It's been a few weeks since I've gotten back from the Sankofa trip, and I would like to share as much as can about it.
On this trip through civil rights sights of the south, we are partnered with another person of a different ethnic background than ourselves. We are to journey together, eating together, going through the museums together, riding the bus together, and processing together. My partner was a woman named Deborah, in her 50's, who is of African American decent from Chicago, now living in Gary, Indiana. I was thankful to have someone older and wiser than I to journey with. I was actually one of the youngest on the trip. Everyone one else was late 30's and up to 72 I believe and a majority of folks had some sort of leadership in their church. I was more than grateful for the spiritual maturity of the group and all the wisdom that came with the years. It set a wonderful tone for our trip.
The whole experience is a whirlwind, as you meet in Chicago Thursday night, take a bus overnight to Alabama, then stay overnight in Jackson, Mississippi, then another busride overnight to Indiana from Tennessee. Then it's back to Chicago and on your way home Sunday late afternoon. Wow.
I went into the experience imagining a level of intensity that I had not experienced before, perhaps some breakdowns, and just to feel extreme emotions. After all, we watched intense movies on the bus, had open and raw communication as a group, visited civil rights museums, part of the underground railroad, and heard from folks who are were actually part of some of the marches.
After our debriefing on Sunday I felt sort of disappointed that this did not happen. I also felt unfinished in our conversation. It all happened so fast.
However, after I got home that night I sat in my bed and thought about the last 3 days. As I reflected on the events and mostly in the emotions and conversation shared among our group, I was thinking on the times in the past 3 years that I have experienced those emotions. And had those same conversations. In essence, the last 3 years of my life have seemed like a Sankofa journey. I have felt extreme emotions, I have had intense conversations, I have had often uncomfortable conversations, honest and raw, but uncomfortable. I have felt guilty, despair, hopeless. I have felt excited, honored, hopeful. I have had the immense privilege of journeying through with friends of a different ethnic background of my own.
After realizing that, my disappointment turned to gratitude as I thought of the Sankofa participants who journeyed with me, who were honest and vulnerable. Who took risks in conversation. Who let me into their lives. How else will I receive such insight, such sharing of thoughts and experience, on a subject that is too taboo to ever openly talk about without risking a relationship? I will always have the insight of my partner, who was a little girl when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated and watched tanks roll down the street in her Chicago home. I have never met someone who lived through that and shared with me her personal experience of it! That is one example of the beautiful dialog that was shared on a long bus journey together by 40 people committed to being vulnerable. It is powerful.
So let me share with you some of the places we went and talked about, and had an impact on me. Some of these links are to the story of what happened, which is more important to understand in the context of our country's history and how that still affects us today.
Birmingham, Alabama: 16th Street Baptist Church
Ingram Park
Southern Poverty Law Center This place was particularly powerful, as it talks about hate crimes and issues of injustice today.
Spencer Perkins Center This place was so hopeful to go to, to see a people that are really working towards reconciliation and community development. We also got to talk to John Perkins, which was a joy. He founded the Christian Community Development Association, which I love and learn from.
National Civil Rights Museum
SlaveHaven This was my favorite sight, the most powerful, the place that is imprinted in my mind, and where I learned the most.
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Overall, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to go on this trip. I recommend to everyone. It was a wonderful part of my journey, and I am sure God has more in store for me through it!
My friend shared a quote with me the other day from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, that beautiful describes the struggle of journeying towards racial reconciliation.
"Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing."
