Dear friends,
With the recent (belated) society-wide recognition of Juneteenth, we are being collectively presented with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of - and actions towards - liberation and belonging. Now is a time for us to assess the ways we are helping to liberate and the ways we are hindering that liberation, consciously or not. We do this in part by understanding the history of Juneteenth but we must not stop there. The Crunk Feminist Collective recently wrote that liberation is episodic. That is, it hasn’t happened in one fell swoop and in fact it is still in process. Black America (and therefore all of us) is still not fully free. The question becomes, then, how do we - as individuals, as a community, and as an organization, City Hope - help further this process of liberation? City Hope has always been an organization that seeks to center people and stories in their fullness. As I think of how City Hope can honor Juneteenth as a celebration of liberation, I start to dream of ways we can more boldly articulate both the particular manifestations of injustice in our community as well as the hope that comes from continuously creating a genuine space of belonging with our most marginalized neighbors. In seeking the liberation of others there’s a place for our City Hope values of making sure everyone is welcome, respected, and celebrated. This is an honoring of Juneteenth in a microcosm. There are bigger societal and legislative moves that must happen for true liberation to take hold and to become the norm. I strongly encourage all of us to look at those pieces, to consider the history of Juneteenth (then, through today and beyond) and the ways that political will, socio-economic power, and beliefs in superiority intersect to keep people in bondage. Yet looking at our microcosms is also important, and so I encourage us to interrogate our particular spaces and see how we can seek liberation there as well. How do we make space for others to be fully free - to be their full and true selves, to have equity in access and opportunity, to have an equal say in the crafting of the space itself? What needs to be removed? What needs to be added? In what ways do we ourselves need to change? These are all complicated and multifaceted questions. And yet we can’t claim to honor Juneteenth without asking them. We can’t whitewash this holiday and truly celebrate it. Hard questions must continue to be asked. And this demands that we hold onto the hope that real change can be made, that liberation is possible and coming. We’re making our own steps towards liberation here at City Hope and, as always, we are grateful to be on that journey with all of you. Peace and grace, Pastor Sally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sources:
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