LET’S TALK RACE:
In Hernando, the community joins to discuss race relations.
Not that Dewayne Williams needed additional fodder for a healthy discussion about race at his upcoming “Breaking Down the Wall” series, but recent events in South Carolina and the broader discussion generated about Confederate symbols will undoubtedly factor into the conversation.
“We start with the big picture and gradually draw the circle in closer to home,” says Williams, founder of West End Ministries and Hernando’s parks director. “So we’ll talk about race in America, then race in the South, then race in Hernando. We’ll talk about Ferguson; we’ll talk about South Carolina; we’ll talk about a lot of things.”
Williams started “Breaking Down the Walls” last summer. The series, designed to open a dialogue about race relations, continues this year starting July 26 and running through Aug. 30. Sessions will be held 6-8 p.m. each Sunday at the Gale Center, 2601 Elm Street behind Hernando City Hall.
The goal is to bring together a cross section of local residents — black residents and white residents of all ages — to talk about how they interact with each other and steps they can take to improve relations.
“We teach that racism is a sin of the heart,” says Williams, who is African-American. “And that’s where we have to begin to address it — in the heart. I’ve had so many great conversations with people who are different from me.”
About 30 to 35 participated in last summer’s inaugural series. Since the series ended last August, participants have continued to gather for lunch or dinner every other month. During off months, they’ve spoken at area churches and other groups.
Williams said it’s been an opportunity for the group to be a model for the rest of the community — people of different races gathering socially to laugh, hug and have a good time.
He’s hoping for a similar
turnout for this year’s series, which will begin with viewings of and discussions about the PBS series “The African-Americans: Many Rivers to Cross” during the first five sessions.
As a prelude to the series, West End Ministries will sponsor a Walk Against Violence on July 18. The walk will begin at the Avondale Apartments on Hill Street, where 21-year-old Jasmine Smith was stabbed to death in January, allegedly by her cousin. It will end at 1 p.m. at the Gale Center with speakers and a schoolsupply giveaway.
Williams said he hopes about 200 will participate, including local law enforcement who he wants to march so that they and the community can show support for one another.
“Law enforcement and the community need to see each other properly,” Smith said. “We need to show that we can get along with one another.”
Mayor Chip Johnson is scheduled to be among the speakers. Johnson called the West End “Breaking Down the Wall” series a tool “to look for ways to improve, as a community and as human beings.”
West End Ministries is named after the predominantly African-American West End section of Hernando, where Williams grew up. He said he learned a lot growing up in the neighborhood and witnessing the changes that have occurred in his city, and he wanted West End Ministries to be an extension of church-based efforts to keep change moving in a positive direction.
For more information on the Walk Against Violence or “Breaking Down the Wall,” contact Williams at kane6612@gmail.com.