Initiatives of Change - Connecting Communities for Reconciliation and Justice

Full Conference Report
Connecting Communities for Reconciliation & Justice

Howard University, June 20-24, 2001

Report on a national forum convened by Initiatives of Change. Co-hosts: Agenda for Reconciliation, Hope in the Cities and The Faith and Politics Institute. National Partners: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Study Circles Resource Center , Alliance for National Renewal, and The National League of Cities

Overview

This era of globalization and unprecedented migration is sweeping away social boundaries. It is creating an extensive interconnectedness among diverse nations and between disparate groups within the same society. Our future welfare is increasingly tied to that of other people.

Historically, we have ‘solved’ the problem of contact between diverse people through genocide, population transfer, segregation, or assimilation. Are we doomed to repeat our history? Or can we address past wrongs and develop new ways of relating to one another, free of racial-ethnic, religious, and class divisions and inequities?

In June, 200 people from cities throughout the US as well as South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Britain and Russia gathered at Howard University in Washington, DC to explore these questions. It was clear from those in attendance, that no single group claimed ownership of this challenging task. Present were conservatives and liberals, young people and older folks, and individuals of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Local government officials and business leaders committed to principled economic practice participated. Educators, social justice organizers, and religious leaders who are building bridges with other faith groups attended as well.

When governments impose change without first preparing citizens to accept change through moral dialogue their policies fail, explained keynote speaker, Dr. Amitai Etzioni. “Dialogue leads to the kind of heart change that makes laws successful,” said the founder of the Communitarian movement. “Out of these conversations new shared moral commitments do arise.”

The theme of the forum, “connecting communities through reconciliation and justice,” expressed its twofold approach to addressing historic wrongs. While calls for apologies and reparations for slavery fall largely on deaf ears in the US, the forum provided hope that the “good faith national effort dedicated to the goals of acknowledgement, atonement and reconciliation” called for recently by the Philadelphia Inquirer, might yet be achievable. From speakers and fellow delegates, participants gained fresh insights, inspiration, and practical resources for plotting an ethical course to connect their own communities:

A national conversation on restorative justice for historical wrongs was framed as a benefit for all citizens.

A symbolic event at the US Capital provided a model for healing our nation’s painful memories.

Prominent leaders in the business and judicial community candidly addressed issues of institutional responsibility and restorative justice.

Stories of personal responsibility verified the link between individual decisions and societal change.

New alliances were forged to build momentum for a global effort to the advance reconciliation and justice.

Practical skills and spiritual resources from different faiths reinvigorated “change agents” and help sustain the momentum for long-term change

Forgiveness is Freedom

How can we connect communities divided by a legacy of injustice and separation? How can true freedom come through the offering and receiving of forgiveness?

Sometimes forgiveness is blocked “because the agents and victims of old injustice cannot repair the breach between them,” said Rev. Donald Shiver, President Emeritus of the Union Theological Seminary and author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics. The history of the United States has deeply wounded the victims and debased the perpetrators.

For people to give up resentment over past wrongs and build trust, the injuring parties must acknowledge wrongfulness and feel genuine sorrow for it, said Canon Nicholas Frayling, Rector of Liverpool England. “Without sorrow there can be no question of repentance, and certainly not forgiveness,” said Frayling, who is urging honesty about Britain’s past in Ireland. The injuring party must provide some proof that they have changed, he said. Otherwise, the one hurt will not be willing to risk trust again and there may be no interest in uniting.

The ‘forgive and forget’ formula for healing history may make us feel good, but it does nothing “to break an inherent pattern or evil and make possible new freedom of action,” said Frayling. There are no short cuts. “Forgiveness is the fruit and not the shoot,” he explained. As Dr. James Forbes Jr., Pastor of Riverside Church in New York, put it, “Cheap contrition is apologizing without intending to make things right.”

The “bicycle theology” of Father Michael Lapsley, Capetown, South Africa, illustrates the concept of ‘cheap contrition.’ Suppose someone steals your bicycle. Six months later the thief admits he stole your bicycle and apologizes for his crime. He asks for your forgiveness, but he keeps the bike. What is the value of such an apology? Real reconciliation demands not only repentance but also restitution. “It’s about returning the bike and maybe adding a bell and a whistle.“ Dr. Rev. Forbes agrees. He told the forum, “We must find concrete practical ways to show that we desire not only relief from guilt, but also a new state of reconciliation.”

An action plan for healing history

“Racism is demon possession,” said Rev. James Forbes Jr. The Connecting Communities for Reconciliation and Justice Forum “is about how could we exercise a massive exorcism.” The history of our country, “its heroic moment, as well as its times of shame and national disgrace, is our history together,” he said. “Each of us out of our own values can identify those aspects which are not worthy of the ideals on which this country was built.” He offered the following suggestions for action.

Telling the Truth about the Past

Personal responsibility. Encourage fellow citizens to prepare a personal confession of the aspects of our past from which we wish to disassociate ourselves. If the seeds of past sins have manifested themselves in our attitudes and behavior, or if we enjoy unearned benefits, we should pray to be forgiven and granted the opportunity to build up a new system of truth, justice, and compassion.

Public acts of acknowledgment. In bearing witness to the seriousness of past offenses, and expressing our remorse, we can deepen our repentance, strengthen our resolve to transform society, and invite fellow citizens to join the ranks of the advocates for a new pattern of life.

Doing the Truth in the Present

Talk about how to make things right. As a nation, we should engage in a serious, in-depth conversation about reparations to African Americans wounded by slavery and our continuing moral obligation to Native Americans.

Institute a USA Truth and Reconciliation Commission. A reparation commission would help us face the truth of our country’s racial history and audit our progress toward being a truly democratic society.

Declare our commitment to interracial, interfaith, interclass cooperation for shared action.

Investing in a Future More True to the Dream of Our Creator

Make faith-based sacrifices. Use our influence, energy and financial resources in support of the restoration agenda.

Establish a Jubilee Plan. Develop a plan to repair the damage done to past and present victims of oppression that provides subsistence necessities for all US citizens, including: food, shelter, health care, quality education, living wage employment, and the right to equal, unbiased justice.

Advocate for human rights. Promote justice, peace, compassion at home and abroad. Encourage bipartisan support for a humanitarian policy toward Africa. As a repentant and enlightened nation we have a moral obligation to help restore what we helped destroy.

Forbes concluded that a spiritual revitalization was needed if citizens were to embrace these challenges. People who are threatened by demographic changes may be in too much of a self-protective mode to invest in new possibilities for the common good. All our religious traditions will need to help build the moral vitality of their adherents so that they will be secure enough to risk truth, justice, peace and compassion.”

On the Steps of the Capitol

Citizens take up the challenge of national reconciliation

On June 21, Connecting Communities participants converged on the East Steps of the U. S. Capitol. They came to make a contribution. No longer would they wait for the government to make amends for sanctioning slavery and the century of legislation that denied fundamental rights to non-whites. They decided to accept personal responsibility for healing the nation’s painful history. They hope their actions will motivate the country’s leaders to do the right thing.

One elected leader who has urged the US government to apologize for slavery is Congressman Tony Hall of Ohio. “Few people know that this symbol of global freedom was partly built by slaves,” he said. The dramatic dance that opened the ceremony portrayed enslaved African craftsmen building “monuments” to democracy while longing for the freedom these edifices represented. “We passed terrible laws for many years in this building…It’s a simple thing to say ‘I’m sorry’ but it’s hard to get people to do it. It’s a tough issue but it’s the right issue.” We’ve got to “clean out the wound of slavery in our national life,” said Hall. At this suggestion, those gathered ascended the steps with scrub brushes in hand. Silently and together, people of different colors, faiths and economic backgrounds, wiped their brushes across the granite steps in a symbolic act of cleansing.

Through this action they hoped to free their hearts and minds of the burden of sorrowful memories. It was a means of clearing the way for new levels of responsibility from our government and its citizens, said Dr. Paige Chargois, a Baptist minister and Associate National Director of Hope in the Cities, from Richmond, Virginia. Others came forward to share stories about the power of reconciliation in their own countries and challenged participants to back up newly forged commitments with concrete action. Pat Dodson, the first chair of Australia’s Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, acknowledged the Native People on whose lands the Capitol was built. Dodson expressed heartfelt thanks for the contribution of African Americans and the inspiration they have provided to others across the world. Joe Devaney, told how as Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Britain’s principal port engaged in the transatlantic slave trade, he had led the city council in an unconditional apology. Anti-apartheid activist Father Michael Lapsley from South Africa, who had his hand blown off by a letter-bomb from the apartheid government, described how he had learned to move from being a victim to being a survivor, then a victor. “The holy spirit comes to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable,” he says.

Dr. Sygman Rhee, former Korean solider, refugee, and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, spoke of his involvement in the reconciliation process between North and South Korea and America’s vital role in helping Koreans overcome a tragic history. “What happens in the U.S. Capitol affects the rest of the world, and if we admit our injustices, we will help other countries do that,” he said. Dr. Rhee called the scrubbing of the Steps an action to “liberate both the oppressed and the oppressor.”

Remarks from featured speakers and patriotic songs gave participants a sense of hope, heightened awareness and an increased determination to work for change. Those who arrived on buses feeling anxious about confronting the past felt different going back. One said, “The experience lifted a burden I’ve been carrying around for a long time.” Another felt compelled to do something. “I’m going to work hard to heal race relations at my school,” said a young white participant.

“As we sang ‘God Bless American’ on the steps of the Capitol, I found myself unable to contain tears. I was overwhelmed by the concept of ‘my home,’” said Vivian Paige of Norfolk, VA. “Yes, America is my home, even if there are those in it that don’t want me here.” She hoped her fight to end racism would change the hearts of white Americans so that one day black Americans, like herself, might be accepted as part of the country they love.

Ending global poverty: the responsibility of business

The benefits of globalization are not equitably distributed, said former CEO of Medtronic Inc., Winston Wallin. “Four hundred human beings together own more than one billion people,” said Wallin who has launched a campaign to get business leaders to accept responsibility for ending poverty.

Wallin acknowledged the absence of corporate leadership in seeking solutions to global problems. He spoke frankly about the lack of investment in poor countries. “Businesses are pressured by investors not to be philanthropists,” he explained. “The primary responsibility of a corporation is to manage its business effectively, not give away profits. Shareholders won’t put money into poor countries, if they don’t think they’ll get a fair return on their investment,” said Wallin. Consequently, the gulf between successfully developed and less developed economies is increasing. Wallin, and other members of the Caux Roundtable (CRT)—an international network of business leaders who promote principled business leadership and responsible corporate practice, are trying to change these institutional practices.

These senior business leaders have accepted responsibility for working to reduce world poverty. “It is up to business to do something about global poverty,” said Wallin, “because business is the only group with sufficient resources.” To improve the standard of living in poor countries, the CRT is encouraging corporate leaders to follow ethical business principles, like year-end employee profit sharing and contributing to social and economic development in regions beyond their local operating areas. The CRT is simulating economic activity in poor countries by working with NGOs, government agencies, and business organizations to develop accountable institutions as well as policies and actions to create environments attractive to foreign investment.

When asked what citizens might do to reduce world poverty, Mr. Wallin recommended investing in stocks in developing countries. “A socially responsible stockholder movement could do quite a lot,” he said.

Jim Wallis, convener of Call to Renewal, a faith-based social just movement, also believes in citizen power. “Only through the growth of social movements will business and government take the necessary action,” he said. Wallis cited the impact of the Jubilee 2000 campaign for the cancellation of Third World debt.

“We can all do something to answer the need of crisis situations,” said Charito Kruvant, of the indigenous people of Bolivia and now a U.S. citizen. Ms. Kruvant heads Creative Associates International, which supplies skilled people to meet infrastructure needs in situations of war and poverty in 40 countries. She said CAI aims to help societies “transition from a war economy to a peace economy.”

Elected officials work for racial justice

Elected officials took part in a workshop facilitated by Lorna Gonsalves-Pinto who directed the National League of Cities project on racial justice. Mayor Melina Carnicelli of Auburn New York, Commissioner Dean Lovelace of Dayton Ohio, and Angel Fuentes, President of Camden City Council were among those who took part. Jim Hunt a councilman from Clarksburg West Virginia told how his town was working to become an inclusive community and how black and white had stood together when the KKK reared its head.

Dialogues on Dialogues

Daily dialogue sessions at the forum gave participants working knowledge of the individual healing affects of telling one’s story and having experiences validated. Delegates discovered that dialogue fosters trust building, shared moral commitments, and the capacity for individual and collective action. Several dialogue models were presented in forum workshops, including those of Study Circles, the Kettering Foundation, Hope in the Cities, NCCJ, Public Conversations Project and Oregon Uniting’s youth prototype. Plans are underway for a conference for dialogue leaders early in 2002.

International panel

An international panel moderated by Harold Saunders of the Kettering Foundation included Viacheslav Igrunov, member of the Russian Congress or Duma. He described his own imprisonment during the Soviet period and his refusal to compromise. He said that when the democratic revolution happened, those who came to power had no moral values. Money and power were all that counted. “When politics is not founded on morality it is a crime,” he said. As a result he started a center to train young politicians.

Community Reconstruction in South Africa

Just ten years ago, the South African town of Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape exhibited all the worst features of the legacy of apartheid. The black townships had no sanitation or electricity, crime was rampant and the economy was on the brink of self-destruction. Today, Stutterheim has been transformed into an oasis of peace, stability and hope. Mayor Chris Magwangqana and Nico Ferreira, Executive Director of the Stutterheim Development Foundation, told how their interracial partnership had helped pave the way to trust and constructive action. Magwangqana said by agreeing to co-chair community meetings they won the confidence of both sides. They accepted local development as a shared responsibility and agreed to focus on the alleviation of poverty rather than a political agenda. The white leadership began to really listen. As a result, crime has dropped dramatically; more than 52 schools have benefited from education programs; water, sanitation and electricity has come to thousands of people and jobs were created. Stutterheim has provided consultations and training seminars to 136 towns across South Africa. Fiona Martin, former mayor of Witbank described the courageous struggle for democracy in her province. Speaking on behalf of his fellow South Africans, Ferreira said, “Nobody gave us permission to take responsibility. It’s an example of what citizens can do.”

