Take a slow road at every relational turn
I’m feeling a little quiet this week—working hard on my book, doing lots of reading and listening, and thought maybe you would like some recommendations rather than a half-baked idea. So here you go:
1) Read Nikole Hannah-Jones on the case for reparations in this moment of racial reckoning. She does a fantastic job of walking her reader through the history of the United States and pointing out the moments when restitution was thwarted. My favorite line: “If we are truly at the precipice of a transformative moment, the most tragic of outcomes would be that the demands be too timid and the resolution too small.”
2) Watch this panel on abolitionist teaching. It’s an incredible conversation between three deeply wise and bold Black women educational experts, Dena, who was featured here, among them. It really lit up my imagination about what abolition can and should mean. My favorite quotation came from author Bettina Love: “We’re not in the business of removing inequality. We’re in the business of managing inequality.” We have to stop managing, y’all. We have to stop tinkering. We have to stop reforming. We have to go huge.
3) SLOW DOWN. As I’m witnessing and listening to the reckonings in our midst (leaders being fired and challenged, names being changed, people resigning to make space for others etc.), a common theme is simple this: white people—and people who have adopted the norms of white, elite culture—move too damn fast and worship efficiency too damn much. This might not seem like a racial issue, but in fact, it is one of the values and habits that leads to some of our most dehumanizing behavior. If riots are the language of the unheard, ala MLK, then I think some of the “cancelling” we’re seeing happen right now is the language of the unhealed. You don’t need to be scared, white friends. You need to slow the heck down and reconnect with your humanity. When you harm, repair. Slowly and with reverence for the complexity of human hearts and relationships. It’s inspiring me to take the slower road at every relational turn, especially if I’m interacting with someone culturally different from me.
See you Friday with a Q&A that will offer us some long-timer perspective on this place called America. Here’s a visual hint:
