Racial inequity is a complex and serious problem in our country, and in the world. Most of us care. But many of us don't know how to talk about it in a way that feels helpful or satisfactory. We have questions that we don't really know how to ask. We're often afraid that people might get the wrong idea -- that we might get labeled a racist without having the opportunity to explain ourselves. We periodically experience a vague, unwelcome sense of guilt, even fear.
The Mad River Valley Anti-Racism Initiative (MRVARI) is an organization that will support your learning and your growth in these matters. We acknowledge that we all have been tacitly trained not to rock the boat when discussing race. We delve deeply into the social and historical causes of this silence. Most importantly, we encourage one another's efforts to transcend this restrictive mindset, poising ourselves to take action in the service of equality and understanding.
Ruby Sales, the great African-American social justice activist, laments how judgmental and disdainful white people can be toward one another on this topic, noting "it's almost like white people don't believe that other white people are worthy of being redeemed."
She goes on to declare: "There's a spiritual crisis in white America. It's a crisis of meaning. We talk a lot about black theologies, but I want a liberating white theology. I want a theology that begins to deepen people's understanding about their capacity to live fully human lives and to touch the goodness inside of them, rather than call upon the part of themselves that's not relational. There's nothing wrong with being European-American. That's not the problem. It's how you actualize that history and how you actualize that reality."
The Mad River Valley Anti-Racism Initiative (MRVARI) will be holding its monthly discussion group this Sunday evening (4/23) from 6:30 - 8:00 pm. We hope to see you there!
Wrenn Compere, facilitator
May 9, 2024, 3:30 to 4:30 PM
Prenatal Yoga @ Love UMay 12, 2024, 10 to 11 AM
Harwood Student Films from AfricaMay 13, 2024, 6 to 7 PM