In the fall my church gathered to do a prayer walk through
downtown Memphis. One of the reasons that I felt called to this church was
because of activities like this. They do not just say they love Memphis and
have a heart for the city, they live it out every day. We took a route where we
passed many abandoned buildings, the library, some corporate offices, and
walked along the riverside. We stopped at a park along the riverside and prayed
for the homeless men and women that had taken refuge there.
Now, you should know that I often feel uncomfortable praying
in front of people—it is something I am working on. But, as we entered the park
the first thing I noticed was the name: “Confederate Park.” I was shocked that
a park in the middle of the city, would bear such a hateful and violent name.
The name of the park celebrated the very divisions that so many people are
trying to work against every day in Memphis. So, I asked if I could pray at the
park—and did so.
Now, that I am home for Easter weekend I have had time to do
some research about something that has been in the back of my mind for a few
weeks now. The Ku Klux Klan is planning “the largest rally in the history of
Memphis,” this Saturday. Upon my research, I found out that the re-naming of
three parks is what prompted them to hold the rally. One of these parks is
Confederate Park.
A lot of my students have asked me about the event—for them
this rally demonstrates something very different than a group of people upset
about the re-naming of a few parks. This rally represents violence,
segregation, hatred, and racism. I often tell people that I never realized how
segregated my life was until I moved to Memphis, I had never seen racism so
clearly until my students opened my eyes to it. A lot of people in Memphis are
working hard to change these things, but this rally brings back to life all of
these issues. I am proud of my city for organizing a Heart of Memphis rally—to
show that the power of love in Memphis is stronger than the power of violence.
But, like so many events—I am scared that not enough will be done quick enough.
Often events that cause heartbreak and challenge by bringing
up deep-rooted issues in our world, create almost a “fad.” People speak out,
they show their support, they are activists for a short time—and then they move
on. I hope that this rally can provide more than that.
I recently watched this video, talking about race--our hesitations especially as a white person to approach the subject. This
is something I have struggled with recently. About 98% of my students are
black, they quickly informed me that I should stop using the phrase African
American, “that is so white Ms. C.” I go to a multiethnic church. But who am I “doing
life” with? The people that are in my closest circle, until very recently, have
always looked like me. How can we talk about race, when we are not actively
doing anything about it in our own lives.
I think these events happening over Easter weekend is
especially powerful. The rallys will be happening in between Jesus Christ’s
death and his resurrection. A time of waiting, a time of anticipation.
I would argue that we cannot afford to wait any longer; the
anticipation of change is not enough. It is time that we start taking action to
wrestle with these issues, even when it is challenging. How do we move towards
ONE city, instead of a city with so many divisions, North Memphis, East
Memphis, Midtown, Germantown, Downtown, Mud Island. Memphis is broken in a lot
of ways, and a lot of people are fighting to bring life back to the city—but it
will not truly heal until we do so as ONE people, ONE city. We cannot function as ONE city until we start to accept (not just tolerate) one another, and love one another.
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