The Power of Community in Dark Times
"This is a critical moment to consciously live our out core value of the belief in the sacred dignity of every person."
Like people all around the country, we in the Project HOME community have been shaken by the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend. We share with millions of Americans the grief, anger, and outrage at this recent display of racism, White supremacy, hatred, and violence that poison the very heart of our nation.
These terrible events are part of a disturbing increase in our society in expressions of overt racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-immigration sentiment, and cruel targeting of those deemed “other.” Many members of our community have been victimized by this hatred personally. And many of us are struggling with feelings of stress, anxiety, and fear in the face of these poisonous attitudes and actions.
This is a time when each one of us must do all we can to care for ourselves, and when all of us must make an extra effort to support and care for each other. This is a critical moment to consciously live our out core value of the belief in the sacred dignity of every person. We must also continue our advocacy efforts, doing all we can to combat racism and hatred, to challenge political leaders who foster such attitudes, and to ensure that our public policies reflect a welcoming spirit for all people.
In these troubled times, our Project HOME community has much to offer our society. We know the power of a community that embraces each other in our diversity, knowing that we all share struggles and gifts and that we are stronger together. We know the power of transformation, where even the darkest human brokenness can become hope and light for the world. Let us continue to stand with all victims of discrimination and oppression. Let us fight all those forces and policies that foster discrimination. And let us also invite those persons who themselves are trapped in a spirit of racism and hatred to know a deeper truth of our shared humanity, which is the taproot of compassion and justice. The road is long, but it is also wide, as we continue on the journey to our common home.
