Blue Boat of Youth and Young Adult MinistriesBending the Arc
DAY 4: The Race Story Re-Writing Project
Rewriting History
One of the reasons I have always loved history is because I love stories – and history is all about stories. I find the closer these stories get to the truth, the more compelling they are.
In an anti-oppression workshop I heard someone say, “I used to believe most highly in the Golden Rule – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – but now I see I need to change it to say – “do unto others as you would have them do unto you – if you had lived as they do and have had their experiences.” That statement was illuminating for me. With the way your thinking can change based on whose perspective you use, it’s incredibly helpful to change your lens to see something in a different light and consider it in a new way.
The Race Story Rewrite Project is like that. What we know to be truths are frequently the result of a story we have been told or tell ourselves; we then hang onto that viewpoint for dear life because we are so convinced we have arrived at the “right” answer. But the Seventh Principle means we’re all in this together, and the First Principle means your perspective is just as vital and important as mine. And there is no time at which I can allow myself the indulgence of stopping to learn.
I’m excited to read and hear more questions and answers and stories on the Race Story Rewrite Project, and maybe to tell one or two of my own. Because history does not only happen to one small group of people – it happens to all of us – and the more we let new ways of seeing bump up against our most cherished beliefs, the more we grow into our best selves and into living the dream.
Check out The Race Story ReWrite Project.
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