TO GET RESULTS, GET PEOPLE TALKING
Community activist sees how holding get-togethers forms and strengthens ties
Each week, this series will introduce you to an exceptional American who unites, rather than divides, our communities. To read more about the American profiled here and more average Americans doing exceptional things, visit onenation.usatoday.com.
What does it mean to you to be an American?
It means, for me, living in a space that is still learning to love, and to even love who I am. And it means loving it enough back to expect more of it.
What moment touched and motivated you to launch this effort?
That was right after (the killing of black youth) Trayvon Martin. That was right in the midst of a time when those things were much more in our awareness, and us wanting there to be a space to pull it out. It all came back to this is something people don’t like to talk about, but it’s always coming up. It’s not just Florida, Ferguson. If it’s there, it’s here.
What gives you hope, or what concerns you?
Children give me a lot of hope, and I think that’s because a lot of the work that I’ve done is with survivors of child abuse. I think there is a way that the most terrible thing (happens) and you witness the most amazing resilience, and that’s where hope comes in for me, our ability for resilience. Concern? I think the deep fears that we carry about being our authentic selves, about doing authentic work. The way that we just put things off to the side when really we need to look at the full list. Let’s look at ourselves and not run from ourselves, essentially. And I think my concern is most of us would rather run.
What do you hope to accomplish through your efforts?
I hope to clearly see myself. So what I mean is, while the goal is community building, I don’t believe I myself build community. But I think the more I wrestle here (hands on heart), the more I live here deeply, the more that what I share with the world helps to transform the community. So I hope for my own self a constant growth, no matter how hard.