Australia’s Journey of Healing

Ten years ago in Australia, a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established with Pat Dodson as its first chair. A nation-wide program of study circles enabled thousands of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to meet together. This focused national attention on the government’s policy of forced removal of thousands of Aboriginal children from their families, a practice of assimilation into white society which continued until 1970. Dodson said the results are seen in poor health, high levels of incarceration, low self-esteem, substance abuse and broken relationships. When a Government was elected in 1996 that attempted to turn its back on the harm done to Aboriginals, the Australian people decided to take on the job of national healing themselves, and a people’s movement grew. Last year a million people took part in walks calling for an apology and for a new relationship based on justice and respect. Dodson said that the challenge is to translate this hope into national initiatives. He is calling for a treaty between Aboriginal people and the Australian government.

In Cities Across the US

Since its groundbreaking “walk through history” in 1993, Richmond based Hope in the Cities has provided inspiration, consultation and training to interracial teams in cities across the US. They are providing practical evidence on the ground that people can come together across seemingly unbridgeable historical differences and work together for constructive change. Coalitions from Dayton, Ohio and Baltimore, Maryland led workshops on team building and visioning. A new dialogue model which addresses “intractable ” issues of race, economics and jurisdiction has completed its first phase in Richmond. “Everyone in the region should do this,” says the leader of the chamber of commerce. A black community activist says this kind of conversation has never occurred before. Following the conference, former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Devaney, presented Richmond Mayor Tim Kaine with a miniature replica of the Reconciliation Sculpture from Liverpool. Next year full sized replicas will be sent to Benin West Africa and to Richmond as part of a project known as the Reconciliation Triangle.

A team from Oregon Uniting provided convincing evidence of the power of citizen groups to repair history. The Day of Acknowledgment at the Salem state capitol on April 22, 1999, was the first such action by a state government. Anitra Rasmussen, until recently a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, told how 800 Oregonians, of all backgrounds, crowded into the House chamber to face the truth about Oregon’s history—the officially sanctioned exclusion of “negroes and mulattoes” from Oregon Territory, treaties not honored, farm workers unprotected, and Oregonians of Japanese descent shipped off to internment camps. State officials publicly acknowledged this century long legacy of discrimination and resolved to “increase public awareness of racial discrimination and work toward full participation of racial minorities in all aspects of Oregon life.”

This Day of Acknowledgement occurred because ordinary citizens challenged their political leaders to come forward, despite opposition. Former senator Mark Hatfield and past president of the NAACP Myrlie Evers Williams served as co-chairs. Representative Rasmussen and Senator Avel Gordly carried resolutions through the House and the Senate. One of OU’s founders, Macceo Pettis, traveled to Salem on a bus with other African Americans from Portland. On the way down, several people openly expressed skepticism. Afterwards, he said, “We felt relieved that the story had finally been told.”

The following year, lawmakers passed bills mandating multicultural curricula in all Oregon schools. The governor appointed a diverse Racial and Ethnic Task Force to review the state’s health care system. Oregon Uniting now has 40 active facilitators and is expanding its presence across the state. They have infused dialogues on race into curricula for 6th, 7th and 8th grade and are working to do the same in higher education. A K-12 curriculum that reflects the history and contribution of all Oregonians will be piloted in 2002.

Twenty Oregonians attended the forum including youth facilitators. Julie Gallagher told the audience, “In searching for my voice, Oregon Uniting was presented to me by God as a step toward the long, slow walk to freedom, “ she said. It gave her a means by which to liberate the human spirit and heal painful histories, including her own. Upon returning home from the forum, she wrote a letter of reconciliation to her father from whom she had intentionally disconnected years ago because of his racist views. “How can I facilitate reconciliation between the middle school students I work with if I don’t do it myself?” she asked.

What is at the heart of all these initiatives? Its not technical know how or political power. It is ordinary people. It is people with moral fortitude who have accepted responsibility for healing their communities rather then leaving the task for others. It is people who are willing to transcend historic divisions and unite as allies to transform their shared pain into a powerful reconciliation and justice movement. These stories remind us that ordinary, everyday sorts of human beings frequently make extraordinary contributions to social change.

“It was a humbling experience: the world under one roof, the kinship, the struggles of people. It trivializes our local concerns. It is much bigger than us. I was overwhelmed.” Jane Talley, Richmond.

New publication

"Connecting Communities" by Karen E. Greisdorf and Robert L. Corcoran

Many of the stories presented at the forum are told in a new publication, Connecting Communities. It reflects the accumulated experience of Hope in the Cities and some of its partner organizations nationally and internationally. It includes detailed description of the process of building and sustaining community coalitions, honest dialogue, and the work of healing history. Connecting Communities is available for $15 from the Hope in the Cities office.

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