscience and people of our nation. The sin of our country against African Americans includes three hundred years of slavery, Jim Crow laws which prevented African-Americans from full rights and participation in the economy of the south, a biased justice system which now incarcerates more African-Americans than were once slaves, and red-lining with related racial restrictions on home ownership and loans.
I believe that to pretend that racism is not a problem in the United States of America is a grave mistake and sin. Perhaps, if you don’t follow Jesus, you can become a white supremacist and hate people with skins of color. Perhaps you can even teach your children to hate people with skins of color.
But, if you listen to Jesus, our Good Shepherd who calls you above all to love God with all your heart and mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself, you have no business trying to sweep the American sin of racism under the table. If you are a Christian, you must educate your children about the evils of racism and call them to a higher standard. If you are a Christian, you want our schools to teach the truth about our common history and the laws of our country which now make it illegal to discriminate against people because of the color of their skin.
My recent book, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle (All Things That Matter Press, 2022) was written in part to address the need for Christian unity across racial and political lines.
I would like to thank Simunye for providing courageous Christian leadership in Springfield, Ohio. I pray more will follow you.
“Why can’t we all just get along?” is a phrase that I first heard while working with the Study Circle Resource Center in the 1990s. This organization, founded by the Paul J Aicher Foundation in 1989 has been working on dialogue for many years.
In the early years, they focused on developing a public dialogue process, drawing from the way people talk in their public lives. When I started my job with the City of Springfield, Ohio, in 1994 our Human Relations Board had recently launched a Study Circle project. As part of my job as the Fair Housing and Mediation Coordinator, I learned their dialogue process and then helped facilitate Study Circles.
We facilitated Study Circles to dialogue about race within the local church community. Predominantly African-American churches were paired with churches with mostly white members. Study Circles included people from the pairs of churches to meet for at least six sessions.
There are four steps to the Study Circle dialogue.
Sharing Experiences. The first part involves giving each member of a Study Circle a chance to talk about how they personally have been impacted by the topic for discussion.
I can remember that it was quite enlightening and disturbing to listen to how African-Americans, who grew up in our town, experienced discrimination in school, in work and hiring practices. I know that many white Americans, like myself, who grew up in segregated communities, didn’t really know what happens to people of color in our society.
2. Looking at Causes of the Problem. With study materials and research, the group begins to analyze the problem and look for the causes.
In the next step, we used the Study Circle Resource Center materials to discuss what causes racism. This helped us stand back from the problem and look at it together. It’s helpful to figure out the roots of a systematic problem. Not that identifying the problem makes it go away, but at least you can get a sense of the history and how the problem developed.
3. Consider Solutions for the Problem. During this phase, the group considers ways to solve the problem.
After discussing causes, the group began to look for solutions. Again, Study Circle Resource Center materials help with suggestions of strategies that have helped in other communities.
4. Action. Finally, the group considers group action to address the problem.
In this stage, the group may look at solutions discussed and see if there is something they could implement locally. One group in our project began a “Circle of Friends”, a group of ladies that began to do good things for other people in the community. A later development was an annual CultureFest that our department coordinated.
Over the course of the years I worked at the City, we used the Study Circle process quite a few times to encourage dialogue. Several times we worked with the school district. Our City school superintendent at the time invited us to train her student Leadership Team in the Study Circle process. We then assisted the student leaders to implement Study Circles in the schools. The first time we discussed racism. Then we used booklets developed by the Study Circle Resource Center to encourage the students to choose their own topics for dialogue. Still later, we utilized the process to discuss school violence.
When the World Trade Center in New York City was attacked on September 11, 2001, we led a community Study Circle process on October 11, 2001 to give people to dialogue about the range of feelings and concerns they experienced. After single sessions in the morning and evening, we formed two groups that engaged in the four step process over the coming weeks. One of these groups decided to form the Global Education and Peace Network to develop a speaker series and annual calendar that would give us opportunities to understand different cultures and religions. I was blessed to facilitate this organization as part of my job for 19 years. This provided a forum for educational programming and discussion.
It takes time to understand each other in community. But I’ve seen the dialogue process work to begin to break down barriers. We used this process with middle and high schools students this summer at Peer Mediation training with the Springfield Peace Center. The young people did a great job with this process, too.
Today, the Study Circle Resource Center continues under a new name: Everyday Democracy. They continue to train and foster dialogue using a “Dialogue to Change Process with a racial equity lens.” A few years ago, I attended their leadership training in Connecticut. We were encouraged to come home and engage our local communities in dialogue and working for positive change.
At the City of Springfield, when the pandemic caused us to cancel our annual CultureFest celebration, we instead developed a CultureRead project to encourage people to read books on race issues and to dialogue on the books. We held a community discussion at the end of the project to look to avenues to continue to build a more just community.
With our political divisions and racial issues in the United States, I think that dialogue is an important tool to help build bridges across cultures. If you are interested in learning more about this process, let’s talk!
I wrote my book, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle (All Things That Matter Press, 2022), as part of my action concerning our political and racial divisions. The book even includes a retreat where the characters begin to dialogue about their political and racial differences at a Peace Center in Northern Ireland.
My hope is that we can all learn just to get along and build a better society together.
